Your first Yesshow?

[frippster]

If we're counting ABWH, then Chastain Park in Atlanta. Great show and I was so jazzed to finally see them, hard to complain with Levin on board.

If not, then it was Union at Lakewood in Atlanta. So cool seeing all of them together. I remember joking with my brother and my best pal about how Howe probably wanting to kill Rabin for going all super shred during Yours Is No Disgrace. We were in our rocker phase then so we thought it was awesome. And as everyone that saw that tour says, Awaken was almost otherworldly. One of the most amazing performances I've ever seen by anyone.

P.S. Was listening to the MSG Tales show yesterday. I don't know if they were still excited for the album or Wakeman wasn't totally bored yet or what, but they were really on that night. One of my favorite shows no doubt. I'm envious of those that got to see them in the 70s.

[the winter tree]

I saw them in 1977 at the Springfield Civic Center. I think maybe Donovan opened for them but my friends were always notoriously late and we missed his set. My first impression was how much taller Squire was than Anderson. I remember there being 2 different keyboard arsenals. There was a massive trainwreck during CLOSE TO THE EDGE. I learned an important lesson: even the "gods" could fuck up, especially when performing complex music ;-) None of my friend noticed when I pointed it out after the show(I was the only one who was a musician). One even indignantly exclaimed :"YES don't make mistakes!"

I've seen them about 30 times since then.

[bigbassdrum]

Tormato tour, September 3, 1978 New Haven Veterans Memorial Coliseum

It was in the Round; I was seated close to the '50-yard line', about 5 rows up. It was fantastic; I was eye-level with the band. All the people with floor seats had to look up at the band.

I went back for their second leg in May 1979 - I was in the rafters for that one!

I remember the Birotron; it was 'big news' in that Dave Biro lived in the next town from me, and the local paper had an article about it.
https://news.google.com/newspapers?n...,1542226&hl=en

[philsunset]

November 16,1971 at the Eastown Theater in Detroit. Yes opened for ELP. I still have a short (2 or 3 minute) silent 8 mm film that I shot. Mostly of ELP I think. I haven't watched it in years.

[Sunlight Caller]

My post was referencing U.S. tours. Not sure about other parts of the world. They were pretty much playing the same venues here on "Drama" that they played for "Tormato", although many of them were not sold out. I remember when I saw the "Drama" tour the arena was only about 2/3rds full.

I was away at University when Drama toured the UK, and so I caught the show in a smaller regional theatre, it was't the most appreciative Yes crowd ever (to put it mildly). I can't say I really enjoyed that one, mostly because of the people around me, founder members of the "No Jon / No Yes" club

[arturs]

Drama tour, Bethlehem PA Sept 1980. My first bona fide rock concert. It didn't matter that I knew very little of their music: only the songs you heard on the radio. By the time I left I thought they were the greatest thing ever. I couldn't believe that people could sing and play that well, that five guys could make such a splendid racket. I was particularly impressed by the vocal harmonies which is kind of funny because it was with Trevor Horn of course...

Next time I saw them was the Big Generator tour. By far the worst Yes show I've seen--they were just not 'on' that night. And then seven more times from '97 through '04. Finally, the Yestival in '13. Every one great in its own way other than the BG show.

[Lopez]

November 16,1971 at the Eastown Theater in Detroit. Yes opened for ELP.

Mine was right around that time at the Philly Spectrum with Yes opening for ELP. I had read just before I saw that show that Rick Wakeman was in the band and Tony Kaye was out. I was rather disappointed to hear that as I really liked Tony in Yes and really liked Rick in the Strawbs. That all changed when I saw the show. Mr. Rick was just amazing. He paid a little homage to Keith Emerson by hooking his knee under the smaller Hammond (not the C3) and tilting it back. I knew the Strawbs were a hard drinking band and saw that Rick was part of that legend, for, by the end of Yes' hour-long set, he must have had 9 or 10 empty beer bottles on top of the C3.

[pete100ca]

Summer 1976 Relayer/Solo Tour, Colt Park, Hartford, CT. 14 and my first concert. Mind blown.

[g.bremer]

Mine was the 90125 tour at Nassau Coliseum. Awful place for a concert IMO, but a great show

[cannygoodlike]

I got into Yes as a teenager not long after they had split, following Drama. 90125 was a disappointment to me and I wasn't inspired enough to try to see them on that tour.

So the first time (sort of) was ABWH, at Wembley Arena, 28 Oct 1989.

I passed up on the chance of seeing the Union shows, mainly because the album was so bad. I should have realised that they would play older stuff.

The first time I *really* saw Yes was 26 Feb 1998 at Manchester Apollo and that was a magical show for me. Although I had retained a soft spot for them since the few years in the early 80's when I was obsessively into them, I had sort of rediscovered them in the late 90's as a result of the internet and the excitement about the SLO shows, so this 1998 tour came at the perfect time for me. I saw them a further two times on the tour, both in London, at the Hammersmith Odeon.

Since then, I think I have made it to at least one show on every UK tour, with the exception of one of the post-Jon tours in recent years. In addition to that first one in Manchester, my other favourite was probably the symphonic show, also in Manchester, which was the one and only time I saw GoD performed live.

[spellbound]

1974 Tales Tour. Fantastic!

[Johnkil]

The first time was the Union tour at Nassau Coliseum. I nearly fell over when they did Awaken. I've seen them on each tour since then. I got my girlfriend ( now wife) to go to the masterworks show at Saratoga with me. She thought Igor was cute but was entranced by Chris. She was amazed at the way he played. She'd never heard anything like it.
The last time was July 6, 2014 at the Egg in Albany. He was still, and always will be, amazing.

