FWIW....from the Pollstar website, I guess better late than neverhttps://www.pollstar.com/article/pro...america-138448
FWIW....from the Pollstar website, I guess better late than never
From the above feature:Originally Posted by doneg
FWIW....from the Pollstar website, I guess better late than never
“We’ve already got plans for future years,” says Howe. “The younger guys in the band give us a fresh balance, but I’ve certainly got the energy. I still love to play guitar and I’m still playing well. Fingers crossed, we’ll be doing this for another few years because I don’t believe in farewell tours.
The show I saw was 6pm sharp.. I passed thru the gate at 6:02 and they had started
7:00 pm for this one. It was indoors. No curfew
Attended last night's show in Irving (Dallas) Texas. Good show overall. Long drive back, so still too tired to post a long description. Will do that later today. Cheers!
I was there last night too. Great show and I felt all the bands were on very good form. Karn Evil was a little rough at the beginning but the set took off soon afterward. Arthur Brown was a cool addition. John Lodge had a good setlist. Asia was most interesting with Bumblefoot but I thought he did pretty good covering the vocals considering it is no easy task to sing like Wetton, Lake "Lucky Man" and Horn "Video Killed the Radio Star". Wonder why they don't have Payne come back full time if the band is going to keep going.
Yes sounded great and I was impressed with the setlist choices. "Gates" was the highlight for me - they really did pull it off. All in all a great show. I don't know if the classic prog bands have a responsibility to promote new bands but it would have been nice to bring along a new(er) band for the ride and give them a short setlist. I know Yes had Moon Safari open for them on a European leg. Something like that would have been nice - because the show did have a bit of an oldies tour feel to it with the quick short setlists of old hits. It was a very good turnout and would be good exposure for a younger band. Heck bring The Flower Kings - it fits right in with the Royal Affair name!
First time at this Toyota Music Factory. Wow is it an expensive venue! I'll plan better next time so I don't have to pay $20 parking. I passed on any of the drinks that were over $15 for a beer - yikes. I think the tight security at the entrance isn't really about safety and more to prevent people from bringing in their own bottles.
Glad I went - see it if you can
Bridges very burnt there, I believe.
Henry
Where Are They Now? Yes news: http://www.bondegezou.co.uk/wh_now.htm
Blogdegezou, the accompanying blog: http://bondegezou.blogspot.com/
probably an understatement.
Probably?
Bridges? What bridges? I don't see no bridges...
Now that the "Royal Affair" tour has ended (yesterday in the Saratoga California Mountain Winery where I saw them in 2016), what is next for this YES?
I'm pretty sure Steve will go back to his solo trio and stuff, Billy back to his production studios but I would almost definitely say that this was Alan White's Swan song. He barely made it through this tour, will he keep this loyalty but painful presence? So many drummers have retired before (Peart, Bruford, Kerslake, Chester Thompson, Phil Collins (from drumming) and more) so it is not something unheard of or unforgivable. Maybe Charlie Watts' drums parts are so simply basic can still hang on but Yes parts are far more demanding and Alan knows it.
So next February another Cruise and then, think of another gimmick for the following summer. It's great to still have a Yes but the farewell theme sure looks like that final gimmick.
I may be older but, I saw live: Led Zeppelin, Yes, ELP, Jethro Tull, King Crimson, Fish, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Marillion, IQ, UK, Saga, Rush, Supertramp, Pink Floyd, Genesis with Peter Gabriel, Steve Hackett, Triumph, Magma, Goblin, Porcupine Tree, The Musical Box, Uriah Heep, Dio, David Bowie, Iron Maiden, Queen with Freddie Mercury, George Harrison, Paul McCartney, Elton John, Eric Clapton & Steve Winwood, Steely Dan, Dream theater, Joe Satriani, you get the idea..
My theory why "Imagine" was in the setlist was as a tribute to Alan. I expect to hear his retirement announcement any time now.
But yeah, when Neil Peart was asked "Why can't you keep going? Charlie Watts is still touring." His reply was, "Sure, I can keep playing as a Charlie Watts type drummer, but I can't keep playing as a Neil Peart type drummer."
I'm still hoping the next tour includes all of Relayer, and that playing "Gates" on this tour was to get it ready. 1 down, 2 to go.
I'm holding out for the Wilson-mixed 5.1 super-duper walletbuster special anniversary extra adjectives edition.
Perhaps Yes will enter another "Mystery Period".
Now that is a great way to go out! All Relayer (with guest Patrick Moraz) and all of Yes album or Yesterdays (with Tony Kaye), I'm with you on those hopes...
