2001 - Here Comes The Sun

Peter, who watched the concert, can say better than me:

[Here Comes The Sun] was a short tribute to the late, great George Harrison. A nice touch, I thought. Jon sang it (well) to light accompaniment from Steve. They didn't play any silly games with it (as, for example, with America), just a straight version.

2001-12-1, Brighton, two days after Harrison's death

Links in comments!

2008 - Atlanta

2008-12-07 - The Tabernacle, Atlanta GA USA

Excepts from the show

1. Astral Traveller

2. J's Theme

3. Intersection Blues

Links on comments!

Rick and Adam Wakeman - Silent Night (Christmas Concert, 2009)

It may be a bit late for Christmas, but I won't wait until the end of 2010 to post this!

Happy new year for you all!

Rick Wakeman - Hampton Court, 2009

Rick Wakeman's show at Hampton Court (first time Six Wives was entirely played, including also new songs, orchestrations, etc) is being release as CD, DVD and Blu-Ray.

Support him!

(or at least see these amazing concerts at Youtube)

Reuploaded: 2001 – Sacred Ground

Vancouver, Canada, August 2, 2001

The Magnification tour was the first one in which Yes performed with an orchestra. This brought some new colour to old songs and made them play some old songs they hadn't played for a long time.
This bootleg is from the beginning of the tour. It's from three months before the show in Amsterdam which was recorded and became the DVD Symphonic Live. So the set list was slightly different. They didn't play Magnification or Owner of a Lonely Heart, but played Perpetual Change and Wonderous Stories. The orchestra left the stage during these two songs, but they were great anyway, with a tight band, improvising a little.
The tour was beginning, and at some moments it's clear they're not so familiar with some songs. Howe has a clear error in Ritual, which he transforms in a great short improvisation. 

I was very pleased to hear Steve playing Solar Winds, from his good instrumental album Natural Timbre.

Audio quality is very good at most times, with all instruments loud and clear. But at a few moments the tape probably had some problem, so there are short cuts on And You And I and Perpetual Change.

Set list:

Disc 1
Close to the Edge
Long Distance Runaround
Don't Go
In The Presence Of
The Gates of Delirium

Disc 2
Solar Winds
Mood for a Day
Wonderous Stories
Perpetual Change
And You And I
Ritual
I've Seen All Good People

Disc 3
Starship Trooper
Roundabout

Links on comments!

2008 - Steve Howe Trio

Steve Howe Trio

2008-10-04

Mod Clud, Toronto

After releasing the album The Haunted Melody, the Steve Howe Trio toured Canada, in the brief moments Steve had between his tours with Asia and Yes.

Similar to the 2007 show, but featuring new songs: He ain't heavy, he's my brother, Tune up (by Miles Davis), Laughing with Larry (Steve's acoustic solo), A Venture.

The funny moment of the show is when Ross Stanley plays the theme from The Flintstones during his solo on Kenny's Sound.

Set 1:

01 - Sweet Thunder

02 - Dream River

03 - Chatter and Band Introduction

04 - Travelin'

05 - The Haunted Melody

06 - Tune Up

07 - Siberian Khatru

Set 2:

08 - Mood For A Day

09 - Blue Bash

10 - He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother

11 - Momenta

12 - Kenny's Sound

13 - Crowd

14 - Laughing With Larry

15 - A Venture/Close To The Edge

Steve Howe: electric and acoustic guitar

Ross Stanley: hammond organ

Dylan Howe: Drums

Link on comments!

Reuploaded: 2004 Live at Jazz Lugano

July 08, 2004

Lugano Jazz Festival, Switzerland

This show, one of the best bootlegs from 2004, was already available here, but now you can also download the video!
It was broadcast on Swiss/Italian TV and starts with an interview with Rick Wakeman.

Enjoy!

Disc one
1-Firebird Suite
2-Going for the one
3-Sweet Dreams
4-I've seen all good people
5-Mind Drive part 1
6-South Side of the Sky
7-Footprints
8-Mind Drive part 2
9-Yours is no disgrace
10-Steve Howe solo
11-Rick Wakeman solo

Disc two
1-Long distance runaround
2-The fish
3-Whitefish
4-Owner of a lonely heart
5-Rhythm of love
6-And you and I
7-Starship Trooper
8-Roundabout

Links on comments!

