Sometimes you go and see a band you haven’t listened to in a long time and, if you’re lucky, you come away being reminded of why you love said band in the first place. I experienced that Friday night, when I went to see the current incarnation of Yes, which consists of Jon Davison on vocals, Billy Sherwood on bass, Geoff Downes on keyboards, Jay Schellen on drums, and of course, the one and only Steve Howe on guitar. I know there’s been no shortage of online debate and lamenting over which Yes lineup is superior or whether the band has any business going on without X,Y, and Z members, so I’m not going to get into my thoughts on that subject. It’d take way too long, and I just want to get into the show.
First let’s get into the VIP package. The last time I did VIP for Yes was back at my very first show in 2011. They were still doing after-show Meet and Greets. This time around, over 14 years later, they’ve scrapped the Meet and Greet, replacing it with an onstage tour of the band’s gear and stage equipment. A few days before the show, I received a package in the mail containing a few exclusive goodies, some of which I had never received before in a VIP package. From left to right, we have a specially printed setlist and a silver Yes logo necklace, the latter of which I was unusually excited for, given that I’m not really a jewelry person. I’ll talk more about the setlist when I get into the actual show. Then we have a tour shirt, which is sent in the size of your choosing, and then last there’s a foil poster, which I hope to get framed at some point.
It was a fairly small group of us in the VIP group, with me appearing to be the youngest. The tour guides that led us onstage were super nice and informative, happily taking photos of people in front of their favorite member’s gear. I’m not the biggest fan of having my picture taken, but I was willing to pose in front of some of Steve’s gear when asked. Check it out!
I really enjoyed looking at Steve’s gear and loved the adorable note left for us by Jon Davison by his mic stand. Steve had a collection that consisted mainly of Gibsons and a few Fenders. I spoke so much of my excitement to be there to see Steve that Steve’s guitar tech actually gave me a guitar pick! Another one to add to my small collection of picks that have been gifted to me over the years by different musicians!
I made quite a bit of conversation with Geoff Downes’ keyboard tech, Sean, about Geoff’s gear, which I was documenting in a text to Rachel, since I figured she’d appreciate it more than I would. We also discussed books, tea, and touring life, I honestly liked the relaxed atmosphere of this VIP experience. With fewer people and plenty of time before the show, it wasn’t the usual “cattle call” style treatment where you get rushed in and out of the experience faster than you can say “Fragile.” We could take our time to study the gear we wanted to see, ask the techs questions if we had any, and take all the photos and videos we wanted.
Now onto the show! I took my seat in the very first row, and they started promptly at 8:00PM, with their walk-on music being “The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra, Op. 34: Theme,” as opposed to the expected “Firebird Suite” from Stravinsky. The show was divided into two sets, the setlist being crafted by Steve himself, as Jon revealed at one point in the evening. The first set threw a lot of surprises my way, particularly the heavy attention given to the Tormato album, which I understand is an album famous for not being well-received by the fans upon its initial release. Even today, in the 14+ years that I’ve been a Yes fan, I rarely see much discussion around that album. We got a performance of “Onward,” which I have heard them do before, but then we also got “On the Silent Wings of Freedom,” and “Madrigal.” Halfway through the first set, they took the time to dedicate their performance of the third and fourth sections of “The Gates of Delirium” to the recently departed John Lodge, accompanied by an on-screen tribute. The first set finished with “Tempus Fugit” from the Drama album, so the first set came with a ton of surprises, since the show was advertised as including “Yes classics” in addition to performing Fragile. It was cool to see them break away from playing the most obvious material and dive into some songs and albums that haven’t received as much attention. I know this may be a letdown to some fans who want to hear the best known songs, but for me, it was a welcome change.
Since the point of this tour was the celebrate the 50th anniversary of the band’s monumental album Fragile, it was only appropriate that they dedicate their second set to playing that album in its entirety.
I’ve seen comments from people stating that the band doesn’t have any energy left, or that they don’t perform with as much feel as they used to. That wasn’t my impression at all, I’m thrilled to say! I was into the show from start to finish, smiling all the while. It was a thrill seeing the likes of Geoff Downes and Steve Howe still jumping around with excitement and grinning over at their bandmates during the climax of certain songs. The encore included a cover of The Beatles’ “The Word,” the band ending their show with “Starship Trooper.”The crowd was in high spirits all the way through, and I was happy to see many more younger people in the general audience, since I didn’t notice any at the VIP experience. That said, I’m happy to see that Yes is still going strong in their own way and reaching the next generation of music listeners who will ultimately be responsible for keeping the Yews legacy going.
The Girl in the Scarf 
Leave a comment