----------------------------------------------------- OCTOBER 31, 2001 ----------------------------------------------------- Source: Starostin's Reviews http://starling.rinet.ru/music/yes.htm#Appendix Yes Concert in Moscow By George Starostin As I'm definitely not a hardcore Yes fan, I wasn't really sure about going initially -- but I'd already missed Procol Harum this year, so I thought it would be stupid to miss the chance -- besides, I got the tickets (for me and my wife whom I actually managed to lure onto the show as well) for $30, which was a real marvel compared to the $100 tickets for Clapton earlier this year which really made a serious rent in the budget. Ah well, that's the price of ART. Anyway, me not being a Yeshead, I confess I wasn't really blown away by the show -- I guess, though, that my lacking of a reaction as strong as I experienced at the Stones and Clapton shows was also due to the fact that in those two cases, I kept wondering if they'll actually make it, if they can live up to my expectations -- and they did; in the case of Yes, I was absolutely internally sure that the show will be immaculate, and well it was. That doesn't mean I didn't enjoy it greatly: all in all, it was a marvelous experience. The place wasn't exactly sold out -- I had seats in the 28th row, somewhat far from the stage (although with the perfect planning of the place and with a little help from binoculars I could pretty much see everything that was going on), but there were lots of empty seats left, at least in my section of the venue. Also, during the show, sad as it is to say, lots of people began leaving their places, I'm pretty sure at least 50 people passed us by before the encore. Right in front of me, two young guys left the show right in the middle of 'Gates Of Delirium' grumbling something like 'can't stand this any more'. Aw well, it's their own money and their own right to do that, but seriously I sometimes have to question reasons people actually go to shows like these if they don't have the least idea of what to expect. Then again, deep inside I have the suspicion that most of these were only familiar with Yes' Eighties' output -- all through the pauses between songs, there were cries of 'I Am A Camera', 'Owner Of A Lonely Heart' and 'Changes' from the audience! Funny, I never realized that -- I'm a-guessin' some of the band's poppy 'inoffensive' stuff must have actually made it in limited quotas on Soviet TV or radio in the early Eighties. Ah, too bad I can't even remember that... Well, never mind, even with all the empty seats, there were still enough people to give the band a good cheer. The KSP is a huge place, after all. So here are some general observations, first of all. The orchestra was the weak link, I think. The band-less intros and occasional outros were nice-sounding and all that, but hardly exceptional; and when the orchestra accompanied the band, it couldn't be heard at all. I mean, sometimes, straining my ear to the most, I could distinguish a cello part or something like that, but in general, for me the orchestra probably had a Phil Spector-ish role: miriads of additional instruments which 'should be felt but not heard'. I'm not exactly a supporter of that logic, but MAYBE if I had to compare this with an orchestra-less live performance, I'd feel the actual difference. Even so, I think only a true Yes fan who had accompanied the band around the world for the last twenty years can really feel it in his bones. I cannot. What is MUCH worse is that in order to accommodate the orchestra, the band actually had to tone down the volume -- so in the end, I was sorely missing the crushing sonic wave. I could whisper something to my wife during the heaviest part of 'Gates Of Delirium' and hear her whispering in response -- now how cool is that? Nah, I don't believe in that orchestra thing after all. The band itself, now that's a different matter. ENTIRELY different. And props here mostly go to Jon Anderson. He felt himself TOTALLY at ease on stage, at least twenty times less constipated and shy than I've seen him on the early years Yessongs video. Of course he's not ideal. His prancing around does look a little stupid (my wife said he reminded her of the typical Soviet dancer of the synth-poppy Eighties' epoch -- moving around and dancing around just a bit, as long as it doesn't violate the basic Soviet morals of 'no sexuality allowed'), and he's not a great joker or anything. But he talked a lot and made the most friendly impression possible. Naturally, he made all kinds of Russia-directed compliments, asked how 'new song' is in Russian, then he started complaining that they brought all their hats and coats they couldt find and WHERE'S THE SNOW???, etc., etc. 'A guy backstage came up to us and said, 'please, please, do Starship Trooper!'. And we said, oh no, we haven't done the song in years, we've forgotten how it goes, but tonight, tonight we'll try'. Of course he's lying, the janitor scum that he is, but who besides me is supposed to know that??? Heh heh. The most important thing, of course, is this really casual, nonchalant and absolutely non-pretentious way of introducing the songs -- maybe the greatest thing about the show. 'Gates Of Delirium'? It's 'about all those crazy times we had in the Seventies'. 