Reuploaded: 2004 - Yes and Dream Theater

19 September 2004, Universal City, California, USA

During 2004, Yes did a small tour with Dream Theater, having around 20 concerts opened by this band. No, they didn't play together. But Dream Theater played a good cover of Machine Messiah, so I'm putting here also their show.

This one was the last night of the tour. An amazing night by both bands. It's an audience recording, but of high quality. The place's mix was really good. Except for some seconds cut on Awaken (the bootlegger didn't expect such a long song and he was short on tape...), the complete concert is here.
Yes had a really changing set-list at this tour... This particular show has the acoustic set, with new arrangements to Long Distance Runaround, Wonderous Stories, Roundabout and Owner of a Lonwely Heart. But my favourite performances here are Awaken and Starship Trooper, both featuring perfect musicianship.
Oh, and here you'll also listen to Jon performing Singin' in the Rain... it's kind of weird in his voice, but I bet you'll want to listen!

Disc one - Dream Theater
01 - Overture (1:37)
02 - About To Crash (5:14)
03 - Learning To Live (10:17)
04 - Machine Messiah (3:19)
05 - Trial Of Tears (13:12)
06 - Stream Of Consciousness (10:35)
07 - The Spirit Carries On (6:56)
08 - Solitary Shell (5:39)
09 - About To Crash (reprise) (4:10)
10 - Losing Time – Grand Finale (6:12)

Disc two - Yes

01 - Firebird Suite (2:51)
02 - Going For The One (5:25)
03 - Sweet Dreams (7:27)
04 - I’ve Seen All Good People (8:11)
05 - America (10:35)
06 - South Side Of The Sky (11:56)
07 - Yours Is No Disgrace (13:21)

Disc three - Yes
01 - Clap - Singin' in the rain (5:33)
02 - Long Distance Runaround (acoustic) (5:16)
03 - Wonderous Stories (acoustic) (7:21)
04 - Roundabout (acoustic) (5:51)
05 - Owner Of A Lonely Heart (acoustic) (6:46)
06 - And You And I (13:29)
07 - Awaken (19:13)
08 - Starship Trooper (13:55)

Links on comments!

Rick Wakeman - Moogfest 2004 - Catherine Parr

B.B. King Blues Club & Grill, New York, USA
Tue, May 18, 2004

Catherine Parr is a song with lots of room for improvisation and different arrangements: Rick has already played it with a horn section (in the 70s), with choir, with long guitar solos.
But to me the definitive version is this one, from Moogfest.
Rick writes on his site:
Sometime way back at the beginning of the year, I had been asked to perform at Moogfest, a celebration of 50 years of the Moog Synthesizer in the honoured presence of Dr. Bob Moog at a club called Ben E Kings on 42 nd Street in New York. By pure coincidence the show was to take place on my birthday and, as I had nothing else planned for my birthday, (well when you reach 55 you start trying to forget how old you are) , it seemed like a really good idea.....and so it turned out to be as well.
The world and his uncle seem to be taking part in the evening and it was brilliantly organized as well. There was a wonderful party atmosphere and the camaraderie was amazing. I was playing just the one piece, (a very long version of Catherine Parr), and had a pretty amazing band performing with me containing some of the top New York session boys and to say they were “good” would be the understatement of the year! Jason from Dream Theater joined me as well to play the parts that Adam used to play years ago and all went swimmingly well. Korg were amazing in sorting out keyboards for me to go with the mini-moog and my great friend, ex NYPD detective Billy Burns, was on hand to “look after me” and keep me out of trouble, which he certainly did!
As I went on stage I was unexpectedly followed by Bob Moog and Keith Emerson, the latter playing Happy Birthday on the Moog synthesizer and then in front of a very enthusiastic crowd I was presented with a huge cake on a huge stand by a very pretty scantily dressed young lady with huge........well, some things are best left to your imagination I think!

Jordan Rudess, from Dream Theater, played keyboards with him, and I suppose the other musicians were the backing band for Moogfest (James Genus on Bass and Gene Lake on Drums). But the important here are Rick's fast fingers, doing some of the best moog improvisations I've ever heard.
This live record was sent to me by a keyboardist friend, who calls attention to Rick's "fan fingers", that is, the ultra-fast hand whose fingers open and close like a fan, a technique common in Bach.

