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Old 17-11-2009, 10:47
Martacus
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I just found this review of last night gig by Yes in Birmingham. I was there & it was a really good night:

Yes
Symphony Hall, Birmingham
Concert review by Ian Harvey

Exactly twenty-nine years ago this week, prog rock supergroup Yes courted controversy at Birmingham Odeon by fielding another singer in the place of the band’s beloved Jon Anderson.

On that occasion it was Buggles frontman Trevor Horn, in a performance that fell some way short of triumphant.

See our concert photo gallery below

Last night Yes were at it again. now fronted by a singer who used to be . . . in a Yes tribute band.

When Anderson was sidelined by a serious respiritory illness last year, Yes recruited Canadian singer Benoît David so that the band’s 40th anniversary tour could be rescued.

Many fans have found it strange, with Anderson now returned to fitness and full voice (as he showed at a superb solo gig at the Robin 2 in July) that he has not returned to the fold. He, himself, has called the move “disrespectful”.

Not only that, but in the place of the band’s legendary keyboard player Rick Wakeman is his son, Oliver.

But where Yes have scored this time is that unlike Horn, David absolutely nails Anderson’s voice and vocal mannerisms. Six songs in, he earned the first of many standing ovations of the night with And You And I.

Yes were always a band made to be seen live. On record they can be very English and pastoral. Live the sound is huge, driven by Chris Squire’s relentless bass and Alan White’s polyrhythmic drumming.

Steve Howe may look impossibly frail these days, but his guitar playing isn’t, at once angular, spiky and thrilling.

It was a set both familiar – Starship Trooper, Roundabout and Owner Of A Lonely Heart – and full of rarities, with Onward, Tempus Fugit and Astral Traveller brushed down and dusted off to great effect.

At the end of the two-and-a-half hour set 80 per cent of the audience were on their feet.

But good as David is, there was always the nagging sensation that you were watching an exceedingly good impression, a ‘Stars In Their Eyes’ Jon Anderson. It was as if a favourite uncle had been replaced by a stranger at a family do who was just as witty and charming as the real thing. You wanted to love him . . . but not just yet.
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Old 17-11-2009, 23:39
plimmy
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I saw Anderson on his solo jaunt. He was brilliant..........and such a nice guy. He stayed for hours signing cd's and talking.
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Old 18-11-2009, 00:25
CLL Dodge
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Sounds a wee bit like Yes morphing into their own tribute band.
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Old 19-11-2009, 11:32
Martacus
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I saw Anderson on his solo jaunt. He was brilliant..........and such a nice guy. He stayed for hours signing cd's and talking.
I saw him too at The Robin in Bilston. It was a lovely night, the crowd where singing along with him & prompting him as well when he forgot the odd line.
Although Benoît David sounds like him, there's a lot more to JA than his voice, the guys truely a very spiritual being & missed him like hell on Monday. I am not having a go at Benoît David he did a very good job & glad he came around the world to sing for us so we could hear tracks which should really only be heard live to appreciate them fully.
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Old 19-11-2009, 14:53
revolver44
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now fronted by a singer who used to be . . . in a Yes tribute band.
Appalling tbh
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Old 20-11-2009, 13:55
Martacus
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Have you seen him live or just on You Tube? The quality of filming on You Tube for the US 2009 tour not that good & so you really have to see this bloke live to appreciate him
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Old 20-11-2009, 22:33
revolver44
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Have you seen him live or just on You Tube? The quality of filming on You Tube for the US 2009 tour not that good & so you really have to see this bloke live to appreciate him
No and I have no desire too either. Yes without Anderson is a massive NO. As for bands actually employing people who appeared in tribute bands of themselves, well, pop finally has eaten itself. They may as well pass a microphone around the audience each gig they play and have a Yes karaoke show.
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