I’m not sure that many people have bought tickets expecting Jon to be there, there was enough pre-publicity. Chris states in the new CR Prog that he’s been in touch with Jon and he isn’t fot to tour,so one of them is being economical…….

Philip

Well said Jon, i am certainly not paying £30 to £40 to in effect, see a tribute band. This is a rip off and insult to the fans and cannot believe the rest of the band need the money that badly.

they should tour as “Maybe, bordering on no”

They should now be called “Somewhat”.

got to agree with jon. they are just touring as a tribute band.however, they are covering songs from “Drama” which jon won’t do.

They shouldn´t be touring period…….Talk about boring old farts in constant orbit, with dated music for old hippies & weirdos…..

Pot calling kettle black….?

How quickly JA forgets that he was the instigator of coups with previous band members, being instrumental in ousting Peter Banks and then Tony Kaye.

Also, if he’d been a bit more willing to compromise on recent tours and sing Drama-era material, or at least let the band play it instrumentally, this situation might not have arisen. I’m sure I read somewhere that other band members were frustrated by his stance.

Still, his voice is such a unique part of Yes, that I won’t be seeing on this tour either. A bit ‘close to the (tribute) edge’ for me.

much as I love Jon’s voice and his decades long direction of the band, his excuses for not touring with them, PRIOR to his illness were confirmed by a friend of mine who worked with Jon’ solo tours as not entirely true. Jon CHOSE to work apart from them since 2004. In 2008 he was ready to tour the SAME songs essentially from 2004. The band had accepted that this was the position, and the tour was planned. Nobody blames him for getting sick, and nobody wishes him harm. Rick also had backed out of THAT tour, so it is a bit confusing to read that he and Jon are annoyed that the shows are happening without them. This is basically a continuation of In The Present, and I believe that it actually is more honest. The writing is on the wall. It does not help Anderson’s position to complain now. This current tour was planned while the last one was windong down, and I would think that contracts were open ended. I wonder how this affects Rick and Oliver’s personal relationship.

Don’t forget, Jon stopped wanting to record new stuff before the 2004 tour ended. Rick was frustrated with that publicly.
Billy Sherwood has proven with Circa that if you release independently, you can still make money and success with new material. He has suggested YES do the same, recording and marketing their new music without a label, and keeping a bigger piece of the pie. YES still has a large following, people would buy it.
I DO wish they would just make the announcement and let the chips fall where they will.

And someone here mentioned that we should not forget that Jon orchestrated the dismissal of Peter, and Tony, and I suspect if Trevor had been interested in staying in Yes after TALK, that Howe might not have been welcomed back.

Well, the Yes history shows that these guys CANT get on well at all!!!! They have to fight always. No surprise that all this is happening.

We (devoted Yes fans) love Jon, but we are looking forward to seeing & hearing this line up in the UK. At a time when Jon was very ill, the rest of the band just wanted to play & I see little wrong with that. There has been no ‘Classic Line up’ tour for 5 years, not beacause of ill health but because of argument and (I believe) greed. I genuinely think Steve and Chris just want to give the people a show & I welcome the chance to hear less played material. Good luck boys & good health Jon.

I totall agree with Jon! I am a lifelong Yes fan and have bought tickets for the Edinburgh concert on Nov 19th thinking Jon was going to be there! As much as I like the rest of the line up[That I know!] To me Jon Anderson is, and always will be the sound of Yes.I am still going on the 19th ,but I am less than pleased with the rest of the band for not giving him a bit more respect! I would like to see Jon perform with Yes again so I hope this doesn’t end that chance!

Hey Jon, park the EGO will ya….I’d like to see Jon back but not at the expense of hearing the same songs over again. The fact that Jon won’t do anything off of Drama and other songs is pathetic anymore. I feel this new line-up is the key to keeping YES going for more years to come. The new line-up affords the band to really explore the YES song catalog and make each tour more interesting.

So this is STILL an issue with Jon, or is he having second thoughts again??

No one member of a band should be bigger than the band identity itself. Misfortune of Jon’s ill health notwithstanding, it is not fair to Chris Squire, Steve Howe, and Alan White that their plans to go and do what they do — be professional, performing musicians — be shanghai’d by Jon in some sort of “I AM YES” posture.