No need to say the audience to Moogfest was crazy during Rick's performance. One review says: "Until Bob Moog came along, we (keyboard players) were hidden in the background. He gave us an instrument that can cut through concrete and frighten guitarists to death," growled Rick Wakeman, the hulking, platinum-blonde keyboard player for the progressive rock band Yes.

The following video shows Rick's conversation with Bob Moog (recently dead) and some seconds of Catherine Parr, where we can see Jordan Ruddess's bald head behind Rick. But don't forget to download the complete song!


Link on comments!

Reuploaded: 2002 - Acoustic at XM Radio

2002-08-10

This is not a typical Yes show.
In 2002, soon after Rick's return to the band, Yes did this small concert broadcast by XM Radio. The result is a very different band, not the typical "Yes Acoustic" show you may expect hearing, as it was done before the officially released acoustic concert, so it's really worth the listen. Here Yes is not at all the ambitious and complex-sounding band we're used to, but just five talented musicians having fun.
They talk about many interest subject, such as why South Side of the Sky wasn't played for so long, and how was Alan's experience substituting Bill.
Walk Don't Run is hilarious, with Rick passing an uncomfortable moment as he doesn't know the chords... And the Awaken workshop is essential to anybody who likes this song, giving a unique perspective of how it was created.

Set list:
XM Radio Intro
Band's Introduction
South Side of the Sky/ And You And I
Interview I
The Ancient Excerpts
Walk Don't Run
Intervies II
I'Ve Seen All Good People
Interview III
Show Me
Interview IV
Awaken Composition I
Awaken Composition II

Links on comments!

Steve Howe - Solo show, 2008 in Canada

Steve Howe

2008-10-02
Glenn Gould Studio, Toronto, Canada

Setlist:
Set 1:
01 - Masquerade
02 - Australia
03 - The Ancient
04 - Corkscrew
05 - J's Theme
06 - Pyramidology
07 - Classical Gas
08 - Concerto In D, second movement
09 - Little Galliard
10 - Mood For A Day
Set 2:
Sadly could not be recorded.

Encore:
11 - Soon (with steel guitar)

In 2008, besides touring with Yes and Asia, Steve Howe played gigs both with his Steve Howe Trio and alone, playing wonderful tunes mostly on acoustic guitar, doing a real one-man show, with tunes from Yes (including the sometimes forgotten Masquerade, from Union) and various solo albums (Beginnings, Natural Timbre, Turbulence).
Little Galliard is a lute piece from 17th century that he recorded on Natural Timbre.
Enjoy!

Links on comments!

2008 - Rick Wakeman and Orchestra - Merlin the magician

Rick Wakeman did a couple of concerts in Chile, playing only piano with orchestra and choir. Several videos can be found at Youtube. This one is from December 6.

2008 - In the Present - Bloomington, 11-30-08

November 30, 2008
Bloomington, Illinois, USA

Chris Squire - bass, vocals, harmonica
Steve Howe - guitar, vocals
Alan White - drums, vocals
Benoit David - vocals, percussion, guitar
Oliver Wakeman - keyboards

After two weeks playing together, this new Yes seems better rehearsaled as they get to know each other well. Tempus Fugit is again fresh as it was in 1980, while Aliens remains a good moment to go to the bathroom.
Notice that Steve Howe plays different solo numbers at each concert.

Setlist was a bit shortened, maybe due to the weather, and features:
01. Firebird Suite
02. Siberian Khatru
03. I've Seen All Good People
04. Tempus Fugit
05. Onward
06. Astral Traveller
07. Close to the Edge
08. All's a Chord
09. Laughing With Larry
10. And You And I
11. Long Distance Runaround >
12. The Fish >
13. Aliens (Are Only Us From The Future)
14. Machine Messiah
15. Starship Trooper
16. Roundabout

Links at comments!

