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"Loved the show last night. Great job" - Neil Bond, Australia
"My friend & I enjoyed it immensly. Great Musicianship" - Richard Lim, Singapore
"Laurrieta, just want to say thanks again for the very memorable YES experience. The aftershow party exceeded my wildest expectations even though Steve was absent. Getting to talk one on one with the band was an incredible experience and to see their humorous side added a very special touch to the evening. Thanks again and best wishes on your future promotions" - Jeff Jackson, U.S.A
"Laurrieta, thanks for an absolutely amazing evening that surpassed my wildest dreams. I'm definately having problems concentrating on work at the moment" - John Ramsden, Singapore
"I had a great, great time at Yes. It was even better than I hoped it would be. What did you 1pxk of it? I 1pxk the response of the fans who came to the concert made it worthwile for the band to come. Almost all of them were die-hard fans. And that Rick Wakeman solo... too bad there's no recording!" - Arne Bevaart, Singapore
"Just wanted to say congratulations on a show well done. The band sounded wonderful and seemed to be enjoying themselves. I really enjoyed the evening" - Rand Miranda, Singapore
"Laurrieta, the YES concert is the best show I have ever attended. All thumbs up to you. Thanks to you for the great show and the great organization. Well done!" - Tondy O Lubis, Jakarta
"What a wonderful show! It's worth for me & my wife plus other friends from Jakarta traveling to Singapore for the show after we were disappointed not having the band played in Jakarta. I'm so glad that before the show I had a chance to talk with Jon, voicing Indonesia Yes Mania's aspirations to have a show in Jakarta. Jon, thanks a lot for having mingled with the crowd before the show. I was amazed. I remembered that on ABWH live, you mingled with the crowd before "Time and A Word". I did enjoy the show very much. I was surprised when "Magnification" was continued smoothly with "Don't Kill The whale" that really rocked the hall. Well, this is the show that I've been waiting for 29 years since the first time I knew Yes music when I was 14-year old through "Fragile". Jon, Alan, Rick, Chris & Steve, many thanks for the great show!!!! Indonesia loves you very much. Next time, please play "close to the edge". - Cheers, Gatot Widayanto, Jakarta
"The concert was phenomenal. And the icing on the cake was meeting the band at a party after the show. The show was held on Thursday 25 September at the Suntec Convention Centre in the central city. The concert hall is basically a large concrete box, with no redeeming architectural features. Surprisingly, however, the sound quality proved to be top class. Seating was simple metal chairs in the high priced area, arranged directly in front of the stage, with the cheaper tickets situated further back in steep stadium style seating. The show was due to start at 8 pm, but since there were still so many empty seats the band didn't actually hit the stage until about 8.30 pm, by which time most of the 3000 seat concert hall had filled up. There followed two and a half hours of the most mesmerising, uplifting and hard rocking music I've ever heard. I'm a late convert to the seventies period of Yes, having only picked up on them from the time of Owner Of A Lonely Heart in 1984. It has only been recently that I discovered their seventies output, and the magnificence of The Yes Album, Fragile, Close To The Edge, Going For The One, etc. Thursday night's show sure made up for lost time. All the classics were there, and though I'm sure some will quibble about the set list and choices made (what, no Starship Trooper? and where was my favourite, Yours Is No Disgrace?), with such a rich back catalogue how could they possibly please everyone? Renditions of Roundabout, I've Seen All Good People, Long Distance Runaround, Heart of the Sunrise, Siberian Khatru, and South Side Of The Sky had the crowd in raptures. To be fair, in a live format the songs lack some of the nuances and subtlety that you only get by listening to the CD version in the peace and quiet of your living room (or even better, stereo headphones). But on the other hand, the live versions pack an unprecedented emotional whallop that you don't get in the studio.
