----------------------------------------------------- NOVEMBER 15, 1997 ----------------------------------------------------- Source: Music Street Journal http://www.musicstreetjournal.com/yeslive.html Yes-Live in Milwaukee-November 15th, 1997 By Mike McFarlin For me, this Yes tour was the best that I have ever seen. I should explain that statement by saying that, although I have been an avid Yes fan since 1975, I did not get the opportunity to see them until the 90125 tour. Therefore, I did miss many of what diehard Yes fans consider to be their best outings. The entire band was in fine form, playing with precision and enthusiasm. Keyboardist, Ivan "Igor" Khoroshev (who is not officially a member of the band) did a wonderful job, adding fresh sounds and arrangements, while evoking much the same sense of virtuosity as Rick Wakeman. Highlights of the show for me included Siberian Khatru, Long Distance Runaround/The Fish (etc.), and And You And I. Khatru was especially magical since it was the first tour that I had seen Yes do this song (my favorite of their repertoire). Weak points of the show were the two new songs, and Billy Sherwood. Open Your Eyes and Children of Light were both considerably stronger on their respective albums than they were live, but perhaps with work they will be good live songs. Billy Sherwood really did not seem to contribute much to the show. In fact, the majority of the time he just seemed to be standing around with nothing to do. Honestly he was much busier on the Talk tour, and he was just a sideman then. It really made me wonder why he is a full-fledged member of the band while Khoroshev is just a hired hand. In general though the show was the magical experience of sound (both virtuosity and emotion) and vision that has come to be expected of Yes. Close Window YesInThePress.com For site comments, problems, corrections, or additions, contact YesinthePress@aol.com