In The Present Tour - Hampton, New Hampshire, USA Friday, November 07, 2008

Here is a bootleg from one of the first shows of the new tour. Surprisingly good audio for an audience record, this one captures a band having some problems to play their song (have the rehearsals been enough?).
I can't stand people who say this band is not Yes. If Banks, Kaye, Bruford, Wakeman, Howe, Rabin can be substituted by other musicians, why can't Jon Anderson? Is he a deity or what?
So this is Yes. Good Yes? Perhaps.
Oliver Wakeman seems uncomfortable here, but I'm sure this will be solved with time, as he'll get used to the band. A friend of mine was mad at him for spoiling Heart of the Sunrise (listen to the 9th minute and you'll get what he means). Benoit may not be Jon, but he hasn't disappointed most people who watched their shows.
Good surprises: Astral Traveller (I already commented it on another post) , Machine Messiah (wonderful to hear it again) and Close to the Edge (Oliver delivers his father's solo perfectly, and Benoit's voice really fits this song)
Bad surprise: Tempus Fugit (The band seems unfamiliar with this song, after 28 years without playing it. It lacks energy and feeling), Aliens (new song, doesn't deserve the names of Chris Squire and Steve Hackett)

Setlist
Disc 1:
1. Firebird Suite (2:52)
2. Siberian Khatru (10:00)
3. I've Seen All Good People (7:29)
4. Heart Of The Sunrise (12:34)
5. Tempus Fugit (6:15)
6. Onward (5:29)
7. Astral Traveler (7:32)
8. Close To The Edge (20:45)
Disc 2:
9. Parallels (6:47)
10. And You And I (12:10)
11. Steve Howe Solo: Mood For A Day (aborted) / The Clap (5:38)
12. Long Distance Runaround/The Fish (Schindleria Praematurus) (7:25)
13. Aliens (Are Only Us From The Future) (6:02)
14. Machine Messiah (10:55)
15. Soon (7:25)
16. Starship Trooper (13:40)
17. Owner Of A Lonely Heart (6:12)
18. Roundabout (9:28)

Links on comments!

Astral Traveller - Now and Then

Steve Howe said, to a magazine from Argentina, in 1999:
A fan once gave me as a present a tape of us playing Astral Traveller, back in 1971... I ran to Jon and Chris and said: "Let's play this!" This song has nothing to do with me, but I started listening to Time and a Word (the album), and loved it, I admire Peter Banks a lot. He helped to design Yes' guitar style, in which I entered as it had been meant for me. It helped a lot that the guy before me wasn't a heavy metal guitarrist, but Peter, a clever man with different ideas.

After waiting 9 years, Howe finally had the chance of playing Astral Traveller again, in their new tour! He's clearly happy when he announces the song. And the new version also features a short and awesome drum solo! (good to hear Alan White playing faster again...)




Howe's approach to Astral Traveller from 1971 shouldn't be missed either. The Yes Album line-up played this song live not many times, and this is the only good record of Astral Traveller, including Bill's frantic drumming and Howe improvising very well. Link to the 71 Astral Traveller on comments!

Two Yes guitars in Atlanta

Our feature today is part of a Yes concert in Atlanta, August 13, 2002.
First track is Steve Howe playing, on the acoustic guitar, Georgia's Theme, a song from Steve's album The Grand Scheme of Things (1993). This simple and beautiful piece was very rarely played live.
Second track is Chris Squire's solo spot, featuring all we like about his bass guitar style. He adds to The Fish small parts of Tempus Fugit, On The Silent Wings Of Freedom and Sound Chaser.

Links on comments!

Steve Howe Trio - Mood for a day & Travelin'

Finally I could put my hands on Steve Howe's latest album, his deep dive into the world of jazz.

After thinking it through, I decided I shouldn't put the whole album in the blog, as it would disencourage people from buying it (by the way, you can buy here) so I'll upload two songs that show how interesting this album is.

Mood for a day is played on electric guitar, and that's already a huge change! Besides, the hammond organ does really creative basslines (as on the whole album). If Jimi Hendrix used to play as if he were having sex with his guitar, Steve plays here as if his guitar were made of gold and he couldn't spoil it. His improvisations are careful in every note and timbre.

Travelin' is a song by Kenny Burrell, a guitarist that really inspired him to do this album. Her the Hammond is also at the forefront, as well as the drums. If you start hearing, you can't stop until it ends.

Link on comments and keep on jazzin', Steve!

