YES announces a 2016 USA Summer Tour - “The Album Series”
YES ‘Album Series’ Tales/Drama USA Tour Reviews
“Shying away from their main stream hits for this tour, as a gift to their fans base, they began their set by playing all six songs of the Drama album. Nearly every song yielded a standing ovation from the crowd and some people stood up alone when the feeling moved them to do so.
The Drama album was followed up by You and I from their 1972 Close To The Edge album and Perpetual Change from their 1971 The Yes Album.
The first set was inspiring and immaculately performed. If anyone in the audience had any reservations about seeing them live without their original line up; those reservations were a distant memory. I would have never imagined that anyone could fill Jon Anderson’s shoes. But Jon Davison’s soaring vocals match so well you may never know you were listening to a different person.
The band took an intermission and fans made their way to the wine tables in the lobby still high from the opus they just experienced.
When the performance started again they opened with possibly their most inspiring song from Tales from Topographic Oceans; The Revealing Science of God (Dance of the Dawn). It was nearly 20 minutes of seat gripping bliss.
It would not be a Yes concert without at least one Steve Howe solo. Tucked away in the song The Ancient is a little segment they like to call Leaves of Green. When Steve plays it, you can feel his deep connection to this song. I have seen it in live recordings many times in my life but nothing compares to hearing it live.
They ended their set with The Ritual (Nous Somme Du Soleil). Intricate and extraordinary, I am certain that there were members of the audience that had a spiritual moment during this song.
The band received a long standing ovation at the end and treated their fans to a three song encore. Roundabout kept everyone moving on their feet and most the crowd stayed standing for Starship Trooper.
Just as we thought the concert was over the band played tribute to John Wetton of the group Asia, who passed away this January 31st, with the song Heat of the Moment. Changing nothing from the original song it was flawlessly preformed.
As fans walked to their cars everyone was still excited. I could over hear comments about the show. I believe my favorite was, “As an Atheist, music like this could make me believe there is a God”. Yes, for all of the creativity and imagination that went into creating and producing their music, Yes live is still out of this world.” – Lori Dantzler, Flick of the Finger Magazine.
“The pieces were nothing short of a tour de force of musical ambition, complexity and remarkable synchronicity. It sounded outstanding. This version of YES seems to play at a higher level, a more powerful level, like they’ve been together a decade or more. These guys are on no nostalgia tour. They play it like they mean business, with little intention of slowing down” – Raymond Britt, Chicago Tribune
Visually, YES have stepped up the production on the tour courtesy of video designer Andy Clark and lighting designer Don Weeks, with multiple video feeds featuring Roger Dean imagery, from waterfalls and floating islands to topographic landscapes, bioluminescence, deep sea creatures, jellyfish, and marine life.
“With a large LED background that displayed colorful graphics as well as the occasional YES logo, the band delivered over 2½ hours of classic music that had attendees picking their jaws up off the floor.” – Chris Loomis, SoCal Music Today
But here’s a more shocking truth: The version of Yes aboard this year’s Cruise to the Edge sounded sharper and more engaged than they have in a decade. – Ryan Reed, Ultimate Classic Rock
“Yes continues with its tradition of symphonic progressive rock that remains timelessly fresh and innovative.” – Tampa Bay Newspapers
YES Summer USA Tour Dates and Tickets
Venue pre-sale Apr 28 at 10:00 am EDT. PW: SONGS
Radio pre-sale Apr 28 at 10:00 am EDT. PW: WNCX/WONE
Live Nation Pre-sale Apr 20 at 10:00 am EST. PW: BACKSTAGE
Radio Pre-sale Apr 20 at 10:00 am EST. PW: COVERT
Citi Pre-sale Apr 20 at 10:00 am EST
Amex Pre-sale Apr 20 at 10:00 am EST.
