YES Announces 50th Anniversary Tour

**Finn_McCool** · 09-06-2017

At least Alan White will finally get to play a setlist that is mostly from his time with the band. I felt bad for him that he did not get to play on the Tales /Drama tour in the US. (I thought Jay Schellen did a good job keeping the tempos up and hitting all the marks while he was filling in for Alan White. A drummer friend of mine claimed that he made "loads" of mistakes, but I only heard one part where he simplified things a bit and it did not really affect the song.) I have not heard Dylan Howe's playing yet, but if he sounds a bit like Bill Bruford, that seems like it could help the Bruford-era material. There are those who felt Alan White never really had the right "feel" for the Bruford-era material. I believe I heard that Bill Bruford was Dylan Howe's first drum teacher, so it seems there might be a bit of lineage there. T'would be good, methinks, to have a White-style drummer play the White-era material and a Bruford-style drummer play the Bruford-era material.

**Paulrus** · 09-06-2017

Originally Posted by Finn_McCool

I have not heard Dylan Howe's playing yet, but if he sounds a bit like Bill Bruford, that seems like it could help the Bruford-era material.

Dylan's playing is interesting. For starters, on the current tour he plays by himself on "Yours Is No Disgrace" and "South Side of the Sky" so you really get a feel for his approach versus Alan's.

But while his playing is closer to Bill's than Alan has ever done I wouldn't say he's copying Bill's parts. He seems to be threading a needle between the two styles, bringing in quirky bits to give the songs a certain "Bill-ness", while also providing a steady backbeat that helps drive everything along.

This video gives you a pretty good look (ignore the silly editing.) You can see where he jazzes things up some and where he just lays down the backbeat. I just wish they had relaxed the tempo a bit in the middle to let the whole thing breathe a bit more.

**bondegezou** · 09-08-2017

Originally Posted by Paulrus

You can see where he jazzes things up some and where he just lays down the backbeat. I just wish they had relaxed the tempo a bit in the middle to let the whole thing breathe a bit more.

Bloody Yes: always playing songs at too fast a tempo. Grr...

Henry

**bondegezou** · 09-08-2017

As someone pointed out on Yesfans.com, Europe hasn't had Tales and it hasn't had the Yestival set, so with Yes playing by themselves, the obvious thing to do would be the Yestival set, with the Tales material as well. The tour poster also shows 90125, so add on "Owner". Something close to that seems plausible to me.

Dylan has said he'd like to continue working with Yes in 2018. Alan has said his recovery is going better following a second operation. I would guess they've asked Dylan to keep dates free, but they might not decide until nearer the time, see how Alan's back is.

Henry

**JJ88** · 09-08-2017

I think the band is lagging a little behind Dylan Howe at times...but a credible performance of the song.

**Paulrus** · 09-08-2017

Originally Posted by bondegezou

Bloody Yes: always playing songs at too fast a tempo. Grr...

I know -- I commented in my initial review that this was the first time in forever that I felt that everything was being rushed! I found that especially strange considering there was nobody else on the bill when I saw them in SF. But they started later than normal anyways (8:30) and were done by 10:15 PM. I could only assume they wanted to stick with their rehearsed program and scheduling because not doing so would introduce too much uncertainty into the evening's activities for everyone. Plus I'm sure all the lighting cues, any backing tracks Geoff is triggering, etc, are all based on the faster tempos and pacing.

**Dan Roth** · 02-02-2018

Statement from Alan White:

MESSAGE FROM ALAN WHITE
After battling an illness for the past two months, I'm happy to say I'm once again sitting behind my kit on stage with the other members of YES for the 'Cruise to the Edge.' The wonderful doctors at Virginia Mason Hospital, Seattle, had in November detected a bacterial infection in my joints that severely limited my mobility. I'm pleased to announce that I'm making good progress in recovery and looking forward to performing in a limited capacity on the Cruise. Playing drums has been rewarding physical therapy but it will take a little time to build my strength to full capacity. My friend and comrade Jay Schellen will be helping me and we're fortunate to have Tony Kaye join us for this journey. Together we hope to bring the outstanding musical performances our fans have come to expect over the years. I will look forward to seeing all of you on the ship.
Anchors away!
Alan

**mozo-pg** · 02-02-2018

Originally Posted by Dan Roth

Statement from Alan White:

MESSAGE FROM ALAN WHITE
After battling an illness for the past two months, I'm happy to say I'm once again sitting behind my kit on stage with the other members of YES for the 'Cruise to the Edge.' The wonderful doctors at Virginia Mason Hospital, Seattle, had in November detected a bacterial infection in my joints that severely limited my mobility. I'm pleased to announce that I'm making good progress in recovery and looking forward to performing in a limited capacity on the Cruise. Playing drums has been rewarding physical therapy but it will take a little time to build my strength to full capacity. My friend and comrade Jay Schellen will be helping me and we're fortunate to have Tony Kaye join us for this journey. Together we hope to bring the outstanding musical performances our fans have come to expect over the years. I will look forward to seeing all of you on the ship.
Anchors away!
Alan

Great news! He sounds so optimistic/positive.