I'm still hoping the next tour includes all of Relayer, and that playing "Gates" on this tour was to get it ready. 1 down, 2 to go.
Time to rerecord the Paris Sessions as a new album!
LOL
So awful....
Death inspires me like a dog inspires a rabbit
My review of the final show of the tour:
I went with two friends of mine (a male couple, D and J) and my husband. It was nice to get the carpool parking rate for that, let me tell you.
D is a huge fan of the Moody Blues and a casual Yes fan. My husband only knows anything about these bands because of me. J, similarly, knows only what D shares occasionally, and is mostly into stage musicals and novelty acts. Neither J nor my husband are prog rock fans, like, at ALL, so I was trepidatious, but they were both good-natured and willing to give it a shot.
The trip to the Saratoga Mountain Winery is a long, steep, twisty climb up a narrow road to the top of a mountain. (Steve would later shout during the Yes show, "We'd like to thank our crew, because frankly, their job is hell! I mean, YOU drove up here!!") When we got there, we'd hoped it wouldn't be as hot as it was elsewhere in the Bay Area, but nope... 89 degrees. J had a water bottle but they made him empty it, so in a huff he returned it to the car. We got through the line and hung around the Roger Dean exhibit. We saw the man himself, but I do not trust myself not to act like an idiot around "celebrities" so I just observed him quietly out of the corner of my eye. He seemed in a good humor despite the heat, although maybe they should have put his table UNDER the tent instead of just outside it. I dunno, his prints aren't going to run the risk of sunburn and dehydration, are they?
By the way, the view is really incredible up there... you can see all of San Jose, so we looked at that for a bit before finding our seats. We were in the bleachers far up but facing the stage... and facing a bright, setting sun as well. We found some shade on a nearby pathway and stayed there until the show started. The sun was just RIGHT in our eyes for the first two shows, and it was still blisteringly hot during Carl Palmer's and John Lodge's sets. By the time Asia came on, the sun had mercifully gone over the horizon and the temperature dropped dramatically to a much more tolerable 68 degrees F.
As soon as Carl Palmer came on, both J and my husband were impressed. He was a wonderfully amiable, garrulous "front man," very charming. They were also stunned by his drumming, which really is the centerpiece of the ELP Legacy show. ("This is what good posture gets you," D commented.) I'm not really as wild about the guitar interpretations of ELP's catalogue. It just loses something, although it was definitely an A+ effort. Arthur Brown was a great showman. His interpretations of ELP songs is... different. He goes off tune and wails on weird notes, but I kind of appreciated it for what it was. All the costume changes and showmanship impressed me enough, especially on his signature tune, "Fire." Carl broke a drumhead after that one (the audience went "Awwww...") but they fixed it quickly and went into "Fanfare for the Common Man," which included Palmer's standard drum solo show, which, again, D and J really dug, so that made me happy.
Arthur Brown delivered a rather quirky introduction to John Lodge after that ("John Lodge's band plays like a band," whatever that means). Lodge came on with his group. and began with a pretty straight ahead "Steppin' In A Slide Zone." (D: "I already like this better than the album version.") They ran through a truncated "Saved by the Music" (no second verse), a beautifully done "Legend of a Mind," an okay "Gemini Dream," a stupendous "Isn't Life Strange," an okay "I'm Just a Singer" and a marvelous "Ride My Seesaw" with Jon Davison. You could see John and Jon D had onstage chemistry, which will come up again later. The guitarist was distractingly fiddling with his pedals/monitor/thing at his feet through the show but for the most part the musicians were fine and delivered the goods.
A VERY quick bathroom break later and Asia was on. There was some kerfuffle about our seats with some neighboring people who were probably trying to squat, and that made me miss bits of "Go" and "Don't Cry," which annoyed me. The sun was finally down so we could stop shielding our faces with our tickets. After "Radio Star" (a song J knew! Hurrah!), "The Smile Has Left Your Eyes" and "Lucky Man," Steve Howe came on. One thing about the Saratoga area is it's rife with mosquitos during the summer. I'm a horrible person, because I was vaguely amused by Steve swatting at them between guitar chords. Hey, welcome to our world, Mr. Howe. They killed it on all four songs from Asia's first album. Some dorks were throwing a ball around in the audience and I was terrified it was going to go sailing towards the musicians' heads, but fortunately the ball got confiscated before it went too far. I... think I'm not crazy about Bumblefoot's vocals on Asia's songs. He's very low and husky, though at least he can clearly sing. (Man, what they must have had to do to convince Billy to … not sing lead for Asia.) I couldn't say he had the audience in the palm of his hand, either... J didn't think he was that charismatic compared to Carl Palmer. But he did all right, and he provided the intensity that all the songs needed.
