BAD RONBO, KiLLeR DWaRfS wrote:jeff...your avatar will be the new color for my livingroom walls with black trim, white popcorn ceilings, black framed DWaRf albums and a blood red carpet and black leather furniture ! thanx, brutha !
Have you seen Ruby in the flesh, so to speak, yet?
Ruby in the flesh.... sounds like a hard rocker song.
just_bassics wrote:Pretty sure the mounted bass was his long necked Tobias, which goes to low C (Miguel, correct me if I'm wrong here).
Hi Jim, it's a low B , which is the note he needs to play as an open string on "Sad Night..." - Although, if we go back to the Starlicks interview, Chris shows there the first version of that bass which was indeed tuned to C. Then he refers that Mike Tobias was working on another version to be tuned on B. The bass on this interview looks basically the same. The difference is that the present bass has 5 frets further to the lower side of the neck (extending the scale 5 semitones from E to B), whereas the C version has 4 (from E to C).
Thanks for the details on that Miguel! It was great fun to watch him coax his magic out of the horizontal beast. Here is my take on the show in Scottsdale, AZ on 8/17/12. I am sorry it is so long!
Procol Harum opened the show and they were very good. I was pleased that if we had to have an opening act it was nice that it was a band I had always wanted to see. Gary Booker was in good voice and mood despite the cold he had. He good-naturedly described getting it from the combination of hot weather across the US and cold A/C. His humor was especially on display when he mentioned his disappointment at not getting a call to compose music for the 2012 Olympics in London and that he would just have to wait until the next time London hosted the band. “Homburg” was my favorite tune but of course they finished with “A Whiter Shade…” which they did at a slower tempo than I’d expect. Good performance.
The crowd gave Yes a rousing welcome and as expected--I could see Downes’ laptop screen with my binocs—they launched with “Yours is No Disgrace.” Despite the usual small adjustments to sound the track came off very well and fiery. In this song and in all of the tunes throughout the evening Yes was solid and confident. They clearly felt a connection to this audience and played especially well because of that. Chris spoke first and thanked the crowd and acknowledged their special connections to “The Valley.” They had had a few nights off before this show and their energy made that apparent.
The band really seems to be operating at a high level both as a unit and individually. From the start, Howe was on fire. He anchored the proceeding with his rhythm work and encouraged the band with his solos. He has his equipment and amp setups down to an art now so he seamlessly switched from guitar to guitar and tone to tone. He was perfect all night. Chris was consistently excellent. As others have said he appears well and his energetic playing was spot-on. His movements echoed many of the patented stage moves we all remember. I marveled at his finger work on his trusty Rickenbacker. His powerful vocals made the night. He blended so well with Jon and Steve. Those vocals are such an important part of the Yes sound.
The interplay between Howe and Squire during YIND was electric. But it was an exchanged look early in the track that blew me away. Squire was back by White and Jon Davison moved to stand just to his right; as Chris thundered out his part of the Howe-Squire-YIND-duel he looked at Squire in wonder and amazement just the way one of us would if we could stand next to him as he played. Squire smiled broadly at the young man. Because I saw this through my binoculars I caught every nuance in the wordless exchange. I was touched and understood immediately that Davison has blended with the band and allowed them to play freely. And Jon showed that connection throughout the set. He was constantly watching all the other members so that his vocals, guitar, and synthetic percussion (he played congas on a Roland Handsonic at times) were perfectly placed. He clearly feels comfortable in the band and he hit every note with aplomb. It seemed effortless and at times he was absolutely exceptional. That was the case when halfway through Howe’s solo spot (he now does this on the Steve Howe signature Martin) Jon stood next to Howe to sing the “Leaves of Green” segment from “The Ancient.” The two of them melted the crowd. Gorgeous. A similar delicacy of vocal was delivered on “Wondrous Stories.” His voice surfed above the heavy synths as the song climaxed. Jon has the flexible voice to front this band night after night.
“Heart of the Sunrise” showed his command of classic Yes material; his dynamic range was skillfully used to sing the contrasting sections of the piece. From the beginning phrases to the emotional finale, he was the song. (And humble too…he hung out in one of the lobbies before the show and was very gracious. Downes too walked back and forth a few times in his casual attire. I thanked him for his performances and for contributing to the Forum.)