**Scott Bails** · 02-02-2018

Good to hear that he's feeling better.

**DocProgger** · 02-02-2018

So is Kaye supplementing Downes, or replacing him?

**Scott Bails** · 02-02-2018

Supplementing. Downes just tweeted about how well rehearsals have been going with Kaye.

**bondegezou** · 02-03-2018

Originally Posted by mozo-pg

Great news! He sounds so optimistic/positive.

Although bad news that his health appears to have gone backwards. Talk a few months ago was that the band would go back to a single drummer format with White having recovered from back problems. This appears to be some new joint issue.

Henry

**ronmac** · 02-03-2018

Originally Posted by bondegezou

Although bad news that his health appears to have gone backwards. Talk a few months ago was that the band would go back to a single drummer format with White having recovered from back problems. This appears to be some new joint issue.

Henry

Or, they simply misunderstood the condition and wrongly projected recovery time. I think it's actually good news and a step forward that they have been able to identify and treat the problem.

**bondegezou** · 02-03-2018

Originally Posted by ronmac

Or, they simply misunderstood the condition and wrongly projected recovery time. I think it's actually good news and a step forward that they have been able to identify and treat the problem.

He had a disc injury in his back previously. That's not obviously something you'd confuse with a bacterial infection in the joints, although maybe it's all connected. It's still the case that White was getting better, and now seems to have had a set back. We'll find out soon how much of the set he plays on the Cruise to the Edge.

Henry

**ronmac** · 02-03-2018

Originally Posted by bondegezou

He had a disc injury in his back previously. That's not obviously something you'd confuse with a bacterial infection in the joints, although maybe it's all connected. It's still the case that White was getting better, and now seems to have had a set back. We'll find out soon how much of the set he plays on the Cruise to the Edge.

Henry

For a setback, he seems pretty relieved and upbeat.

**Steve983** · 02-03-2018

Hope Alan's ok.

If there's one thing I'd like Yes to play this year it would be The Big Medley. Since Yes came back in the mid to late 90's I've been lucky enough to seem them play most things on my bucket list but if they resurrected this gem from the Tormatour I could die happy (not any time too soon of course!).

**Paulrus** · 02-03-2018

I'd prefer Dylan Howe to Jay Schellen as a new Yes drummer, but I get that Jay is closer to Alan in style.

Anyways, I hope Alan can continue as long as he wants, but I do think this is the beginning of the end of his tenure in the band (perhaps also playing drums professionally period.)

**popeyebonaparte** · 02-03-2018

I also prefer Dylan Howe but maybe he's joined YesFeat

**roylayer** · 02-03-2018

Originally Posted by Paulrus

Anyways, I hope Alan can continue as long as he wants, but I do think this is the beginning of the end of his tenure in the band (perhaps also playing drums professionally period.)

Perhaps, but if he and the band are OK with having 2 drummers indefinitely, that could work too. The Moody Blues have had a second drummer playing alongside Graeme Edge since the mid '80s.

**bondegezou** · 02-04-2018

Originally Posted by roylayer

Perhaps, but if he and the band are OK with having 2 drummers indefinitely, that could work too. The Moody Blues have had a second drummer playing alongside Graeme Edge since the mid '80s.

Compared to King Crimson or David Byrne, a mere 2 drummers is nothing.

Henry

**Luckie** · 02-04-2018

Originally Posted by Dan Roth

Statement from Alan White:

MESSAGE FROM ALAN WHITE
After battling an illness for the past two months, I'm happy to say I'm once again sitting behind my kit on stage with the other members of YES for the 'Cruise to the Edge.' The wonderful doctors at Virginia Mason Hospital, Seattle, had in November detected a bacterial infection in my joints that severely limited my mobility. I'm pleased to announce that I'm making good progress in recovery and looking forward to performing in a limited capacity on the Cruise. Playing drums has been rewarding physical therapy but it will take a little time to build my strength to full capacity. My friend and comrade Jay Schellen will be helping me and we're fortunate to have Tony Kaye join us for this journey. Together we hope to bring the outstanding musical performances our fans have come to expect over the years. I will look forward to seeing all of you on the ship.
Anchors away!
Alan

Bruford would have known it's anchors aweigh.

Joking aside, I hope Alan's recovery is continuing. If this bacterial infection is septic arthritis, it's serious. Obviously good that it was diagnosed more than two months ago, rather than just now.

Watching and listening to him when I was in the front row for a revolving stage Tormatour gig was one of the most exciting concert experiences of my life. He was an unstoppable engine at his peak.

**bRETT** · 02-04-2018

Originally Posted by roylayer

Perhaps, but if he and the band are OK with having 2 drummers indefinitely, that could work too. The Moody Blues have had a second drummer playing alongside Graeme Edge since the mid '80s.

Bless his heart and all, but Graeme doesn't make much of a pretense of being the drummer. On the last tour he used brushes so he was basically inaudible. Hes there because fans love him and want to see hm onstage, but if Alan is there, I assume he wants to be making a real musical contribution.