YES - a concert review

[Diff_Drummer]

Greetings all my Moon Friends. On 7/26/11, (my birthday), my wife and I saw YES and Styx in concert at the Red Rocks Amphitheater in Morrison CO, just outside of Denver.

First off, Red Rocks is one of the most beautiful locations for a concert. But as it is outdoors, it is subject to the weather. The last hour of our drive was spent in a heavy thunder storm with tons of lightning. We were very concerned that the show would be canceled. However, it started to clear up just before we arrived and started the long, steep climb up to the amphitheater, dragging our cooler behind us.

As we settled into our 4th row seats, the skies were cloudy with an occasional sprinkle of rain, but nothing drastic. After a local solo singer/songwriter finished his warm up, they pulled the plastic off the instruments and YES took the stage. Steve Howe, Chris Squire, Alan White, Geoff Downes and Benoit David.

They played a very "safe" set. I'm sure they did this due to the fact that Styx was the headliner and they didn't want to hit their fans with the likes of Topographic Oceans or Gates of Delerium. The set was as follows:

1) Overture from "Fly From Here" (On tape as the band took the stage)
2) Tempus Fugit
3) Yours is No Disgrace
4) Heart of the Sunrise
5) I've Seen All Good People (Your Move)
6) Fly From Here Pt. 1
7) And You and I
8) Owner of a Lonely Heart
9) Starship Trooper

10) Encore: Roundabout

Overall, it was one of the better YES shows I've seen/heard. Sure, some of the tempos were a bit slower than the original recordings, but not to the point of being lethargic. The sound and the mix were great! There was a brief pause after Tempus Fugit because the light rain started to hit Howes pedal board. As the roadies wrapped it in plastic, he explained that the electric guitar is a very dangerous instrument, not to be played underwater, while swimming, or in the rain. Very soon, the rain stopped for good and they continued without interruption.

Howe and Squire were at their virtuostic best. Howe especially sounded good. He hasn't missed a step despite being in his mid-sixties. They did a nice extended intrumental section towards the end of “Yours is No Disgrace” that gave Howe the chance to really stretch out a bit.

Alan White did what he does best. Played solid drum parts and kept out of the way of the others. Let's face it, when one thinks of YES, Alan White is not the first name to come to mind. He is neither the creative innovator of his predecessor, Bill Bruford, nor does he have the flash, technique and amazing chops of the "3 P's", (Palmer, Pert & Portnoy). But he is always solid and lays down a foundation for the guitar, keys and bass to shine on top of.

The big questions, of course were David and Downes. I will start with the latter.

Geoff Downes is a great keyboard player. He covered all the parts well and didn't make any noticeable mistakes. However, he does not have Wakemans personality and stage presence. He definitely perked up on the songs that he co-wrote, namely "Tempus Fugit" and "Fly From Here". He was more animated and seemed more into those songs. The others, he seemed more like a strong sideman rather than a full time band member. The only real complaint that I had was the synth he was using to recreate Wakemans Mini-Moog parts just didn't have the full rich sound of the Moog. It sounded thin and a bit wimpy. Not sure of the make and model, but I know there are better Moog simulators out there.

Benoit David was a pleasant surprise. He has a great voice and if you close your eyes, you couldn't tell if it was him or Jon Anderson on stage. In fact, overall, I felt this was one of the best vocal/harmony performances that I have heard from YES, and I've seen quite a few. He and Squire blend very well and the intonation was spot on. We have all heard YES bootlegs where the 2 and 3 part vocals were more than a bit sloppy, but this night was not the case.

As with Downes, David does not have the same stage presence of Jon Anderson, and his "dancing", (if that's what you want to call it), was very amateurish and kind of silly at times. But during long instrumental sections he stood to the side and let the others shine. But by in large, I was impressed with how well he fit in. (Just a note, I will always miss JA though, just for the history if nothing else.)

I'll just include a short note about Styx. They have some great classic songs and played them well. But they are still doing the big hair rock star poses and moves. It was a bit hard to take them seriously. Also the sound man decided to bring the volume up about 15-20 db's, so the great mix that YES had was muddled in the volume. We decided to beat the crowds and left about 2/3 into their set.

So in conclusion, is the current YES worth seeing? YES! Are they the YES of Fragile, Close to the Edge and Going for the One? Probably not, but it was still a fun evening and a great way to spend my birthday.