Chis Squire's bass rumbled in the pit of my stomach, Alan White's drums pounded around the concert hall, and Rick Wakeman's keyboard runs and flourishes were amazing to see live. Jon Anderson's vocals are superb, even without studio trickery - angelic and ethereal. And of course Steve Howe carried off technically brilliant and emotional guitar work just as well live as he does in the studio. It just brought home to me what virtuoso musicians they are individually, and how magical it is that they can still subvert their own amazing talents (and possible egos) to work together as a unit to make incredible music. Security was provided by a local biker gang, The Headhunters (actually a bunch of burly expatriate Harley enthusiasts), who ensured that no cameras, videos or recorders were snuck in, and also kept people in their seats for most of the concert. At the end of each song, however, the crowd would erupt to their feet in applause and whistling, and for the two encores Jon Anderson encouraged a swarm of fans to fill up the area at the front lip of the stage, who happily danced and flashed peace signs. I noticed a number of young kids, and there seemed to be a large number of fathers attending the show with their teenage sons. Alan White made a memorable gesture at the very end of the show when he came to the lip of the stage and personally handed his drumsticks to two small children (aged about 8 years old!) who had been bopping and clapping on the front row throughout the show. For a bunch of guys in their late 50s, who have been playing as a group for 35 years, there was no slacking evident. While Steve Howe was fairly static and sober, playing an assortment of guitars at the left of the stage, both Jon Anderson and Chris Squire roamed the stage constantly, clapping, waving and jumping about. Rick Wakeman was constantly on the move around his bank of keyboards, and could be seen clearly having fun, singing along with the songs. Alan White was a powerhouse on the drums ... never letting up. His energy level puts youngsters half his age to shame. Bear in mind, as well, that there was no distractions to rely on: the stage was very simple and bare, the only ornamentation being silver drapes across the front of the drum set and keyboards. The lighting was spare but effective. So no flying saucers, no pyramids, and no giant projection screen backdrop. Just five guys on stage playing their heart out. Wonderful. One of the unexpected highlights of the evening was an impromptu jam between Steve Howe and a couple of Singapore musicians. The jam has an interesting history. In the late 60s, and before he joined Yes, Steve Howe was in a band called Tomorrow. While most well-known for their psychedlic "hit" My White Bicycle, Howe also wrote a song called Hallucinations. The group's record label EMI sent a copy of Tomorrow's version of the song to another band they had signed in Singapore, called The Quests, whose lead singer Vernon Cornelius decided to record a version for their second album.
They slowed the tempo down, and (fearing a drugs connotation) changed the song title to Mr Rainbow. Surprise - their version went to No 1 in Hong Kong in 1968. Fast forward to this current Yes tour, and it seems the tour promoters thought it would be a good idea if Steve Howe would perform the song on stage with Vernon Cornelius (now 56 years old and still rocking). Howe agreed, and on hearing the Quests version for the first time (!) decided he liked their arrangement better. So during his solo spot during the show, Howe brough Cornelius on stage and they performed the song together: Cornelius on vocals, Howe on acoustic lead guitar, and a local Singaporean helping out on rhythm acoustic guitar. It was magic. Another unexpected highlight of the evening was getting an invite to the after show party, held at the British High Commissioner's Official Residence, called Eden Hall. The show ended at 11.00 pm, and so a lucky number of us drove over to Eden Hall, with the band arriving a few minutes later. Only Steve Howe couldn't make it (preferring an early night at the hotel). To say that they had just finished playing their heart out for two and a half hours, it was incredibly gracious of Jon, Chris, Rick and Alan to attend the party and mix freely with the guests. They happily signed autographs and had their photos taken. But more than that, they were genuinely friendly. I was able to chat with Rick Wakeman in particular at length, while Jon Anderson, Chris Squire and Alan White agreed to sign my CD booklet of Fragile and to have their photos taken with me. The evening concluded with the promoters wheeling out a large chocolate cake (with the icing being the front cover of the Yes 35th Anniversary Collection album). The band members jointly cut the cake, and then passed around a microphone to say a few words. They were all extremely funny, particularly Wakeman, who told me he does a sideline in standup comedy - it certainly shows. If any1pxg, their friendliness and good humour simply heightened my appreciation of the band and their abilities. Truly, a wonderful group and a magical evening, never to be forgotten." - Jeremy Palmer, New Zealand
"Thank you very much for the fabulous show." - AR Madeei, Singapore
"Laurrieta, I've just got back to Dubai and hour ago and wanted to just say thanks for organizing this. It was a fantastic concert and the chance to meet and talk to guys was simply amazing. The organization was spot on. You seemed to be busy the whole night, just hope you got to enjoy it as much as rest of us. If there are any other shows you'll be promoting please let me know. Thanks again." - David Delaney, Dubai
"YES really had everyone on their feet, it was a very good concert." - Ramesh Logonathan, Singapore
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