A longer break, and D and J got something to eat during that time. A prerecorded "Firebird Suite" later and it's "No Opportunity Necessary" and "Tempus Fugit."
Before I go on, I'm going to say something controversial for this forum. Brace yourself. Seriously.
YES FUCKING SOUNDED AWESOME.
The sound mix itself, for one thing, was incredible. It had dramatically improved from the sometimes slushy sound of the opening acts, and you could hear the space around all the instruments. Downes had everything nailed. Howe was perfect. Billy Sherwood and Jay Schellen were right on every note and beat. Davison was solid. And get this... Alan White did great. No slow tempos, no dragging, no missed cues. There was just not a wrong moment during the entire show. Well, okay, one, but I could easily forgive it, and I'll get to it when it comes up.
"Going for the One" was next, and it felt like the pedal steel had the "grittier" sound that I associate with that song, which made it excellent. One thing I did observe is that Downes actually individually played each note of the upward glissando before the third verse, instead of just running his fingers across the keys like I've seen him do on some of the YT videos. He seems conscientious of getting the experience right, and it didn't go unnoticed. . Jon Davison gushed about the band, then showed off some T-shirt someone had given him, and then a spot-on "I've Seen All Good People" followed. After "Onward," Steve did his solo piece, which I believe is called "Second Initial." It's quite nice, very "Clap"-like. He got a deserved standing O for it.
Then came "Siberian Khatru," which went a little longer than I might have wanted, but who's going to stop the remaining classic band member when he wants to solo? Finally, Alan White enters the stage for "America." Folks, he nailed it. It was fine, well-done. (J and my husband knew this song from the Paul Simon original. J was nonplussed at all the instrumental fluffery that was added to it, though... he seemed a bit puzzled as to why they would do that.)
No "Rhythm of Love" or any Yes-West song this time, though. It was time for the centerpiece, "The Gates of Delirium." J and D had moved off to stand by a railing to give their butts a rest from the hard seats, but I stayed with my husband and watched this extraordinary experience with him. This is where the one slightly wrong thing comes in -- I don't know why Geoff comes in two bars early with the keyboard battle theme. It sounds wrong to me, like he thinks he's supposed to begin with the rest of the band, even though he isn't. But apart from that -- my God. Heresy time, folks... I think this actually kicked my ass more than the version I saw with the Jon A/Tom Brislin band and the orchestra. The battle sequence (apart from Geoff's miscue) just... hit everything right. Jay Schellen's drum bonanza before the victory theme blew my mind. "Soon" was pure heaven. It just felt (mostly) crystal-perfect from beginning to end. I had to give it a standing O. Even my husband turned to me and said "I'm really enjoying this!"
It wasn't long before the encore... I think there had been a delay somewhere so they had to wrap up quickly. Steve Howe made the introduction, and then John Lodge (minus bass) and his keyboard player came in to help out on "Imagine." Davison and Lodge alternated lines and had a very palsy demeanor which I thought was kind of cute. And the song worked. It didn't drag, Howe had a nice solo where he alternated between guitar and pedal steel, and it felt very honest. One funny moment is that one weird punter in the front was clapping his hands wildly over his head at the beginning of the song, and Jon D, with a smile, gestured at him to stop.
A serviceable "Roundabout" followed, and then, to my surprise, they launched into "Starship Trooper." At this point I was getting a bit tired. Also, people were starting to leave already, but the theater was still mostly full for the final song. Alan White was there for the full encore and... did fine. I think one thing that was different is that Jay Schellen was playing some synth congas during the "Along the drifting cloud" section of "Roundabout." It seemed like Alan was holding down the backbeat but not doing any rumbling tom toms or anything. I let that go, honestly. Anyway, the "Wurm" section was left at an economical length, and the show was over. 2/3 of the theater was left, but all those who were left all stood up and cheered. D and J pointed out the van visible on the lower level, and we all imagined the band and crew were anxious to get down this treacherous mountain. (CONTINUED)
Last edited by ThomasKDye; 07-29-2019 at 07:39 PM.