Downes did a fine job throughout the night. He always seemed to be able to pull out the right sound from his large stack of keyboards. At times the sound was a bit muddy but I think the venue was a challenge to work with. He was superb in “Tempus Fugit” which was their second tune. It was one of the many songs where Davison had to master a different style of Yes vocals. He nailed all of the song’s fast and complex lyrics and meshed perfectly with Chris’ background vocals. White has his hands full on that one and as always, he kept it solid and steady while propelling the song towards the fun ending. (I wish we could have had a bit more volume on the embellishment “Yes” vocals that Downes does through his vocorder.)
I was very pleased to see them devote the time to performing the entire “Fly From Here” suite. I know it well and their ability to pull that off was amazing. Each member of the band has some essential moments but it feels so much like a band effort. The piece was intense and I loved to finally hear the “I watch the Sky” lyric live. Chris’ use of his ‘Bass-on-a-pole’ was cool to watch. He could get the low B necessary for the second movement with the long-neck bass. It was fascinating to watch him do the backing vocals while he played this way! “Mad Man…” was powerful and driving. “Bumpy Road” came off better live than on record. Finally, it felt like a fun, vital, trippy variation of the theme instead of simply a helpful transition to the big finish. And what a big finish! I love the way the theme is restated! Big chills! Yes is very much alive and vital.
Perhaps nothing represents the night to me more than “Awaken.” From the opening piano flourish to the dreamy vocal coda, the boys worked their magic. The emotional impact of the piece is intense for many Yes fans. I vividly recall seeing them premiere it in 1977 at Madison Square Garden. I have seen them do it quite a few times but this rendition was just as wonderful as any. The middle section was hypnotic despite a small hiccup. I often watched Squire through my binoculars as he played that massive triple neck. It was fascinating to watch his technique as he moved between all three necks. . Howe’s Telecaster was perfect for the wistful guitar finale. Davison delivered chills and had the crowd hanging on each word. The crowd loved the piece and at the very end Davison’s and Squire’s body language said it all…they bowed to the fans that roared their approval.
Naturally, “Roundabout” closed the show. The old fav was just as vital as ever and they crafted a fun and different ending. The guys enjoyed themselves and made the place rock. They received great ovations. Each member was sure to walk to each side of the stage to thank us and receive our appreciation. We were all quite satisfied. It really seemed like a special night.
There were so many magical moments that impressed me. From the beginning, the spot light on Squire cast a perfect and huge shadow of him onto his speaker stack. I couldn’t help but see the symbolism…the big guy throws a huge shadow. He completely fills that reputation and delivers even more than I expected. He is the soul of this band and he was at 100%. His vocals anchored every song. Howe amazed with each new riff and section. There is nothing he cannot do. White gave them a perfect bed of rhythm. He augmented the acoustic drums with triggered sounds on his pads. He hit every mark. Downes mastered the synths (and even covered bass pedals…he had the Moog Taurus III pedals instead of Chris but I think he triggered them from his keyboards instead of with his feet). And Jon Davison was able to deliver a faithful Yes performance that simultaneously revealed his own, unique voice. We all miss Jon Anderson but this version of Yes is hot and has something to prove. Davison lets them fly.
The show did what every Yes show has done to me: I experienced every moment in a “this must last me forever” way. I hung on every note; I tried to take it all in. I was overcome by the positive spirit of the band and I was so sad to see it end. I am still in that post-show wistfulness but the consolation is that I can close my eyes and see those crisp images I saw through my binocs. The only real cure is to see them again! Let’s hope the boys keep this up for they still have unfinished business.
Yea, that is a sure giveaway, but at this point, with the tour about wrapped up, I guess the spoilers thing isn't a problem.
I'll go to great lengths to avoid any setlist discussions of a show that I'm attending, as I don't ever want to know what's coming. The one exception is any RUSH concert, I just try to find out how much 80's stuff they're playing - Too much and I'm not interested (past SIGNALS, anyway).
Steve, great review! Note the absence of all Trevor Rabin era tunes...
I too enjoyed the FFH Suite, but up against the rest of that setlist, it was the weakest part of the show, although still a great experience live.
Sorry if I gave things away but yes, when I posted yesterday there was but one show left: Mexico City.
I wish I could go!
For you uber-fans of the triple, the toggle switches for the two top necks were surrounded by several pieces of clear tape. Perhaps they were loose?