On the consumer end, it’s pure caveat emptor: you ought to know that Jon isn’t with them, and if that’s a deal breaker, then simply, fine; don’t go. If you’re so against it, the very worse thing you can do is not give them your money in exchange for what’s on offer.

I saw this lineup twice already, fully informed beforehand, and frankly they were incredible shows. And it was great to hear ‘Tempus Fugit’ and ‘Machine Messiah’ live, which was otherwise impossible before.
They even rocked ‘Owner of a Lonely Heart’ — did Howe do so begrudgingly, or in a snit? Did Trevor Rabin threaten to sue?? No; they are professionals, and behaved as such. Too bad Anderson — essential though he is — can’t, even if just for the Present.

The Yes brand has been [hopefully not permanently] cheapened by their greedy and inconsiderate moves.

Jon outclasses the rest of the band by ten times. I would rather hear Jon & his guitar than the rest of these musicians, even though they are some of the world’s best.

I look forward to Jon’s new music, there are some awesome things in the works from him.

I wish the rest of the band the best, but they are not YES.

Inside of this and Outside of that… mostly I wish they’d put out some *new* music… about 10years since Jon’s last solo… 8 or so since any proper new Yes album. – Daylight’s burning. …’Daylight Fades’… Time(itself) fades away. Even Jon’s ‘Transcendent Dance’ has been postponed 2yrs or more.

I’ve played guitar since the early 70’s mostly thanx to Steve Howe. The man is my guru but I’m sorry, he and Chris were wrong to tour. To me, it doesn’t matter whether it was due to Jon’s health, or artistic disagreements or what have you, doing a Yes tour without Jon is not a Yes tour IMO.

They should’ve either waited until Jon healed or not done it at all. If the relationship between Jon and the rest is truly unworkable, Steve, Chris and Alan should find a new singer, form a new band, write new material and not call it Yes. Or else do solo stuff or work with other people. Or go play with the grand kids. Anything EXCEPT touring as Yes without Jon is acceptable.

Think about the Who going on tour without Daltrey, Zep without Plant, Tull without Ian Anderson, Queen without Freddie Mercury (don’t get me started) or even System of a Down without Serj Tankian to give a more modern example. In the words of Eric Cartman,” It’s wrong, it’s wrong.”

and so it goes so it goes…Jon knows he is out now, the concerts say so, then band is being well recieved by people going there expecting to be disappointed. And they have announced a new recording in 2010, even have met for musical idea exchange, which is more than in the last 10 years…

I saw Yes (?) in Vicenza and Milan, Italy: my mistake! I can say they are NOT Yes!! I gave up going to see them in Paris, ’cause I don’t want to waste money.
And in my opinion, apart Steve Howe, they played quite bad.
Without Jon, it is better not going on.
I really hope Jon could do wonderful solo albums (or maybe with Rick?).

Saw Yes last night in Edinburgh. Got to say “Who the f was Jon Anderson? Did not miss him at all.BRILLIANT show. Two and a half hours of genius..And Oliver ? Every bit as good as his dad. Haste ye back.

Benoit David is merely a Jon Anderson impersonator, and has the stage craft and charisma of a novice red coat. Come back Jon.

Talk about not respecting the fans. I saw Yes in 2002 and 2004, with the ‘classic’ line up and the set list was practically the same for both tours. It has been said that Jon vetoes songs that he doesn’t like, which would probably explain why the set list of those tours did not change particularly dramatically, despite 35 years worth of albums. Not much respect shown there Jon.

I saw them in New York in 2004 and it was the second worst of the 14 times I have seen them, the worst being the Drama tour in London. Appalling. Both Wakeman and Anderson looked like they really did not care about the concert. Not much respect shown there.

I saw them on this tour in Edinburgh and, to anybody who decided not to see them because Jon Anderson wasn’t there is a fool that missed out on a great show. A varied set list, with long forgotten classics played for the first time. The band looked like they were enjoying themselves in a way that they haven’t for years, and Benoit David brought a whole new dynamic to the band. A lot of respect shown there.

It was Rick Wakeman who said he could forsee that Yes as a band would continue long after he had departed this mortal coil. Quite how he reckons this is going to happen with Jon is a good question. Or perhaps he forgot that he said that.

I for one celebrate the fact that the remaining members of the ‘classic’ line up have found two musicians who are more than capable of performing Yes music for those of us that still want to listen to it live. Long may they live.