Jon Anderson - London, 2005

Shepherds Bush Empire - 10th October 2005

While we have Jon in our thoughts, hoping he gets better soon, it's a good time to remember his solo shows, always much simpler than Yes ones but nonetheless sophisticated.
This one is noteworthy because Jon briefly quotes Sound Out The Galleon on the way into Soon, which makes it very special for admirers of Olias Of Sunhillow.
Quoting a review of another concert from the same tour:
Aside from a screen projecting visual sceneries and a mostly acoustic Anderson (who only plugged in for one quick keyboard set and occasionally had piped in loops or accompaniment) it was an intimate session packed with nearly two dozen songs. From the get go he set out to please, settling extremely early into the readily familiar "Long Distance Runaround" and dusting off the deeper cut "Yours Is No Disgrace."
The first half also saw him turn to other bodies of work such as his solo cannon for "You Lift Me Up." During this selection, Anderson relied heavily on a pre-recorded reggae beat, which despite sounding artificial, brought the chilled out chord strums to more vibrant life. Another key area of his career came from the albums he made with acclaimed instrumentalist Vangelis, which reached a mainstream peak the States via "State of Independence" (once covered by Donna Summer). Though lacking the disco dance grind in this setting, Anderson allowed room for some groove while still remaining in character. Additional attention came from that collaboration with "I'll Find My Way Home," a new aged styled track examining religious tolerance.
Anderson also dabbled with the keyboard for a handful of old timers that came across so personal he could've very well been in the audience's living rooms. Paring the solo delicacy of "Set Sail" with the Yes staple "Close To the Edge" was intriguing, while "The Revealing Science of God (Dance of the Dawn)" came across as downright chilling. Even though it was clearly the commercial apex of his career, "Owner of a Lonely Heart" was the one track that simply didn't work in this environment, trading it its slick synth-pop for an abridged and unplugged version. But come the encore "Your Move" all the lighters came out and the otherwise quiet and attentive crowd let loose like a packed karaoke bar. Paired with an acapella finale of "O'er," it made for an introspective and enlightening send-off die-hards will be desperate to see again.

Circa - rest of the show

Here is the rest of the show, consisting on their whole album played live and a surprising encore.
The bass is very loud, as if Billy Sherwood wanted to show us all that he learned with Squire. And indeed he learned it quite well.

1. Cut The Ties
2. Don't Let Go
3. Together We Are
4. Information Overload
5. Trust In Something
6. Keeper Of The Flame
7. Life Going By
8. Look Inside
9. Brotherhood Of Man
10. band intros
11. Yes Medley (on a separate link)
12. Encore: Let Go (Yes:Union)

Links on comments!

2008 - Circa

CIRCA is a progressive rock supergroup founded by four musicians associated with Yes: current Yes member Alan White (drums), former Yes members Tony Kaye (Hammond, keyboards) and Billy Sherwood (bass, vocals), and guitarist Jimmy Haun, who played on the album Union. (from wikipedia)

After releasing an album in 2007, Circa hit the road with their tour, where the first half is the whole album, and second half was a superb Yes instrumental medley of 39 minutes, including a track from almost every Yes album, including several songs that haven't been played for ages (Looking Around, Something's Coming, Parallels, Tempus Fugit, Lightning Strikes, etc)

In addition to the players listed above, Billy Sherwood's brother Michael Sherwood was playing keys, vocoder and backing vocals. (bringing the question: was Kaye in a good moment or was Michael playing most parts?) Jimmy Haun, a guitarist who says Steve Howe was his main influence, is a good surprise. Alan White is brilliant in the songs originally played by Bruford.

From this show - Rosfest, Glenside, PA, US May 3, 2008 - I uploaded just the Yes medley. If there's interest and I can, I'll upload the rest.
You can know more about Circa on their long interview to Notes from the Edge. (part 1 and part 2)
Now the medley:
Looking Around; The Prophet; Every Little Thing; Harold Land; No Opportunity Necessary, no Experience Needed; Something's Coming; Yours is No Disgrace; Heart of the Sunrise; South Side of the Sky; Roundabout; Close to the Edge; And you and I; Ritual; Sound Chaser; Parallels; Arriving UFO; On the Silent Wings of Freedom; Tempus Fugit; Changes; Owner of a Lonely Heart; Cinema; Rhythm of Love; Lift Me Up; Endless Dream; Loveshine; Mind Drive; Open Your Eyes; Lightning Strikes.
Links on comments!