For Yes legend Jon Anderson recently got together with New York's acclaimed prog tribute act The Band Geeks for a wonderful studio album full of new songs, titled True, but prior to that the pairing took full advantage of the situation and decided to go out and play a bunch of shows tackling some Yes classics, which are now fully on display here with Live Perpetual Change, a 2CD and DVD package from Frontiers Records.
Along with Jon we have Richie Castellano (also of Blue Oyster Cult) on bass & vocals, Andy Graziano on guitar & vocals, Andy Ascolese on drums, keyboards, and vocals, Christopher Clark on keyboards & vocals, Robert Kipp on keyboards, guitar, and vocals, and Rob Schmoll on guitar & vocals on a couple tracks. The performances here were taken from the May 12, 2023, show at the Arcada Theatre in Saint Charles, IL, and the May 13 show at the Des Plaines Theatre in Des Plaines, IL. As you can see by the setlist, all the mandatory early staples and epics were covered, and let me tell you, the performances from everyone are just outstanding. First of all, Jon still sounds fantastic...just listen to him on "Awaken" and "Gates of Delirium', he has not lost a step at all over the years. The Band Geeks know these songs inside and out, and this arguably sounds more like vintage Yes than even the current incarnation of Yes. Graziano is a beast on the guitar, and he nails all the classic Steve Howe solos and riffs with ease, and the talented Castallano, who we normally see playing guitar in BOC, gives his Rickenbacker bass quite the workout throughout this set in fine Chris Squire fashion.
While you can say this is as close to a 'tribute band' as it gets, what a tribute band they are. I haven't heard these old Yes classics sound this fresh and exciting in years. We can only hope that Jon and The Band Geeks have even more new music in them, and I'd be open to hearing them cover more of the Yes catalog like this in the near future.
Track Listing
1)Yours Is No Disgrace
2)Perpetual Chance
3)Close to the Edge
4)Heart of the Sunrise
5)Starship Trooper
6)Awaken
7)And You and I
8)You're Move/I've Seen All Good People
9)Gates of Delirium
10)Roundabout
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