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Hey guys just thought I'd post a pic from last nights YES concert from NYC.I haven't seen these guys in years but certainly they did not forget how to play their songs.Steve Howe on guitars was awesome and for his age he still looks in good health and has a decent amount of longhair left even though its thin on top.The best hair in the band was Oliver Wakeman's blonde mane.He is the keyboard player on the far right in the pic.Obviously not an original member being he is so youthful looking compared to the others.Anyway it was a great show as they played for almost three hours and there was no opening act.I salute old time rock and roll bands like these guys for sticking with tradition.
Mark
I thought this was a cool pic as after the show and walking back to the station I snapped this shot of the Empire State Building with clouds around its peak.Thought it looked kind of interesting.
Mark
Hey Mark, glad you got to see YES! Must have been very fun. I'm going to have to listen to my ITunes now. This was a great shot of the Empire State Building...kinda made me homesick for the city...but I'll be back in the late spring/ early summer next year. Hope you are having a great weekend.
Cheers,
Max
Hi Max,
Yes the show was really great in spite of a couple original members not being there but I guess when a band has been around as long as they have been its bound to happen.I suppose when it gets down to only one original member then its more of a tribute band at that point.
The pic I took of the Empire State Building looked too cool to pass up with the heavy cloud cover and the lights reflecting off them.I figured it was worth posting just for the effect.
Don't worry Max as spring is just around the corner so you'll be back east before you know it.That's comforting in that respect since it won't be long before you get back to the city but then again it goes to show how fast time is racing by.Take care my friend and be well out there in CA.Cheers
Mark
Ah yes just like his dad Rick "Grumpy Old Man" Wakeman. Two great manes.
Cheers,
John.B
Hi John
Yea Oliver's hair certainly is fantastic and looks to be well taken care of:)He managed to crack a smile a couple times during the show but mostly appeared very serious or possibly uptight.Certainly didn't take away from his awesome mane though.Cheers my friend
Mark
Taking after his dad, he is! ;-)
(Though I think Rick has loosened up somewhat over the years. Then there's Tony Banks of Genesis...)
You know, this all reminds me of when I was listening to NPR a month or two ago and heard some classical orchestral music by Jon Lord. Man, that guy's not foolin' around as a composer--it was the real deal in a way I've heard from very few rock musicians. (And I could say that because they I didn't hear them announce it until afterward.)
Mark,
I'm a big Yes fan myself. I remember how fantastic Rick Wakeman's hair was...the kind of hair I'd always dreamed of. Anyway, glad you enjoyed it. I've never seen the band perform but I got a chance to see Steve Howe play solo in Baltimore at a very small venue. I could almost touch him. I spent that night trying to pick up some licks of his. Before I die, I would love to see how he plays the intro to Starship Trooper. To this day I can't figure out what the hell he's doing. Quite a group of accomplished musicians that I have respected since I heard them. Was Jon Anderson there? They canceled a show in Baltimore because of illness and there was talk of a replacement.
Take care and keep it growin'!
Brett
PS: What the hell is a "moongate climber." Jon Anderson's lyrics always threw me for a loop
Hi Brett,
You have excellent taste to appreciate the kind of music Yes has produced.It just seems like a lost art the way rock has been headed over the years.At least its cool that they are still around performing a nearly 3 hour long show.Jon Anderson was not there but his replacement was a perfect fit.He didn't miss a beat.Steve Howe was a treat to watch as he is magical with his guitars.He seemed very energetic during the entire performance.I'd love to see him do a solo so I'll have to keep an eye open for that possibly happening.Not sure what the "moongate climber" reference might mean so maybe some YES guru here might have the answer.Thanks for your comments Brett and keep up the great hair growth my friend.Cheers
Mark
Glad you had a good time Mark, as Georgiaboy said below, was Jon Anderson replaced with another singer? and if he was, was he up to the job??
Thanks for the excellent photo too!
Cheers buddy
~ Dave
Hey Davieeeee!
