YES UK tour kicks off in Glasgow (set list spoiler!)

[Dan Roth]

Looks like John Wetton was in attendance last night, he tweeted about it.

Sherwood posted a photo - I would never have recognized Wetton:

[Scott Bails]

Wow! He's really lost weight. Hope he's doing well. With all of this bad news in 2016, he's the guy I'm most worried about.

[Sunlight Caller]

That's a great pic!

Thanks Scott, if you take enough you sometimes get lucky!

[Sunlight Caller]

Sherwood posted a photo - I would never have recognized Wetton:

Wow he looks well, I hope he is. When Steve Howe announced that JW was there I looked around after but I wouldn't have recognised him either. I was wearing my Red t-shirt too [emoji1]

[Sean]

Did he dye his hair or is that a wig?

[happytheman]

So has Trevor performed with the band yet? Saw a photo on Billy's Facebook newsfeed of Trevor signing a poster.. He mentioned playing RAH this evening.. could be that's the first performance with Trevor.. curious as to how that all went down..

[cannygoodlike]

So has Trevor performed with the band yet? Saw a photo on Billy's Facebook newsfeed of Trevor signing a poster.. He mentioned playing RAH this evening.. could be that's the first performance with Trevor.. curious as to how that all went down..

He sang Tempus Fugit in Oxford last night.

[Obscured]

Billy Sherwood was indeed heroic in the Squire role, never missing a note, and this was a Squire heavy set too.

He does a great job here.

[Gizmotron]

He does a great job here.

Indeed! Wonderful bass work. And Alan sounds good too.

[bondegezou]

I saw the band in Oxford two nights ago and in London last night. Great shows: I think they're playing better than when they last came to UK a couple of years ago. Sherwood appears to have upped the tempos.

Sherwood generally is doing great. I know many are critical of his solo output, as I can be at times, but I don't think anyone better fills Squire's shoes on stage. Billy understands the bass parts and he plays them fantastically. The opening of "Does It Really Happen?" is on YouTube. Which is a good thing when you're showcasing Drama, such a bass heavy album. One very minor complaint, I don't like what he does on "Würm"; not certain why, might just be me. White is keeping up on drums: he's playing better than recent tours, although I think he's simplifying parts in places.

I know some people don't like Downes, but he's playing fine. He has good sound choices. You know those fast arpeggiated bits at the end of "Heart of the Sunrise"? They always sound a bit cheesy to me when Wakeman does them, but Downes has got this slightly different tone that I much preferred. On the other hand, he can still stutter on those fast runs in "Khatru".

Davison is great on the old Anderson pieces. He can hit and sustain notes that Anderson can't these days. It's the Horn songs where Davison isn't always quite as good a fit. He shined on "Run Through the Light", but I don't think he quite gets the enunciation and attitude right on "Into the Lens" or particularly "White Car". Davison is also busy as an instrumentalist, doing bits of acoustic guitar (e.g. "Machine Messiah"), random percussion and even back-up on bass during "the fish".

Oddly, it's the small pieces that the band struggle on. I'm quibbling here: most of the show was great, lovely performances of "Does It Really Happen?", "Siberian Khatru", "Roundabout" etc., but "White Car" doesn't quite work live -- better in London than Oxford -- and they still can't really manage "5% for Nothing"! That said, Downes' performance of "Cans and Brahms" is much improved from boots from previous years. Sherwood on "the fish", with Davison, Downes and White, was top notch.

They've been playing around with the set a bit. SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They were playing "Don't Kill the Whale", but had switched to "Going for the One" by Oxford, and it was a very good "Going for the One", and then an excellent "Soon" in London instead. They were also playing all of Drama, then some other songs, intermission, all of Fragile, some other songs, encore, but they've switched to intermission/other songs/Fragile. That works nicely: the main set ends with "Heart of the Sunrise". But you get this slightly odd juxtaposition of two big hits in the middle, "Owner" followed by "Roundabout".

Other highlights were a lovely "Time and a Word" after Drama, dedicated to Pete Banks, a nice change of pace and style, Davison excellent on vocals. But what I was most excited about was Trevor Horn's return to singing with Yes!! Woo! He just sang "Tempus Fugit" at both shows, although one report had that they'd rehearsed "Into the Lens". Lots of people I met remembered 1980 and were dreading Horn's vocals. I've, oddly, seen Horn singing live probably more than any other singer in recent years, with several Producers/The Buggles/Trevor Horn Band shows in London, so I was unworried! He was great. As far as I am concerned, Yes should play all of Drama at every show and Horn should do all the vocals. Horn looked pretty nervous in Oxford, less so in London. He was gracious and spoke fondly of Howe/Downes/White and Squire, but also praised Sherwood and Davison. Davison did backing vocals, and then came up to the front of the stage to sing the end of the song together.

Henry

[JJ88]

^I don't at all dislike Downes' playing per se, only on Wakeman's more flowery stuff which he struggles with IMHO. But he's a different type of player altogether, and it's not really fair to judge him on that basis.

The HOTS clip was not bad...I've always found Alan White a little plodding on this track anyway compared with Bruford, to be honest, so that's not a new development.

[Farpoint Kevin]

I seem to be hearing a higher percentage of positive reviews this time around. Good to hear!

[arj]

[Paulrus]

Wow -- that was fun. That guy sounded just like Benoit David!

[Steve983]

Fabulous show in London last night and the surprise inclusion of Soon was just awe inspiring. Despite the loss of Chris Squire Yes have found a new lease of life, he must have been looking down smiling at the band he co founded all those many years ago. The nay sayers have no idea what they're missing.

[bondegezou]

Oxford show on Dime: http://www.dimeadozen.org/torrents-d....php?id=561030 Possibly the best boot from the tour so far, say some.

Henry

[gallen1964]

Really enjoyed RAH last night, thought the Drama material actually worked best, but also thought Soon was a treat. Sherwood did a great job, White has clearly economised his playing, not sure his take on 5% works! great to have Trevor Horn, though hoped he might sing White Car and Into the Lens which I think have great vocals.
Last time I saw Yes I think was early 2000s in Croydon if I m not mistaken, but this was a great show , I hope they bring Tales from Topographic Oceans later.

[Obscured]

"SSOTS", Paris-

[calyx]

Saw the Paris and Brussels gigs, and generally concur with Henry's assessment above. Billy Sherwood deserves kudos for his outstanding performance on bass. He totally nailed Chris's parts. I got a chance to congratulate him in person and I'm happy for him that he, albeit in circumstances he probably wishes had been different, is at last playing a role in Yes that everyone will agree is perfect for him. I too have never been a huge fan of his songwriting and various projects, partly because I think he's a lacklustre vocalist, but he's really doing Chris Squire proud, wherever he is, with his performance on this tour.