Saw them in LA on Aug 15. Profoundly mixed feelings.
I LOVED the show. I haven't seen them them since the Drama tour, and it brought back memories/feelings and the sense of power the band has. Jon Davison was amazing and spot on. He owned Awaken. So amazing, I have to say his performance was not only a beautiful recreation of Anderson's vocals, but also the best in the band that night.
There. I said it. Jon Davison is more Yes than Yes is now. That's bound to stick in the craw of a few and would undoubtedly rub me the wrong way had I not seen a show for myself. After a week of being on cloud nine and reveling in seeing my all time favorite band again, sobering critical thoughts have emerged from the euphoria and this is the primary conclusion. Only Davison was really true to the songs, though Squire was great. (To be fair, I couldn't even hear Alan White in the mix - just the kick drum now and again - so I can't rightly judge how well he did).
I did NOT expect the same level of energy or proficiency from the old guys, and I was not disappointed. They opened with YIND which I think may have been ambitious to start out with. I'd characterize Howe's performance as arthritic, and it took at least until HOTS to get a semblance of groove on. That's not to say they aren't still excellent musicians, they definitely are, and I thought the show was fabulous and going there was one of the smartest things I've done. I LOVE this band, I know they're getting up there, I'm thrilled that they're still touring, and even more thrilled that they've chosen to emphasize the early years in the play set instead of mucking it up with the 30 odd years of uninspired tripe which kept me from seeing them for so long.*
Given all of the above, I was making plenty of allowances and was actually pleasantly surprised. The old guys can still get it up. Just not quite as well as they used to, as is expected. The one shining exception was Davison. I read through several threads, including this one, fully respecting the positions taken for or against Yes without Anderson. I must, however, echo certain sentiments. Yes has a right to tour and make money (if people show up - and I would do it again in a heartbeat). Jon Anderson no longer has the stamina for heavy duty touring, that was apparent when I saw his solo show a couple of months ago. His voice sounded very good, no if or buts about it. If you want it to keep sounding good, like I do, then intimate shows with a lower energy are MANDATORY. At least for now.
I, too, hold out hope that Yes will do some show(s) in the future with Anderson. An album would be cool, too. If there's any chance for this to happen, he simply can't be part of the band on the schedule they want to work to. I'd rather see Yes tour than not, and I'd rather see Anderson solo for all time going forward than wreck his voice in an attempt to run with the pack.
For those who consider themselves purists in the sense that it isn't Yes without Jon Anderson, I'll give you that. It's just time and a word, as far as difference. You call them whatever you want: Squire-Howe-White-Downes-Davison, No, Musical Whores, whatever. But if the true early Yes fan wants to have a little taste of the live feel of the old band, to hear Yes music from back in the day sound
almost like it did back in the day, this is a decent compromise. It won't be Davison holding the authenticity aspect back, I assure you. It'll be the old guys you love so much that you're willing to make allowances, lots of them.
*Sorry, even Drama sucked. Machine Messiah, OK, the rest ****. I don't claim to speak for all "true original" Yes fans, just myself.
saw satrianni play guitar with spinal tap in los angeles early '90's !
if i am gonna get wistful about anything,it would be that i never saw the bruford/banks/kaye version of the band when they popped over to the States.
