[GOOGLE TRANSLATE from original Portuguese to English]:
JORGE BOTAS MAY 1, 2024
Even without having played «Owner Of A Lonely Heart», YES brought to Campo Pequeno, in Lisbon, a good summary of a career that is about to reach the mark of six decades of existence.
After postponing this European tour a few times, YES finally returned to Lisbon to begin the long-awaited The Classic Tales Of YES . On a simple stage, with a white backdrop, the musicians discreetly entered the scene and the concert began to the sound of the epic “Machine Messiah” . The quality of the musicians became indisputable from the first moment and guitarist Steve Howe clearly revealed himself to be the maestro leading the band. Jon Davison 's voice is delicate, but the notes and range are all there, and the vocalist even made an effort to speak in Portuguese (with a Brazilian accent), a fact that the audience ended up appreciating.
As far as the line-up is concerned, «It Will Be A Good Day (The River)» and «Going For The One» followed , with Howe playing lap steel , and using acoustics in the style of Portuguese guitar in «I 've Seen All Good People» , another excellent moment in the opening stretch of the performance. There were, moreover, many high points throughout this night – the name of the tour is no mistake, with the veterans supporting the line-up with a lot of “classic” material.
After the instrumental version of «America» , originally by Simon & Garfunkel , the audience was treated to a wonderful interpretation of «Time And A Word» (from the 1970 album of the same name) and, when the YES helmsman performed «Don't Kill The Whale» , from the 1978 album «Tormato» , took the opportunity to reinforce the idea that, at the time, they were already showing ecological and environmental concerns. The first part of the concert would come to an end with «Turn Of The Century» , with the band joining Steve Howe in the final part of the song for another great moment.
What followed was, let's say, a very peculiar moment. There were those who thought that the concert had ended and the band “forgot” to say that they were going to return for the second part, meaning that a member of the YES staff had to come on stage to say that the band would return after twenty minutes. « South Side Of The Sky» then began the second part of the concert, with keyboardist Geoff Downes surrounded by ten keyboards and synthesizers, but always facing the audience. Jay Schellen 's drum sound , on the other hand, proved to be strong, as well as Billy Sherwood 's bass sound , which was very well defined.
In the final stretch, the band made the only trip to their most recent studio album with «Cut From The Stars» , soon followed by a medley of the four songs that make up «Tales From Topographic Oceans» presented in a 20-minute piece – as Billy Sherwood had stated in an interview with LOUD! , turned out to be a new and refreshing moment, but still very familiar. For the encore, the classics «Roundabout» and «Starship Trooper» were saved , which closed a magical night with a flourish and showed a 77-year-old young man called Steve Howe , still full of genius and virtuosity intact, leading a band to the YES legacy level.
ALIGNMENT: Machine Messiah | It Will Be A Good Day (The River) | Going For The One | I've Seen All Good People America (Simon & Garfunkel cover) | Time And A Word | Don't Kill The Whale | Turn Of The Century
South Side Of The Sky | Cut From The Stars | The Revealing Science Of God (Dance Of The Dawn) / The Remembering (High The Memory) / The Ancient (Giants Under The Sun) / Ritual (Nous Sommes Du Soleil) | Roundabout | Starship Trooper