Close your eyes. Imagine a major rock performance. Guitars, drums, mikes, monitors, amplifiers, speakers, gear than can cost millions of dollars, sub-woofer units that can register a 4 on the Richter scale, wild spectators, bright and colorful spot-lights that could trigger a bout of epilepsy on the most stable and sensible brains... i can go on and on. Everybody's attention is on the lead guitarist, who is looking skywards, his torso arched backwards, knees bent forwards, and making his electric guitar squeal for its dear life! Now, guess the age of the guitarist.
I'm sure you're way off. His age is 61. He is Steve Howe, lead guitarist in the legendary Yes Band. And even at that age, he makes love to his guitar on stage without a hint of hesitation.
London based Yes band rocked the Community Arts Center yesterday, and I was right there in the first row. I was pretty certain these guys were great instrumentalists, and their vocals featured harmonies. What surprised me was the psychedelic edge to their music. Their music reminded me of "Dark Side of the Moon". Even though they sounded similar to Pink Floyd, I find it hard to compare these two bands. I guess I like Pink Floyd better, but these guys were very good in their own right.
Chris Square's bass sounded very different and packs a punch. Most of the psychedelic touches of this band come from Oliver Wakerman on the keyboard. Alan White's drums sounded good, but didn't really seem to shine in today's performance. His drums sometimes reminded me of Led Zeppelin.
There are two aspects that don't seem to go well with the current line-up of the band. The vocalist, Benoît David, who replaced Jon Anderson doesn't seem to fit well. There's no denying that Benoît David has a great voice. But somehow, his voice doesn't seem to fit to the sound of the band. Jon Anderson, as seen on Youtube videos, is way better. The second problem is that the harmonies of Steve Howe and Chris Square don't seem to match the brightness of Benoît David's voice.
There was an opening act by a band whose name I am unable to recollect. They did a good job too. But the members of Yes made us wait for about 20 minutes after the opening act and that felt uncomfortable. Of course, I had my iPhone, so I used the time to research on the history of this band. This was the first band that made us wait and I am not happy about it.
All in all, it was a very enjoyable performance. Live rock performances generally take their toll on the performer's body and I am surprised at how this band can sustain the high levels of energy at their age. Hope they continue rocking for a long time to come.
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