"Arf." -- Frank Zappa, "Beauty Knows No Pain" (live version)
That said... what a show. I haven't been to a concert in nearly five years and this was a blast. Every song was a treat, there weren't any lulls or dry spots, or any moments where I felt anything less than full respect and admiration for the musicians on stage. (Though, Guitarist for John Lodge Band, leave that thing at your feet alone.) You honestly won't be able to get how good this show was from a phone camera. All of them were on point, everything was mixed beautifully, and every musician had their parts ready to launch from moment one. D loved it, and both my husband and J enjoyed it despite not knowing more than half of the material.
I may have been on the "Alan White's swan song" fence for some time, based on what I'd seen previously. However, in the instances where he played, he still had it. Maybe he might take a page from Neil Peart and say "Yeah, but I don't want to lose it on stage." But if he recovers to his own satisfaction, he may be able to pull it together to keep Yes at this level of quality. I think Jay Schellen clearly has more energy, but... I'll give Alan the benefit of the doubt.
All in all, a wonderful show that I'm glad I saw. The only negatives were the sun in our eyes (no one's fault but the people who built the theater)… the sound of the three acts before Yes not being as beautifully done as Yes's sound itself... and some rather irritating audience members. That'll all be forgotten when I remember the high-caliber takes on some of my favorite Yes songs.
"Arf." -- Frank Zappa, "Beauty Knows No Pain" (live version)
Thanks for that great review!
That was a detailed account of the evening.
Did J empty the bottle and then return the empty bottle to the car? Or did he not empty it and return what was left to the car?
Yeah, sorry... I kind of think this might be my last concert (for a long, long time at least) so I wanted to share.
Heh. He had a half-filled bottle of extremely warm water when we got back.Did J empty the bottle and then return the empty bottle to the car? Or did he not empty it and return what was left to the car?
"Arf." -- Frank Zappa, "Beauty Knows No Pain" (live version)
It’s all good.Sounds like you saw a great one to last you a while. Cool that Lodge came back out for Imagine.
My theory why "Imagine" was in the setlist was as a tribute to Alan. I expect to hear his retirement announcement any time now.
But yeah, when Neil Peart was asked "Why can't you keep going? Charlie Watts is still touring." His reply was, "Sure, I can keep playing as a Charlie Watts type drummer, but I can't keep playing as a Neil Peart type drummer."
I'm still hoping the next tour includes all of Relayer, and that playing "Gates" on this tour was to get it ready. 1 down, 2 to go.
When did Neil Peart make this comment about easily being able to play like Charlie Watts? The only time I've seen Peart comment on Watts, he was very complimentary of Watt's technique. One thing I admired about Peart is how he would often talk about various drummers and the things he would try to borrow from them (for example Gruber, Bruford, Stewart Copeland, Buddy Rich, Manu Katche).
I'm not suggesting that Peart could not play like Watts in his sleep (I think he could) - I'm just a little surprised he would say it in that manner.
Yes, I read that quote too, not sure where. I don't think he was being rude about Watts, Peart is a big fan of him but you can see what he means. I'm surprised that Peart carried on as long as he did to be honest.
Thank you for your great review, and I enjoyed the personal stuff as well.
Having seen Yes on the last tour in a small venue that seats around 750, I can echo the opinion that Yes is playing very tight and with passion. They put on a great show and I think people who are writing this version of Yes as being done, need to see them live, because as you write, audience videos of them don't do the sound and performances justice.
My only slight negative is, as good as Jon D is, I still miss the vocals being sung by Jon A. Singers can sound like Jon but still not sound like Jon Anderson. But then again, if Jon Anderson was still singing with Yes they might not being performing as tight and convey the feeling they really are having a good time performing these classic Yes songs. That might be due to the fact Jon's powerful personality isn't part of the band anymore.
Soundcloud page: Richard Hermans, musical meanderings https://soundcloud.com/precipice YouTube: [https://www.youtube.com/@richardhermans4457
My initial introduction to Jon D was boots from the first tour he did with Yes filling in for Benoit.. I was not impressed.. When I saw him on one of the 3 albums tour.. I had the same reaction you are describing.. trying to "sound" like Jon A. Last summer he was better but to my ears there is a noticeable difference on this tour.. I finally warmed up to him.. and thought he nailed it this go round.. There was a warmth to his voice I hadn't heard before.. Even listening to H&E he doesn't have the warmth that he has now.. and that was singing "new" material.. One of the things I enjoyed the most about FFH was Benoit was finally singing with his voice vs. trying to sound like Jon A on the old Yes material.. If Yes is going to make a move with recording new material I say do it now while the burner is hot.. they are a tight band right now.. With that said if Steve chooses not to record any more new material and continue on as a touring unit playing old Yes songs.. I think it would be a missed opportunity.. which wouldn't be a first in the bands history..
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