28th September 2026
Glasgow Royal Concert Hall
So - here we have one of my long time musical heroes, former Yes vocalist Jon Anderson out and about with a collection of seasoned musos (mostly American, I think) performing a selection of Yes tunes from the band's 1970's heyday. Along with a smattering of new 'uns recently written by Jon and the lads.
Following the (once) traditional opening to any Yes concert, the climax to Stravinsky's Firebird Suite, Jon aeroplaned with arms outstretched onto the stage, as The Band Geeks launched straight into a rendition of Close to The Edge.
Jon's voice perhaps broke a couple of times during the quiet I Get Up, I Get Down section, but overall his pipes were far better than any of us had any right to expect from an 81-year old.
Perpetual Change followed, and the band missed a bit of a trick here, in my opinion. I rather hoped they would recreate that lengthy jam session/drum solo, which appeared on the live Yessongs album. But, whilst the band enjoyed a fine wee blow-out towards the end, this rendition never came close recreating the magic of that recording from 1972 .
The first new tune arrived next: Counties and Countries. Lyrically it appeared to be a bit of a love letter to Jon's home land, and musically it was pleasant enough. Perhaps reminiscent of some of that plethora of outtakes from the Tormato sessions.
And You And I was the first Yes song I ever heard, back in the mid 1970s, and I can recall being entranced by it. Over the years, I certainly played it to death, and it sorta morphed into a feeling like a bit of dirge. But, I enjoyed it this evening - it feeling a bit like hooking up with an old girlfriend for a one-off one-night stand.
Giving is Living, another one I was unfamiliar with followed, and I have to say I found myself stifling yawns through much of it. It was a long way from bad, just ... well ... meh.
The first half of the show ended with the "Soon" section from the Relayer track The Gates of Delirium. One of Anderson's most beautiful melodies, I have long felt it spoiled a touch by Steve Howe's intrusive nails-down-a-blackboard guitar work. This evening, however, stand-in guitarist Angus Clark gave the composition the respect it deserves, and his tastefully restrained work elevated the song immeasurably. Certainly one of the highlights of the show.
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| This queue for the Gents is, I suppose, the price you pay for attending a gig populated by so many middle-aged and elderly male bladders (mine included). |
After a short interval, we were back with Awaken. I know this one is generally regarded as the last real epic from Yes' golden years, but I have always been a touch ambivalent about it. I know Anderson's lyrics generally cannot be taken literally, but even my 17-year old self when first hearing the song thought: " 'Awaken Gentle Mass Touch' - what the fuck is that all about?"
It has a lot if interesting stuff going on musically - particularly Rick Wakeman's work - but it generally leaves me cold. But the rendition was fine tonight, and the lengthy standing ovation Jon and the Geeks received at the conclusion, suggests I am very much in the minority here.
Another of Anderson's sublime melodies followed with Your Move. I have always delighted in the chess analogy here in the lyrics. And, for reasons which I cannot quite put my finger on, I found my 67-year old self welling up a bit, when the audience this evening began singing along to the Give Peace a Chance refrain.
Which brings us to All Good People - a fun bouncy number which lyrically repeats a single (Chris Squire penned) line over and over. The line being:
"I've seen all good people turn their heads each day, so satisfied I'm on my way."
I have often wondered over the years, as I did this evening, just what Squire meant by those words (if anything).
Today I sorta take it to be a reference to that old aphorism: The Only Thing Necessary for the Triumph of Evil is that Good Men Do Nothing. Although, in light of the John Lennon line used in Your Move, it could be referring to the utter indifference shown by most US "good people" to the (in 1971 still raging) war in Vietnam. Who knows?
We were then "treated" to Once Upon a Dream, the 15-minute whopper from Jon's album with The Band Geeks, True. I remember, when the album came out in 2024, this track being touted as the most "Seventies Yes" thing Anderson had done since ... well ... the Seventies.
And whilst there are certainly a few memorable passages in the song, it suffers that same malady I hear in many of Steve Hackett's recent work. Just too much crammed in there, too many seemingly disconnected musical themes bolted together with jarring time signature and key changes. The "Twice Upon a Dream" section is inoffensive enough, but is too clearly an attempt to recreate the majesty of I Get Up. I Get Down. And whilst the guitar solo at the end is great, really, Once Upon a Dream is a Topographic Oceans-esque five minutes of butter spread thinly across a quarter-of-an-hour of toast.
Speaking of Topographic Oceans, a modest chunk of this was next on the menu, as the acoustic section of The Ancient allowed guitarist Clark an opportunity to shine, which he did. And Jon's voice was just sublime on this.
As we moved towards the climax to the show, Starship Trooper landed. The first two sections tonight were perfect, but the third Würm, just dribbled on way too long, with all of the musicians getting a little solo spot. Which was fine, but what we all really wanted was a note for note rendition of Wakeman's Moog synthesiser solo, as heard on the Yessongs album. Which, at touch disappointingly, we did not get.
Proceedings did close out on a high though, with a pretty darned magical run-through of perhaps Yes' best known song, Roundabout. Although, even a non-muso like me recognised a couple of bum notes by Angus during that fiendishly tricky intro.
No encore, though. If I am being really picky, I could have done without one of the new songs, and should prefer to have heard Wondrous Stories, the Nous Somme du Soleil section from Ritual and, maybe, Heart of the Sunrise. All of which the band had performed on the US leg of this tour.
But all-in-all, a really enjoyable evening in the company of a man who has, over the last half century, perhaps given me more musical enjoyment than anyone else.
Thank You, Jon.
Setlist
Close To The Edge
Close To The Edge
Perpetual Change
Counties and Countries
And You and I
Giving is Living
Soon section from The Gates of Delirium
Interval
Awaken
Your Move / All Good People
Once Upon a Dream
Leaves of Green section from The Ancient
Starship Trooper
Roundabout
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