YES ‘Album Series’ Tales/Drama USA Tour Reviews

“Shying away from their main stream hits for this tour, as a gift to their fans base, they began their set by playing all six songs of the Drama album. Nearly every song yielded a standing ovation from the crowd and some people stood up alone when the feeling moved them to do so.

The Drama album was followed up by You and I from their 1972 Close To The Edge album and Perpetual Change from their 1971 The Yes Album.

The first set was inspiring and immaculately performed. If anyone in the audience had any reservations about seeing them live without their original line up; those reservations were a distant memory. I would have never imagined that anyone could fill Jon Anderson’s shoes. But Jon Davison’s soaring vocals match so well you may never know you were listening to a different person.

The band took an intermission and fans made their way to the wine tables in the lobby still high from the opus they just experienced.

When the performance started again they opened with possibly their most inspiring song from Tales from Topographic Oceans; The Revealing Science of God (Dance of the Dawn). It was nearly 20 minutes of seat gripping bliss.

It would not be a Yes concert without at least one Steve Howe solo. Tucked away in the song The Ancient is a little segment they like to call Leaves of Green. When Steve plays it, you can feel his deep connection to this song. I have seen it in live recordings many times in my life but nothing compares to hearing it live.

They ended their set with The Ritual (Nous Somme Du Soleil). Intricate and extraordinary, I am certain that there were members of the audience that had a spiritual moment during this song.

The band received a long standing ovation at the end and treated their fans to a three song encore. Roundabout kept everyone moving on their feet and most the crowd stayed standing for Starship Trooper.

Just as we thought the concert was over the band played tribute to John Wetton of the group Asia, who passed away this January 31st, with the song Heat of the Moment. Changing nothing from the original song it was flawlessly preformed.

As fans walked to their cars everyone was still excited. I could over hear comments about the show. I believe my favorite was, “As an Atheist, music like this could make me believe there is a God”. Yes, for all of the creativity and imagination that went into creating and producing their music, Yes live is still out of this world.” – Lori Dantzler, Flick of the Finger Magazine.

“The pieces were nothing short of a tour de force of musical ambition, complexity and remarkable synchronicity. It sounded outstanding. This version of YES seems to play at a higher level, a more powerful level, like they’ve been together a decade or more. These guys are on no nostalgia tour. They play it like they mean business, with little intention of slowing down” – Raymond Britt, Chicago Tribune

Visually, YES have stepped up the production on the tour courtesy of video designer Andy Clark and lighting designer Don Weeks, with multiple video feeds featuring Roger Dean imagery, from waterfalls and floating islands to topographic landscapes, bioluminescence, deep sea creatures, jellyfish, and marine life.

“With a large LED background that displayed colorful graphics as well as the occasional YES logo, the band delivered over 2½ hours of classic music that had attendees picking their jaws up off the floor.” – Chris Loomis, SoCal Music Today

But here’s a more shocking truth: The version of Yes aboard this year’s Cruise to the Edge sounded sharper and more engaged than they have in a decade. – Ryan Reed, Ultimate Classic Rock

“Yes continues with its tradition of symphonic progressive rock that remains timelessly fresh and innovative.” – Tampa Bay Newspapers