YES
VENUE palladium, london DATE 25/03/2018
On a second night at the London Palladium, Yes are celebrating their 50th anniversary as a band. Just consider that fact for a moment. Few things in life even endure for a half-decade, and along the way Yes have suffered their share of turbulence, though the band’s legacy speaks for itself. A day of birthday events including a Q&A with Prog editor Jerry Ewing precedes this show, and expectation from the packed venue approaches fever pitch as the house lights dim.
Yes are introduced by Bill Bruford, the group’s illustrious former drummer whose unexpected arrival triggers the first of many standing ovations. Bruford observes: “I’m the only founder member able to be present tonight,” which draws a mix of catcalls and laughter, though if this comment could be viewed as acerbic, he follows up with: “Yes are a bit frayed around the edges, but they have earned respect and withstood the test of time, and like a fine wine, they get better with age. They’re a wonderful band.”
Coming from a man who can be slightly sniffy about his erstwhile colleagues, such endorsement is priceless to the current
Yes, based around guitarist Steve Howe (a sometime member since 1970) and Bruford’s successor Alan White (an ever-present since 1972) – though due to ill health, the latter is ruled out tonight until the show’s closing stages. Having deputised following White’s back surgery, Jay Schellen once again proves a competent stand-in.
Full marks have to go to the band for their choice of location – the Palladium is an absolutely beautiful venue for a rock concert, with perfect sound and a lighting rig that complements the dazzling colours of the music.
Kicking off the first set with Yours Is No Disgrace and I’ve
Seen All Good People, Yes appear to be on safe ground, though the following day, complaints of overplaying from Howe appear on the Prog Magazine Readers’ Facebook group. And later on, Howe forewarns of a differing arrangement of Sweet Dreams from Time And A Word. Clearly, some fans believe the band should just bite the bullet and play the songs the way they know them.
Current frontman Jon Davison dedicates Onward to the late
Chris Squire and “his surviving family members in the audience”. It’s a truly wonderful composition, heart-melting in its gorgeousness, and Davison, a key performer alongside the ever-dependable Geoffrey Downes, is in celestial voice. Reflecting the gravitas of the event, Davison even wears a suit for tonight’s show.
The once reclusive Howe now plays more of an active role, his solo spot Mood For A Day preceding the final run-in of Wonderous Stories, Parallels and a crystalline And You And I.
Personally, this reviewer could have lived without the 53 minutes pulled from Tales From Topographic Oceans (Yes’ infamous, fabled
1973 conceptual double album) that fills the show’s entire second half. Jon Anderson’s interpretation of a set of Hindu teachings is viewed alternatively as an all-time nadir in the bloated era of 1970s music or, to a handful of diehards, some kind of Holy Grail.
The album contains some wonderful themes, including Leaves Of Green, which is a fragrant vocal/acoustic guitar interlude from a much larger piece (The Ancient), but tonight reminds us that its contents have more padding than a convention of Meat
Loaf impersonators.
With White having reclaimed the sticks from Schellen during Ritual (Nous Sommes Du Soleil), a three-song encore sees Trevor Horn take the mic for Tempus Fugit from the underrated Drama period, before the group sign off with renditions of Roundabout and Starship Trooper.
Some people in the world of prog may dismiss Yes as a band that should no longer exist, but try telling that to a packed Palladium that hang on to, and celebrate, their every word – however ludicrous those words may sometimes be.
“THE PALLADIUM IS AN ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL VENUE FOR A ROCK CONCERT, WITH PERFECT SOUND AND A LIGHTING RIG THAT COMPLEMENTS THE DAZZLING COLOURS OF THE MUSIC.”