YES: In the Present Toronto Show

Benoit David has a powerful voice and I was amazed at his resemblance to Jon Anderson as well. This man could give YES another 10-15 years of touring life. The song selection was much better than some recent YES gigs. Adding rarities like “Machine Messiah”, “Tempus Fugit” both not played live since 1980! “Onward” from the 1978 album Tormato and “Astral Traveller” from their second album Time and a Word. Excellent choices in my book. The rest was standard YES concert fare with “Close to the Edge”, “Roundabout”, “All Good People” etc…but the man can sing exactly like Anderson with the same accents and he reaches the high notes. Although his voice did crack during “Machine Messiah”, overall, he was excellent.

Steve Howe was also fantastic changing guitars whenever it suited a particular song (which was often). Chris Squire was on fire and Alan White gave a good solid performance. Oliver Wakeman was kept behind the keys and did his job well with a lot less of the flamboyance of his father. Obviously making sure he played the parts faithfully especially the piano bit on “South Side of the Sky”.

I have to say I walked out very satisfied knowing that YES music lives on…

YES: In the Present Rehearsal Photos

All credit to Paul Silveira who took these shots of YES rehearsing in Hamilton, Ontario for the http://www.yesworld.com website. These were most likely taken on November 1st. Not enough close ups for me except the nice one of Steve Howe. Perhaps they didn’t want any close ups? I’m looking forward to tomorrow night at Massey Hall and a future DVD from the tour.

Election Day USA

Well, it looks like Barack Obama is going to win the US election today. People want a change. And he represents a big change in US politics. Whether he can fufil even half of his goals will be a challenge. It’s too bad he’s running against John McCain, a person I admire. McCain’s time was 2000, and if he had won that race, perhaps the world would be a different place. Also, Bush and Cheney have been very missing in action during this campaign. Change is in the air, and hopefully for the better. [But enough of that word “change” already!!!]