Ticketmaster Pre-sale Apr 21 at 10:00 am EST. PW: SHOWTIME
Ticketmaster Pre-sale Apr 28 at 10:00 am EST. PW: JOKES
KRFX Radio Pre-sale Apr 28 at 10:00 am MDT. PW: FOXYES
KQMT Radio Pre-sale Apr 28 at 10:00 am MDT. PW: MTNYES
AXS Pre-sale Apr 21 at 10:00 am PST. PW: TALES
Radio Pre-sale May 6 at 10:00 am PDT. PW: DISTANCE
Ticketmaster Pre-sale May 6 at 10:00 am PDT. PW: ROUNDABOUT
Ticketmaster Pre-sale May 6 at 10:00 am PST. PW: ROUNDABOUT
Radio Pre-sale May 6 at 10:00 am PST. PW: DISTANCE
Special Packages Available
Front Row Package
• One front row ticket
• Exclusive aftershow Meet & Greet with YES
• Personal photograph with YES
• Autograph session with YES
• Collectible Tour Lithograph specially created by Roger Dean (limited print; exclusive to VIP package only)
• 2016 YES Tour Program designed by the Gottlieb Bros.
• Specially designed YES Tour Shirt (exclusive to VIP packages only)
• Exclusive YES Tour Merchandise item
• Official Meet & Greet laminate
• Commemorative ticket
• On-site VIP host
Very limited availability
Meet & Greet Package
• One premium reserved ticket located in rows 2-5
• Exclusive aftershow Meet & Greet with YES
• Personal photograph with YES
• Autograph session with YES
• Collectible Tour Lithograph specially created by Roger Dean (limited print; exclusive to VIP package only)
• 2016 YES Tour Program designed by the Gottlieb Bros.
• Specially designed YES Tour Shirt (exclusive to VIP packages only)
• Exclusive YES Tour Merchandise item
• Official Meet & Greet laminate
• Commemorative ticket
• On-site VIP host
Limited availability
VIP Tour Package
• One premium reserved ticket located in the first 12 rows
• Collectible Tour Lithograph specially created by Roger Dean (limited print; exclusive to VIP package only)
• 2016 YES Tour Program designed by the Gottlieb Bros.
• Specially designed YES Tour Shirt (exclusive to VIP packages only)
• Exclusive YES Tour Merchandise item
• Commemorative Tour Laminate
• Commemorative ticket
YES announce today, 11 April 2016, their 2016 Summer Touring plans. Billed as “The Album Series: Drama + Topographic 1 & 4,” the tour will feature the 1980 album DRAMA performed in its entirety, for the first time ever, and Sides 1 and 4 of 1973’s Double Album TALES FROM TOPOGRAPHIC OCEANS, plus a selection of their Greatest Hits.
“We are proud to present the American public with forward-looking albums from the past,” says guitarist Steve Howe of the iconic and influential band. “Promoting ‘Drama’ at Madison Square Garden on multi-nights was a career milestone in 1980, and we are especially looking forward to performing both the opening and closing sides to ‘Topographic Oceans.’”
Keyboardist Geoff Downes: “One minute, Trevor Horn and I were in The Buggles, the next we joined Yes, then we were in Madison Square Garden playing ‘Drama.’”
Drummer Alan White: “We really hit the ground running with ‘Topographic Oceans,’ my first recorded album with Yes. It pushed boundaries of music and went to number 1 in the UK.”
The band’s annual summer outing will take them throughout the U.S. from late July through early September, beginning July 27 in Columbus, OH. YES will then stop in such cities as Atlantic City, Wallingford, Westbury, Staten Island, Morristown, Washington, DC, Pittsburgh, Detroit, Chicago, Milwaukee, Denver, Las Vegas, Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, Saratoga and Reno before wrapping September 4 in San Diego. Ticketing information will be announced at yesworld.com – stay tuned for additional shows to be announced soon.
The 1980 album DRAMA—the band’s tenth studio album—marked a new sound and more aggressive direction for YES with the use of modern keyboards and a vocoder. The album peaked at #2 in the UK and #18 in the US and features the single “Into the Lens.” Released as a double album in December 1973, TALES FROM TOPOGRAPHIC OCEANS is a concept album comprised of four interlocking pieces, ranging between 18 and 22 minutes, and drummer Alan White’s first release with YES. As the band’s sixth studio album, TALES FROM TOPOGRAPHIC OCEANS reached #1 in the UK for two weeks—where it was the first UK album to qualify for Gold certification based on pre-orders–and peaked at #6 in the US.
Following the album performances, YES – Steve Howe (guitar), Jon Davison (vocals), Alan White (drums), Billy Sherwood (bass) and Geoff Downes (keyboards), will also perform a selection of their greatest hits.
About YES
Listen to DRAMA & Tales Sides 1 & 4