You are correct as Jon Anderson had been replaced but his fill in did a tremendous job with the vocals.If you closed your eyes you wouldn't even know it wasn't him behind the mic.I was very impressed by this show.Take care Dave and rock on my friend:)
CHEERS
Mark
Hi Mark
So glad you were able to attend this fabulous concert and had such a great time. And your photo of the Empire State Building.....WOW!
Thanks for sharing this with us all. Can you send them to the West Coast?
Justin~
Hi Justin~
I think a guy like you would really appreciate the performance that I witnessed last night.Wish you could have been there with me but I hope the pic gave you the feeling of being there.All you need now is to play the CD and look at the pic as its the next best thing.Also glad you like the Empire State Building shot as it was too cool to pass up.Have a great weekend my friend.
Mark
YesWorld.com, the band's official Web site, has a list of tour dates, but the farthest west they're going is apparently St. Louis on December 2. Maybe they'll add more dates later.
Being a Yes fan myself, I have to add that this isn't officially Yes; it's officially billed as three Yes members and two sidemen playing Yes music. Not that too many people are worried, especially after hearing the backstory.
It was going to be the 40th Anniversary Yes tour, but keyboardist Rick Wakeman didn't feel as if his or vocalist Jon Anderson's health would stand a tour as long as their management wanted, at least on the evidence of all the touring they did from 2002 to 2004 (which is why he recommended his second son, Oliver). Then last summer 63-year-old Jon Anderson had an asthma attack which turned into acute (as in "life-threatening") respiratory failure; he'll be OK, but his doctors told him he couldn't do anything serious for six months. Guitarist Steve Howe is committed to Asia (!) for most of next year, so as Yes proper can't do anything until 2010, bassist Chris Squire convinced Howe, Oliver Wakeman, and drummer Alan White that they needed to do at least something...so here comes Jon's "understudy", Benoit David, the singer for a Yes tribute band up in Québec. So there you go.
They're scheduled to play the Tabernacle here in ATL on 12/7, but the circumstances surrounding this whole thing tend to put hardcore fans (like, I suppose, yours truly) kind of on edge, reviews (like this one) have generally been good. At least they're playing a few tunes not usually played, including two from their 1980 album Drama, the only Yes album not to include Anderson in the lineup.
Let's try this again:
"They're scheduled to play the Tabernacle here in ATL on 12/7, but I've wondered if I should go. The circumstances surrounding this whole thing have put hardcore fans (like, I suppose, yours truly) kind of on edge, but reviews (like this one) have generally been good."
IMO then it isn't YES. They should'a called this band "Maybe". ;-) Geez, even when they put out Drama it wasn't YES. Any time John's not fronting the band then it isn't YES. I've loved YES since my brother cranked them during the 70's on 8-track. I admit I don't have any newer albums since Big Generator but I still love the old stuff. My favorite YES period is from The Yes Album to Going For the One... maybe Tormato. One of my top 5-fav live album is YESshows. It doesn't get any better than that. Glad you had a good time at the show. Hammerstein's a cool place.
--
Splat
IMO then it isn't YES.
's OK. Apparently Jon agrees with you, if a message he put up on his own Web site is any indication. (OTOH, the message was taken down after about a week, which seems to indicate that someone got in touch with Jon and they came to some sort of terms.)
Geez, even when they put out Drama it wasn't YES. Any time John's not fronting the band then it isn't YES.
OTOH, obviously Chris Squire wouldn't agree with you; they're playing two tunes from Drama. Heck, sometimes I think the 90125 lineup "isn't 'true' Yes".
I see it a bit like this:
Drama is Yes when no one is singing, but not often otherwise. "YesWest" is Yes when Jon is singing, but not always otherwise. But this is all terribly abstract, anyway. Drama might actually be better overall than any YesWest album, despite the sense that it would've been better for Jon's presence. (Side 2 of Big Generator certainly gives Drama more than a run for its money, though.