'Ritual'? It's 'about all of us being together, gathered in this one place'. 'And You And I'? 'Dedicated to my wife Jane, and to all the other wives here, and to all you people who had a birthday today, happy birthday to you'. Simple as that. Complex metaphysical gibberish-filled songs that actually aren't made a fuss about. It's like, yeah, well, they're a bit longer, and a bit more complex than usual, but they're really no different from what everyone else is doing. That was really nice. And, of course, Jon was in perfect vocal form. The others were fine too. Chris Squire looked totally ridiculous -- in those tight pants and weird boots that made him look like a circus performer, a bit less vivacious than he used to in the old days, and really somewhat clownish, but still playing a mean and maybe even meaner bass than before. BTW, the acoustics were wonderful (except for the orchestra thing), and every single bass note was perfectly audible. The highlight, of course, was the bass solo on 'Ritual', but he did some really crazyass things on 'Starship Trooper' as well. Steve Howe was Steve Howe. I've spent most of the show trying to determine whether he was wearing glasses or that was just a peculiar blink in his eye, but when I got closer to the stage in the encore he definitely was wearing glasses. For some reason, some people describe the guy as visually hideous these days -- he never seemed hideous to me, just really really lean. God's ways are unpredictable -- Chris actually got rather overweight with age, and Steve just lost the few ounces of meat he ever had. He hasn't lost his talent, though; I do believe he actually got better with age. Don't believe me? Compare 'The Clap' as he does it now with how he used to do it in the early Seventies. The same speed and precision, but now he does it much more fluently and cleanly, without all those pauses and ugly 'scrapings' of yore. Three cheers for Steve. The new keyboard guy, Tom Brislin, learned all the keyboard parts just fine, that's all I can say -- he made sure that all the keyboard parts were there, even if he did not add much personality-wise. And finally, Alan White drums real good, like he really should. Specific observations. The setlist was pretty standard for the tour in general, concentrating mainly on the huge Seventies' epics, all of which are pretty much to my liking (no 'Awaken', thank God!). Out of these, 'The Gates Of Delirium' was definitely the highlight, with an amazing battle section and crystal clear steel pedal and vocal work on the 'soon oh soon' section. But 'Ritual' came close, with all of the band but Steve happily joining in the 'tribal' drum battle (funny enough, 'Ritual' turned out to be the most impressive performance for my wife!). 'Starship Trooper', as I already mentioned, had Squire overamplifying his bass at one point and doing some really weird sequences in the coda. 'And You And I' was given the regular treatment (none of the earlier-used climactic introduction, just starting off right into the acoustic section), with Steve's amazing pedal steel notes in the climax ringing out loud 'n' clear. The new material, as usual, was limited to but two songs -- 'Don't Go' (wonderful choice indeed) and 'In The Presence Of', parts of which I actually -- believe it or not -- enjoyed when done live, especially the opening vocal melody. Hmm, maybe I should revise my opinion on the song? Anyway, it was introduced by Jon as something that was really done in a 'spontaneous' manner, and he started asking the Russian equivalent for 'spontaneous'... Spontaneous my ass. Still a really resonant performance. The BIG surprise, of course, came with the encore. My guess is that all the cries from the audience for Eighties' material actually got to Jon, and while off stage he managed to convince the band -- particularly Steve, of course, the only one not involved in the Trevor Rabin period -- to play 'Owner Of A Lonely Heart', which they DID. Not that it's a big achievement for Steve, I guess he can play that simple Eighties' guitar riff in his sleep without rehearsing it once. But it's a weird precedent anyway, and nice to see a precedent in Moscow! I even forgive the fact that they dropped 'Perpetual Change' from the setlist that night. And yes, the show closed with an abridged version of 'Roundabout', by which time the audience were finally moving around and actually shaking their asses, something that Jon tried in vain to get them to do for 'I've Seen All Good People' but ultimately failed. Well, Kremlin State Palace audiences aren't much of a dancing outfit anyway. So that was it. Excellent show, and I hope that Moscow prog fans got all they wanted from it. But for me, as I already said, maybe the greatest pleasure of the show was in really seeing how light these guys take everything they're doing. If somebody ever had a "everybody shut up and sit down and gape in awe thunderstruck by the mighty mind-opening otherworldly sounds of the most profound and deep-reaching band in the world" complex about these guys, a show like that one would have easily sufficed to dissipate that prejudice forever. So God bless you guys and come back as often as possible. Close Window YesInThePress.com For site comments, problems, corrections, or additions, contact YesinthePress@aol.com