More gear stuff: Chris' pedal board seemed to be nothing but multiple on/off footswitches...no visible stompboxes...he apparently has everything off stage and simply hits whatever switches needed to select various combos? (I think there was no labeling either.)
just_bassics wrote:Pretty sure the mounted bass was his long necked Tobias, which goes to low C (Miguel, correct me if I'm wrong here).
Hi Jim, it's a low B , which is the note he needs to play as an open string on "Sad Night..." - Although, if we go back to the Starlicks interview, Chris shows there the first version of that bass which was indeed tuned to C. Then he refers that Mike Tobias was working on another version to be tuned on B. The bass on this interview looks basically the same. The difference is that the present bass has 5 frets further to the lower side of the neck (extending the scale 5 semitones from E to B), whereas the C version has 4 (from E to C).
Miguel
Squires low B Tobias I think was another red one (like his 5 string). I think he just prefered the green one and simply just retuned it to B (I know the markers will now be in the wrong spot)
Eden.
I confused Faraday's cage, with Schrodinger's cat box....
Billsbro wrote:Sorry if I gave things away but yes, when I posted yesterday there was but one show left: Mexico City.
I wish I could go!
For you uber-fans of the triple, the toggle switches for the two top necks were surrounded by several pieces of clear tape. Perhaps they were loose?
More gear stuff: Chris' pedal board seemed to be nothing but multiple on/off footswitches...no visible stompboxes...he apparently has everything off stage and simply hits whatever switches needed to select various combos? (I think there was no labeling either.)
squire has been using his foot pedal thingy for a few decades now. the ball foot switches replaced his taurus mk1 as now he midi's everything to get that cathedral organ foot pedal sound. i prefer my '75 mk1 taurus and it looks kool !
Eden, the red Tobias is a regular 5 string - meaning there is no extended scale but it has an extra lower/fatter string. The scale size is standard.
The grey-ish bass or basses have the concept - possibly firstly thought by Chris - of being 4 string basses with extra frets - extended scale - like the extensions for upright (double-basses) they add length to the string, not another string with more mass.
I remember the starlicks interview video - Chris (or Mike Tobias) marked the "zero fret" with two dots, like if it was the 12th (octave fret) of a regular bass guitar. This zero fret was like the 4th fret of the bass. It will be easy to check on pictures if this 2-dot marker is now the 5th.
Stephen. The pedalboard Chris now uses - he is been using since around the early 2000´s maybe 2001-2.
Up to the ladder, he had the same one on the starlicks video which has more or less the same controls but it was made of plastic light buttons which broke a lot so he got this new one. Some simple markings - letters - show the kind of effects used.
The first Tobias was a red 5ver for sure, and I know there was the green long scale 4. I'm sure I saw a red 4 string made a bit later. It can be seen in an add Chris was in for Ampeg or Swr (I'll see if I can find it)
(it's one where he has the bass on its headstock and he is leaning (gentle like) on the body)
Eden.
I confused Faraday's cage, with Schrodinger's cat box....
squire has been using his foot pedal thingy for a few decades now. the ball foot switches replaced his taurus mk1 as now he midi's everything to get that cathedral organ foot pedal sound. i prefer my '75 mk1 taurus and it looks kool ! [/quote]
Thank you! What you say makes sense because Squire's website says that some time ago he sampled the combo of his Taurus pedals and the Italian bass pedals (organ). This way he gets the blend of the two quite easily.
And yes, you have good reason to be proud of your original Taurus pedals. They are highly sought-after of course.
Thank you to Miguel and everyone in the "Squire Corner" here...you all have an amazing amount of knowledge and experience and I am a fortunate boy to soak it up!
And Chris has earned a break now that the last show has wrapped up.
Billsbro wrote:squire has been using his foot pedal thingy for a few decades now. the ball foot switches replaced his taurus mk1 as now he midi's everything to get that cathedral organ foot pedal sound. i prefer my '75 mk1 taurus and it looks kool !
Thank you! What you say makes sense because Squire's website says that some time ago he sampled the combo of his Taurus pedals and the Italian bass pedals (organ). This way he gets the blend of the two quite easily.
And yes, you have good reason to be proud of your original Taurus pedals. They are highly sought-after of course.[/quote]
and i bought her for 600.00 with road case from my roady !!!