I should point out that the Tormato CD has a demo, with Jon singing, of the tune that would eventually become "Does It Really Happen?" Probably the biggest miscalculation in Yes history was when Chris Squire, having figured out a direction for Drama, didn't go back to Jon and try to mend fences; one of the reasons that band fell apart was the inability to agree on a direction after Tormato, and Jon claimed in an interview in Melody Maker soon afterward that he would've been on board if he'd been asked. But I guess Chris decided this was his chance to have a Yes album his way, and everyone's paying for it now, largely because no one back then realized that Yes could've bid for "iconic" status of the Pink Floyd/Led Zeppelin sort--and you don't reach that status by merely adapting to the times.
Yes piano player is the best ever,I wonder how he is able to move his fingers so fast and steadily.Anyways,cool pics Mark,looking forward seeing more.
Thanks Rafael for your post.Wakeman seems destined to be an outstanding keyboardist as his performance was superb.If YES comes to a venue near you I definately recommend seeing them.Cheers my friend
Mark
Being a bid Prog Rock fan, Yes is definitely on the top of my list of all time best Progressive Rock bands. Rick Wakeman's sons, Oliver and Adam, have both inherited their famous dad's talents. And Oliver the same signature long blonde locks, Rick still has long blonde hair. Adam has long dark hair, currently is part of Ozzy Ozzbourne's latest Black Sabbath lineup. You-Tube has a few videos of Rick, Adam and Oliver all playing keyboards together.
Rick did a charity recording with Oliver called "Children of Chernobyl'. The proceeds from the song go to a charity that assists victims of the Chernobyl disaster. Really nice father-son collaboration, and a fine keyboard piece all around. I really love the song, and it is really nice how the two Wakemans seem to blend their talents together. It's 'must listen' for any Rick Wakeman fan.
Glad you got enjoy seeing a 'Yes' performance. Steve Howe is an amazing guitarist.
Hi Carol,
Its been many years since I last saw a live performance by YES.When I caught the listing of the sale date for this show I jumped on it and got a great floor seat as my pic shows the vantage point I had.It would have been nicer to be closer to the stage though.Other than that I really enjoyed seeing this live performance by some very talented musicians.They just don't make 'em like this anymore.Cheers Carol.
Mark
Glad you had a great time at the concert, Mark.
I love Yes; it's one of the bands that would be on the soundtrack of my life (it would be a boring movie, but the music would be awesome). I wish they can make it out to Hawaii some day.
LOL!That's a funny statement but I shouldn't laugh as my life soundtrack would definately be a yawner!But I agree livening it up with cool music would certainly help.
I wish they can make it out to Hawaii some day.
So do I.I'd love to see the islands as I've never been there myself.Take care my friend and stay cool:)
Mark
Thanks for sharing another show you went to, I don't know the band but I'm sure you've had a nice evening.
Ah Vincent you don't know what you are missing.If I were you pick up a concert DVD, as I'm sure there must be some out there, and then you can see what its all about my friend.Cheers.
Mark
I was watching some vids at youtube and discovered I actualy knew one song (Owner Of A Lonely Heart)
I've heard it a lot on the radio, I like to listen to 80s classic radio once in a while.
They are a good band indeed.
Hey I remember that tune and the music video that went with it.Back in the rockin' 80s when MTV was a cool music video station
they would rotate the video for this YES song which seemed kind of cool.Now Vincent you need to travel back in time to the 70s and hear what YES had to offer then:)
Mark
I did and those songs are even better!
Look for a tune called "Roundabout", from '71 (not released in the U.S. until '72). Especially look for a tune called "Siberian Khatru"; that's a tune that's not too long (just nine minutes!) ;-) representing the band at their real musical peak.
Thanks for your suggestions, these songs are even better.
Thanks for your suggestions, these songs are even better.
Only too glad to help out! :-D Really, though they've generally smoked live (albeit in that polite English manner), I think the best way to hear these is in their studio versions, which should be available on iTunes if you don't want to spring for a CD.