What a show last night at the Yestival in Holmdel, NJ. Yes, Carl Palmer, and Todd Rundgren. Haven’t seen Yes in forever, but they proved they still got it, and they don’t care who knows it !!! I was very surprised by Carl Palmer who is the surviving member of ELP. Short set, but he got a standing ovation after EVERY song. He will be returning later in the year for a full 2 hour set, and we’ll probably be going back.
Todd Rundgren, eehhhhhh, I was never a huge fan, but do remember a few of his older songs, which he stated in numerous interviews he would NOT be playing. My wife mentioned that she felt bad for him, as after each of his songs except 1 or 2, the crowd seemed disinterested, and impartial. It seemed almost as if the band was not really connecting to anyone in the audience, although the band did their jobs well, overall it came across as almost disingenuous at best. The lead guitarist was the stand out.
Yes, yes, and MORE Yes !!! With Alan White’s health issues (and assisting drummer on this tour), 3 original members of the band, and a slightly obscure set list, nothing seemed to be holding them back. Even I didn’t know all of the older songs they did, but everything they did, was flawless. As expected, the 2nd encore of Roundabout basically reminded everyone what Yes is about, and the crowd grew even louder (if that was even possible).
IMO, they could have left Todd Rundgren at the gate and extended Carl Palmer’s set and that would have been great. Was able to pay it forward to a co-worker as he hadn’t seen Yes in forever as well, and he had a blast. Wife had a few tickets she couldn’t resell and we found a couple on the lawn, pushed all the way forward, and she decided to give them some free 11th row seats. They were very appreciative and had never had anyone pay it forward to them before. Very nice.
Didn’t want to waste quality time constantly video’ing or pic’ing but got a few. The mains were pretty damned loud in the 11th row, so it was overloading the mic somewhat. If anyone is a fan of Yes, or Carl Palmer and have the chance to go see the Yestival, highly recommended. Still hungover, and cooking on about 3 hours of sleep. NO mixing today !!!
You got a 50/50 shot, which one IS SessionDrummer ??
