Don's Music Views
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Yes & The Alan Parsons Project Live At The Oakdale Theatre, Wallingford, CT on July 1, 1998

I’ve always wanted to see both Yes and The Alan Parsons Project. Alan Parsons has only recently begun touring even though he’s been recording as APP since 1976. I never made it to a Yes show because, while I am a fan of their early years, I have equally negative feelings about the band’s various eighties lineups and output. The two bands sharing a bill, and the fact that the concert was being presented in surround sound, made this show irresistible.

The Alan Parsons Project took the stage and sounded spectacular. They dug deep into their history and came up with "(The System of) Doctor Tarr and Professor Feather" from their 1976 debut album. Their set was chock full of highlights including "I Wouldn’t Want To Be Like You", "Sirius/Eye In The Sky", "You’re Gonna Get Your Fingers Burned", "Money Talks/La Sagrada Familia", and a version of "Prime Time" which contained a scorching guitar solo by Ian Bairnson. The band left the stage to a well-deserved standing ovation and returned for a rare opening band encore of "Games People Play."

This version of Yes includes Steve Howe on guitar, Jon Anderson on vocals and other assorted instruments, Chris Squire on bass, Alan White on drums, Billy Sherwood on 2nd guitar, and new member Igor Kretchkin(?) on keyboards.

The band turned in a sprawling 2 hour and 20 minute show which included classic Yes favorites such as "Yours Is No Disgrace", "Wonderous Stories", "Long Distance Runaround", "Close To The Edge", and "I’ve Seen All Good People." They also performed a cover of Simon And Garfunkel’s "America" which they seemed to have taken a liking to in recent years.

The entire band sounded great tonight with the standout being Steve Howe’s guitar playing, which is still beyond description. Jon Anderson’s voice was also in fine form and he seems to be the one having the most fun onstage. He repeatedly thanked the audience for their applause throughout the show.

Overall, Yes satisfied their fans completely. It should be noted however that there were only about 4,000 of them present. I was amazed that this double bill didn’t even fill the 4,800 seats available in The Oakdale Theatre. Yes’ 30th anniversary tour should have brought out more of their fans. The Alan Parsons Project seemed to have drawn a large number of those 4,000 fans themselves. For those who weren’t there, you missed an excellent show. See you next time.