[Sputnik]

6/18/79, Springfield MA, in the round. Just two days before the filmed the footage that made the Philadelphia DVD. Blew my head off and I've never been the same.

Bill

[mozo-pg]

April 1979, in the round. Recorded opening (not Firebird IIRC), opening guitar riff and rhythmic hits of Siberian Khatru mostly in darkness. Lights to full as entire band enters in tempo, stage begins to slowly revolve.

Still gives me goosebumps.

This one.

[Mister Triscuits]

Sadly, my one and only Yes show was on the Union tour. The humanity!

Hey, that's not bad. I remember being particularly thrilled when Rabin, Kaye, and White left the stage, leaving the Fragile lineup to play "Long Distance Runaround" and I realized I was seeing that band. And "Awaken" played by the octet was pretty glorious.

My own first was April 1973, the first US show of the second leg of the Close to the Edge tour. It's the same show that they wrote about in Rolling Stone (the issue with the big picture of Wakeman at Disneyland on page 1). There was some technical issue that delayed the show by a couple of hours, and Yes was co-headlining with Poco, so it was a long wait before they took the stage. The crowd entertained themselves throwing Frisbees and beach balls around while waiting for the show to start. (Who brings Frisbees and beach balls to an indoor concert?) When the lights went down for Yes and Firebird tape began to swell, people throughout the arena held up lit matches and lighters. That of course became a standard ritual at concerts for years to come, but it was my first time seeing it. The show itself was much like the ones documented on Progeny, opening with a ripping "Siberian Khatru."

[Mstove]

Alpine Valley in 1984. It was my first "big" concert of any sort and it was fantastic. Wasn't until the Union tour I got to see Steve and Chris together, but they were really playing well on that 90125 era tour (I'm glad to have listened to a bootleg in recent years to confirm it wasn't just teenage excitement).

[rushfan]

36 years ago today, June 30, 1979. The last date of the Tormato tour and the last show with Jon and Rick until 1991. An amazing night for this 16 year old. How appropriate that today I bought a ticket for the Yes/Toto show in Atlantic City this August. That will be a special night.

[Prognosticator]

Feb 1974--TFTO tour--MSG--set list--CTTE--TFTO--Roundabout..
early 70's volume, speed and power---'nuff said..

[strawberrybrick]

If we're counting ABWH, then Chastain Park in Atlanta..

I remember that show! Jon, Bill and Rick were backstage before the show, jovial as all, Rick with his fly open. Great show!

[ItalProgRules]

And "Awaken" played by the octet was pretty glorious.


I really love that version. Easily the highlight of the whole UNION shebang for me.

And props to Trevor Rabin for his uncharacteristically subtle little additions on second guitar.

[Jeremy Bender]

June 21, 1975 at the Hollywood Bowl, one the first big concerts I went to. I was 15, it was a huge deal for me. Unfortunately, I'd only heard Relayer, Fragile and Tales From Topographic Oceans at that point, so the the Close to the Edge stuff was a blur. Damn.

Setlist from the incredible Forgotten Yesterdays website:

Firebird Suite
Sound Chaser
Close To The Edge
To Be Over
Gates Of Delirium
Your Move
Mood For A Day
Long Distance Runaround
Moraz Solo
Clap
And You And I
Ritual
Encores:
Roundabout
Sweet Dreams

Ritual was incredible, still one of my concert highlights even 40 years later.

[ronmac]

June 21, 1975 at the Hollywood Bowl, one the first big concerts I went to. I was 15, it was a huge deal for me. Unfortunately, I'd only heard Relayer, Fragile and Tales From Topographic Oceans at that point, so the the Close to the Edge stuff was a blur. Damn.

Setlist from the incredible Forgotten Yesterdays website:

Firebird Suite
Sound Chaser
Close To The Edge
To Be Over
Gates Of Delirium
Your Move
Mood For A Day
Long Distance Runaround
Moraz Solo
Clap
And You And I
Ritual
Encores:
Roundabout
Sweet Dreams

Ritual was incredible, still one of my concert highlights even 40 years later.

That recording is floating around out there, as well. I think the boot was originally called The Yes White Album, or something like that. First time I heard the acoustic LDR.

[Mister Triscuits]

That recording is floating around out there, as well. I think the boot was originally called The Yes White Album, or something like that. First time I heard the acoustic LDR.

The White Yes Album was a Fragile-era show with Bruford, I think from Europe. The Hollywood Bowl '75 boot was titled Sorcerer's Apprentice and had a black & white cover based on Roger Dean's Greenslade artwork.

[itserik]

Oct 10th, 1980, Spectrum, Philadelphia. I was a huge Yes fan, and Jon Anderson fan. It was a bummer that my first Yes experience was sans Jon. But there was Chris commandeering the band. Bigger than life.

Setlist:

Apocalypse
Does It Really Happen?
Yours Is No Disgrace
Into the Lens
Clap
And You and I
Go Through This
Man in the White Car Suite
(Geoff Downes solo)
We Can Fly From Here
(Buggles cover)
Tempus Fugit
Amazing Grace / Whitefish
Machine Messiah
Encore:
Starship Trooper
Roundabout

[chalkpie]

8/18/89

ABWH at Darien Lake, NY