LOS ANGELES, Sept. 25, 2008—YES concerts have always been very special events, and this winter’s “In the Present” tour, hitting a total of 30 cities in November and December, will be no different, as Steve Howe, Chris Squire and Alan White play selections from hit albums like Fragile, Close to the Edge, Tales from Topographic Oceans and 90125 along with audience favorites like “Roundabout,” “Owner of a Lonely Heart” and “I’ve Seen All Good People,” some of the enduring classics that have made YES the most influential and groundbreaking progressive group in rock & roll.
The tour will get underway at the Hamilton Place Theater in Hamilton, ON, on Nov. 4 and run through Dec. 17 at the Hard Rock Casino in Miami., featuring guitarist Howe, bassist Squire and drummer White, joined by keyboardist Oliver Wakeman, the son of YES’ Rick Wakeman, and vocalist Benoit David, a Montreal, Quebec, native and vocalist in several YES tribute groups, who was discovered by the band on the Internet and invited on the tour.
The group’s itinerary includes performances at New York’s Hammerstein Ballroom on Nov. 14, Baltimore’s Ram’s Head Live Nov. 16, Cleveland’s House of Blues Nov. 25, Detroit’s Fillmore on Nov. 26, Cincinnati’s Taft Theater Nov. 29, St. Louis’ The Pageant Dec. 2, Chicago’s Chicago Theater Dec. 3, Atlanta’s The Tabernacle Dec. 7, Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium Dec. 10 and Orlando’s Hard Rock Live Nov. 14, with more dates to be announced.
Over the course of a remarkable 40-year career that has time and again redefined the boundaries of rock, YES have become renowned for their live performances since being formed in 1968 by Chris Squire and Jon Anderson, who shared a mutual interest in vocal harmonies and classical music. With drummer Bill Bruford, guitarist Peter Banks and keyboardist Tony Kaye, they became YES, earning a residency at the famed London venue The Marquee Club, where they played with the likes of Jimi Hendrix and Pink Floyd, releasing their self-titled debut album in July 1969.
Guitarist Steve Howe, who went on to play in the popular prog-rock groups Asia and GTR and continues releasing acclaimed solo albums and touring, brought an experimental cutting edge to YES for their 1970’s The Yes Album, their first album to top the UK charts. Drummer Alan White, who had been hand-picked to play on John Lennon’s Imagine and George Harrison’s All Things Must Pass, came aboard in 1972. YES then went on to conquer America and played at some of the largest paid attendance concerts of all time, including JFK Stadium in Philadelphia in 1976 to a crowd of over 130,000 people.
A dominant force in rock music for more than four decades, YES has created some of rock’s most enduring and compelling hits, selling more than 30 million albums worldwide. The group has defined music history with their dynamic instrumental contrasts and abstract lyrics. Their symphonic use of sound and innovative musical styles continues to make them the most successful progressive rock band in history and their amazing career continues to defy many of their rock counterparts.
Says Chris Squire: ‘In the Present’ perfectly describes our experience in rediscovering these songs all over again while performing them in concert, as if for the very first time.”
“IN THE PRESENT” TOUR DATES
Nov. 4: Hamilton Place Theater, Hamilton, ON
Nov. 5: Massey Hall, Toronto, ON
Nov. 7: Hampton Beach Casino, Hampton Beach, NH
Nov. 8: Community Arts Center, Williamsport, PA
Nov. 9: Mohegan Sun, Uncasville, CT
Nov. 11: Hershey Theater, Hershey, PA
Nov. 12: The LC Pavilion, Columbus, OH
Nov. 14: Hammerstein Ballroom, NY, NY
Nov. 15: Paramount Theatre, Asbury Park, NJ
Nov. 16: Ram’s Head Live, Baltimore, MD
Nov. 18: Sovereign PAC, Reading, PA
Nov. 19: The National, Richmond, VA
Nov. 21: Borgata Events Center, Atlantic City, NJ
Nov. 22: Theatre @ Westbury, Westbury, NY
Nov. 23: Theatre @Times Union Center, Albany, NY
Nov. 25: House of Blues, Cleveland, OH
Nov. 26: The Fillmore, Detroit, MI
Nov. 28: Taft Theatre, Cincinnati, OH
Nov. 29: Riverside Theater, Milwaukee, WI
Nov. 30: US Cellular Center, Bloomington, IL
Dec. 2: The Pageant, St. Louis, MO
Dec. 3: Chicago Theater, Chicago, IL
Dec. 6: House of Blues, Myrtle Beach, SC
Dec. 7: The Tabernacle, Atlanta, GA
Dec. 9: Palace Theater, Louisville, KY
Dec. 10: Ryman Auditorium, Nashville, TN
Dec. 14: Hard Rock Live, Orlando, FL
Dec. 15: Ruth Eckerd, Clearwater, FL
Dec. 17: Hard Rock Casino, Miami, FL
6 comments:
Looks like tix start at $50. plus ticketbastard fees. I'm so torn.
I heard some upper general admission seats were $25.
Also, Jon Anderson has a letter he wrote about this new tour on his web site which I haven't read yet. But I hear they will play some "Drama" songs that Jon didn't particularly like singing (he wasn't on the album anyway, don't think, except on the re-release, it was the Buggles' guys, Trevor Horn and Jeff Downes (Asia with Howe), who helped keep Yes alive, as did Trevor Rabin).
At any rate, I'd rather not hear all those hits anymore that Bill mentions here. I'm sick of 'Roundabout!' and 'All Good People!'
The cool thing about this show will be hearing how the new singer and Adam Wakeman do - the new schoolers or something like that which Squire called them. Adam will be good, no doubt, with a dad in Rick Wakeman!
Please send reviews of the first shows someone - thanks!
Gary
Performing Yes classics without Jon Anderson? Forget it. Now, if they focused on the music from their solo careers, that might be interesting...
We live close to Hamilton,,,,soo i guess me and the kids will test the first show out... Stay tuned for an update and show list...
Albert
We saw the concert last night (11-21-2008) at Atlantic City's Borgata. Every song was a wonderful work of art. The Benoit David and Oliver Wakeman should make die-hard fans proud. I have never tired of their hits and they played each one with passion.
SEE THIS SHOW.
Steve Howe is worth the price of admission. David Benoit has my respect. (and I adore Jon Anderson's singing, I'm a big YES fan) so...They're doing Starship Trooper, the whole Close to the Edge suite and Heart of the Sunrise and many many more great old Yes tunes.
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