As for those that say Yes isn’t Yes without Jon Anderson, I would disagree. The Drama album is as good as many in their cannon, and certainly better than some. If you ask me the Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe album was a poor imitation of Yes that really missed the instrumental and vocal input of Chris Squire. Whilst no band is about one person, to me he is the person that has kept the Yes flame alive, and the person who gives it a more distinctive edge. I hope that, when the time comes, he will retire with a degree more dignity that Rick Wakeman, or indeed Jon Anderson, has.

There is enough YES here to matter. It’s tough to come to grips with one’s own mortality but next time it might be another member not able to make it. Will that then not be YES? Jon’s not as his best and i won’t hold any of his comments against him but i believe even he is accepting of the situation now. Squire is the only member that could be missing and you could justifiably say it’s not YES, since he’s the ONLY common component in all their incarnations.

With their varied history, it should be just viewed as another chapter in their storied and wonderful history. And Jon should be more gracious towards Benoit. I hope to see them, Squire lost a wheel right before i was to see them in Dallas last time.

Chris, you really need to hit the gym buddy ;D

I agree with Jon 100%, it is disrespectful for them to tour without Jon. Back in the day I went to every YES concert which came to town. Jon Anderson’s presence of front man for the band was always the pinnacle of the experience….as well as the music. I will not be going to see this YES, especially hearing they had a choice and as far as I am concerned, made the wrong one. Loyalty is dead…it’s all about the buck anymore, but I can guarantee you they would have filled venues if they would have had Jon with them. Too bad for them and us..Yes’s loyal fans.

I’ve been a massive Yes fan for 35 years, and just saw the latest tour last night with Benoit and Oliver. I had thought they would compensate for Jon and Rick’s absence with a renewed musical tightness, richness and clarity: a ‘player’s’ show. Instead, they were actually doing tunes a bit slow, and not entirely all on the same beat! For me, it quickly became not a problem of substitute musicians, but that the core sound was actually sagging a bit! When I saw the classic line-up not long ago, they were more on tempo, tighter, and with better sound! Certainly, there were some truly excellent musical moments, and I could not have greater reverence for any musicians than Steve, Chris, and Alan. And, my mind was open to trusting in their choice to go forward with Benoit and Oliver, for what I thought would be just one tour while Jon recuperated. But, I cannot accept this arrangement as permanent. The concert was NOWHERE NEAR as powerful, expressive and moving as when Jon sings. He is the poet that conceived of the band and its unique lyrical artistry and vision, and it has been a real treasure to hear him in person on tour with YES in recent years. I can accept some substitute folks for an agreed-to temporary arrangement. But, if YES is now what I saw last night, well… I know I don’t need to hear again what I heard last night. Bring back Jon (Rick, your choice about Oliver; BTW, he was great.)

Funny watching how worked up the die-hard fans are getting over this. I agree with John McMillan. Life is short and the band wants to play. Jon was not well for a very long time, and Chris, Steve and Alan want to play. (I doubt it was about ‘needing the money that badly,’ as some have said, but even if it was – who cares?)

I saw the new band a few nights ago in Northampton, Massachusetts and they were terrific. Given the choice, would I have preferred to see the classic line-up? Of course, but I wasn’t given the choice. It was this band or the sofa. Many Yes fans it seems would choose the sofa over this band. That’s a shame. I’ve been Yes fan for about 30 years, but I guess I’m a casual, easy-going Yes fan compared to some of you. I’m a simple guy. I will choose seeing Steve Howe play guitar over the couch every time, under any imaginable circumstances. Steve never disappoints. And sadly, he’s a finite commodity. He won’t be around forever.

And he did not disappoint. Neither did the others, including Benoit, whose voice is outstanding. The show was wonderful. I agree with some of what Dave Meuser said; it certainly wasn’t the best Yes show I have ever seen. But once again – so what? I gave up seeking perfection years ago. I’ll settle for excellence. And the Yes show I saw a few nights ago was excellent. Steve’s jam in Yours is No Disgrace was a religious experience. The guitar-keyboard duel between Steve and Oliver during South Side of the Sky was extraordinary. I’ll remember it always.

Life is short. You guys should lighten up and enjoy the band. Before they’re dead and gone.

How can a clone reach the notes of jon, His voice is one of rocks best and as i have been a fan from the year dot i feel that seeing the currant line is very disrespectful to jon and i really not going to spend my hard earned cash on a tribute band. Tom M.