Review and Photos by Fred Kuhlman
Promoter: Danny Zelisko Presents (https://dzplive.com/ )
Venue: Celebrity Theatre (https://celebritytheatre.com/ )
Date: Wednesday August 14th, 2024
Tour: YES Spics, Classics & More
I have been a long-time follower of YES. I first saw them when they did their concert in the round at Arizona State University in 1978. The original band has broken up and different members are touring independently. Steve Howe has one version of YES that had Alan White (Drummer) as part of the band. Jon Anderson has toured independently and with Trevor Rabin & Rick Wakeman. I have also seen Rick Wakeman doing his one-man solo tour.
For those that don’t know YES or Jon Anderson, Jon was the lead singer for YES during the classic YES years and sang most of the iconic YES songs. Since most of the YES songs were over 3:30 minutes long, they did not get a lot of AM radio play. However, on FM radio, they were a mainstay. Most people probably have heard a couple of YES songs, including “Roundabout” and “Owner of a Lonely Heart”.
The concert started with “Yours Is No Disgrace”. Jon voice was spectacular. I was impressed by just how good The Band Geeks were at recreating the classic YES sound. For those not familiar with YES songs, they are extremely complicated with multiple tempo changes and complex lyrics. If a bass player ever wants to really see how good they are, then they need to try and copy Chris Squire’s bass playing. Chris was one of the lesser-known bass players but in reality, probably one of the most talented and technically excellent players in rock history.
The concert was divided into 2 sets. The first set of the show which was about 90 minutes long were almost all classic YES songs. If you were to close your eyes and just listen, you might actually think you were listening to the original YES band members. Jon Anderson was just amazing.
After a short intermission, they came back to do another hour. The second set was a mixture of newer Jon Anderson songs and classic YES songs. They ended the show with probably the most familiar song to most people, “Roundabout”.
Throughout the show, they received multiple standing ovations. People even sang along with their favorite YES songs. During “Roundabout”, the crowd was singing almost as loud as Jon.
I was allowed to photograph during the first 3 songs. But during the 3rd song, I was told that I was only to shoot the first 3 songs. The problem was at the time they were in the middle of the 3rd song, “Close to The Edge”. If you every heard any of YES’s classic songs, they seem like they are multiple songs but in reality, they are part of the same song. Also “Close To The Edge” is a very long song (Yes Taylor Swift fans, there have been bands with songs longer than 10 minutes).
The Band Geeks are a band that was originally setup to do podcasts. They also cover a number of different band’s music including YES. This is how Jon Anderson first learned of The Band Geeks. In 2023 Jon contacted The Band Geeks and asked if they would be interested in doing a small tour of the eastern USA. Initially the band thought it was someone playing a joke on them. Finally, they realized the it was legit. So, in the fall of 2023, they went on tour with Jon. The tour went so well that they decided to do another tour with cities across the USA. We were the 2nd to last show of the August part of the tour. However, they still have a few shows in September. You can see if they are coming to a city near you by going to their websites.
The Band Geeks on tour with Jon Anderson are bassist Richie Castellano, drummer Andy Ascolese, Keyboardist Christopher Clark, guitarist Andy Graziano and Robert Kipp on keyboards & guitar.
I very highly recommend this concert. The production was outstanding. They had multiple screens behind the band with different videos playing on them. At different points in the show, they had images of different YES albums being displayed across the screens. The musicians were awesome and made me feel like I was at an original YES concert. If you like 70s progressive rock music or YES, then this show is a must see. You will not be disappointed.
Jon Anderson Social Media sites:
Website: https://www.jonanderson.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheJonAnderson/
https://www.facebook.com/jonandersonyesepicsandclassics/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jonandersonyesepicsandclassics/
https://www.instagram.com/jonandersonmusic/
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/JonAnderson
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@jonandersonyesepicsclassic1987
https://www.youtube.com/c/JonAndersonOfficial
Richie Castellano & Band Geeks Social Media sites:
Website: https://richiecastellano.com/jonyesepic/
https://richiecastellano.com/bandgeek/
Facebook:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/richiecastellano/
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/richiecastellano
Photos © Fred Kuhlman 2024, All Rights Reserved
Setlist
1st Set
Yours Is No Disgrace (Yes song)
Perpetual Change (Yes song)
Close to the Edge (Yes song)
And You and I (Yes song)
I’ve Seen All Good People (Yes song)
Owner of a Lonely Heart (Yes song)
Heart of the Sunrise (Yes song)
Counties and Countries
Set 2:
Shine On
Awaken (Yes song)
Thank God
Starship Trooper (Yes song)
True Messenger
Roundabout (Yes song)
