Paich interview at NAMM

[The_Noble_Cause]

TOTO will be touring with YES this summer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbtsGT1nPwc

[Sundet]

Someone ought to give Paich a hint that Jon Anderson left Yes many moons ago, in case he is expecting to run into old associates. I don't think the Anderson record that Toto played on was much to write home about, but "For You", that Paich and Anderson wrote, was very good.

Steve Porcaro used to play in Chris Squire's band i the early 90's though, and even played on a Yes record (1991's Union, or Onion as some members of the band call it... I liked much of it, actually, especially The More We Live, which is beautiful, and Would Have Waited Forever).

[WalrusOct9]

I'm a huge fan of both bands, although I just saw Yes last year, so I'm not sure I need to see Anderson-less Yes play those same tunes again, but hey, it's a huge step up from Michael McDonald. Hopefully Toto will get a decent-length set. I know these package tours are necessary to get enough asses in seats, but it's a bummer when each band only plays 60-80 minutes instead of their usual two hours.

Still, if it means there's a chance Toto will play in Nashville, I'll take it.

As for Yes, it was an enjoyable show last year (even if playing Fragile straight through made no sense). Skeletor Howe sounded better than I'd heard him in awhile, Davidson is as good a fill-in for Anderson as they're ever going to find, and while Downes struggled with a few of the trickier keyboard parts, I like his work with Asia and elsewhere enough to be totally content with him being there. Squire is Squire, just a little bit bigger on every tour. Alan White, however, can barely play drums, and I'm genuinely a bit worried about his health. He sounded okay on some stuff, but there were also moments when he completely blanked out, or didn't hit a part of his kit hard enough for you to hear it. If they weren't in such dire need for 'classic era' members to legitimize the lineup, I imagine they'd have another drummer.

[Sundet]

I saw Yes on their 2011 tour to promote the Fly From Here album (wasn't that the title?). I really liked the album, but the gig was an absolute disaster. I believe it was a few days or weeks before Benoit David was let go and I can understand why. He was horribly out of tune, while everyone else seemed to have an off-night as well. I walked out after about 45 minutes as I couldn't bear it anymore. The pairing with Toto should be interesting though, even if it probably only allows about an hour for each band. Is it a double bill, or are Toto the warm-up act? I would imagine Yes has a bigger audience in the US.

[WalrusOct9]

I saw Yes on their 2011 tour to promote the Fly From Here album (wasn't that the title?). I really liked the album, but the gig was an absolute disaster. I believe it was a few days or weeks before Benoit David was let go and I can understand why. He was horribly out of tune, while everyone else seemed to have an off-night as well. I walked out after about 45 minutes as I couldn't bear it anymore. The pairing with Toto should be interesting though, even if it probably only allows about an hour for each band. Is it a double bill, or are Toto the warm-up act? I would imagine Yes has a bigger audience in the US.

I can promise you the new fake Jon is much, much better, even though their new studio album is awful. Fly From Here was a great record though, too bad they dropped all the songs from the live set as soon as they could.

[JohnH]

Too bad. Michael McDonald was awful for half of his show and I should have walked out. This doesn't sound any better and we are again getting a 60 minute Toto set where they will obliterate the headliner and make them totally.irrelevant. Toto's onstage chemistry also annihilated Michael's band , which had zero chemistry or interaction.

[Sundet]

Well, they Yes fans are notoriously known for being quite difficult for co-headliners and other acts to please, so it will be interesting. I guess there are a few among them who do not necesarilly rate neither Anderson's record nor the Union record very high. When Porcupine Tree opened for Yes in 2002, it was an absolute nightmare for them, a fantastic live band though they are, and they found themselves not only booed and heckled by the crowed, but also sabotaged by Yes' onstage crew, who even ventured to plug out and remove cables, wires, patches and whatnot right before Porcupine Tree. Sounds like much fun.