Isn't life grand when your favorite bands from the 60's and 70's, like Yes, are still touring and celebrating their 35th anniversary as a band. Just last month I saw that "younger" band Rush on (only) their 30th anniversary tour. Read my review of that awesome show. Isn't it even grander when these bands invite one of your favorite "new generation" prog-rock bands like Dream Theater to open for them. Oh, hell yes it is! Yes has continued to stay surprisingly active during the last decade, releasing a couple of great new albums, as well as several concert DVDs. They have also continued to tour fairly regularly, and have managed to keep together their classic lineup, with the exception of Wakeman coming and going as he pleases. He has been back with them since their 2002 Masterworks tour, so we can only hope to see a new Yes album in the near future that features his keyboard wizardry. I saw the Masterworks tour at the Merriweather Post Pavilion, in Columbia, Maryland, and it was amazing, so I was intensely anticipating this concert.

Dream Theater took the stage at 7:00 PM sharp and played a one hour set. This is not exactly the best way to experience Dream Theater because, hell, they have SONGS almost that long. They opened their set with "Solitary Shell", one of the lighter, acoustic flavored songs from their Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence album. I was ecstatic to see them follow this up with the epic "Learning To Live", possibly my favorite Dream Theater song ever. Next up was "Trial Of Tears", the epic suite that closes the often criticized Falling Into Infinity album. This song kind of rips off Rush's "Xanadu", especially the long intro section, but that is exactly why I love it so much. If Rush won't write great songs like that anymore, hell, Dream Theater may as well. Things get a little bit fuzzy at this point, because I forgot to bring a pen and paper to the concert to take notes, and the alcohol was starting to take effect by now, so I may get a song or two mixed up. I guess that's why I don't get paid for this stuff. Do not fear though, the Yes review is 100% accurate.

They continued to keep things a tiny bit on the mellow side (for Dream Theater that is) with "The Spirit Carries On", a gorgeous ballad from the killer Scenes From A Memory album. Next, the band decided to throw a bone to their prog-metal, or should I say metal-prog fans out there by tearing through "Stream Of Consciousness", the heavy instrumental jam from their latest album, Train Of Thought. Until then it seemed like they had been tailoring their set list to something more appealing for Yes fans - sticking mostly to the lighter prog-rock stuff, versus the heavier metal stuff. I keep hearing that they played an instrumental section of Yes' "Machine Messiah", but, damn it, I don't remember hearing it. Maybe it was mixed in with "Stream Of Consciousness", as that would have been a good combo. I think they closed their set with the ending of Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence, which consists of the reprise of "About To Crash", and "Losing Time/Grand Finale". I apologize for any inaccuracies in this section.

I was extremely impressed with Dream Theater this evening. I had been a little disappointed with the last couple of times that I saw them, as they tended to stick mostly to their newer metal-oriented material instead of the stronger material from their first few albums. James Labrie's vocals are usually the only weak link when seeing Dream Theater live, because he often has to strain too hard to hit the high notes, and ends up missing many of them altogether. This night was a totally different story, as he sounded remarkably smooth and powerful. There seemed to be equal amounts of Dream Theater fans as there were bewildered Yes fans in their seats by now. To me, though, this was a match made in heaven. 

Now to the headliners. When I returned to my seat only minutes before Yes would take the stage, they had a huge black curtain covering the front of the stage to keep you from seeing the elaborate stage design. I was very surprised at how weak the attendance was for this show. I heard that they only sold pavilion seats and no lawn seats for this show, but the pavilion was only about two-thirds full, at best. The show began when the strains of Firebird Suite poured over the PA system, and the curtain was pulled away to reveal an incredible Roger Dean themed stage show, consisting of huge inflatable "things", which looked like crosses between prehistoric birds, and giant amoebas, hanging all over the stage. This was all held together by two giant "PEACE" banners hanging from each side of the stage. It was pretty gaudy, but ended up looking incredible when their fantastic light show illuminated everything.

Once the boys all made it to the stage and strapped on their instruments, they opened with an incredible version of 'Going For The One". I was not expecting to hear this baby, but it was a great surprise. Next up was a song I was not familiar with, because the oldest Yes album I own is The Yes Album. They decided to go all the way back to their sophomore album Time And A Word and played "Sweet Dreams". Another nice surprise for the fans. The always great "Your Move/All Good People" really got the crowd pumped up next, but was nothing compared to when they launched into "South Side Of The Sky", the fan favorite, but often neglected rocker from the great Fragile album. This song definitely elicited the most enthusiastic crowd response, and deservedly so, because it was the concert highlight. Awesome! "Close To The Edge" easily kept the momentum going, and seemed to fly by like a five minute song, instead of the album-side epic that it is.

Steve Howe began an extended acoustic set with a rousing version of his acoustic guitar classic "The Clap". When the rest of the band took the stage, Wakeman had moved over to a small piano set up on the opposite side of the stage from his massive keyboard ensemble. He had changed into a pair of tails, Chris had put on some dark sunglasses, and Alan was wearing a kilt. They seemed to be having a lot of fun, and it definitely rubbed off on the crowd. They then launched into a wonderful acoustic rendition of "Long Distance Runaround", continued with "Wonderous Stories", a very bluesy remake of "Roundabout", and finished with a surprisingly effective arrangement of "Owner Of A Lonely Heart". This completed the acoustic set. I was very disappointed not to hear the electric version of "Roundabout", especially with Wakeman in tow to play his jaw-dropping solos, but I guess I can't really complain.

"And You And I" was another highlight of the evening. I had forgotten just how great this song is, and this was perhaps the finest version I have ever heard. Prior to the song John talked to the audience about what it was like to write that special song way back when, and how a lot of his inspiration had come from smoking some good weed. "And You And I" led nicely into the epic masterpiece "Awaken". This long performance featured some interesting elements such as John playing the harp, and the stage being adorned with several large "fake torches" (not sure how else to describe them) that simulated huge flames blowing in the wind. It was a neat looking effect that fit the mood of the song perfectly. This was another simply amazing performance, and was the show closer.

Yes came back out for an encore of "Starship Trooper" which was a huge treat since they had rarely played that song at all on this tour. I was disappointed not to hear "Yours Is No Disgrace", which had been their most frequent encore of the tour, but I'll settle for "Trooper" any day. This was simply a magical evening for me. This was also my brother-in-law's first ever concert, and being a "reformed" Rap lover (thanks to me) he had never even heard of Yes or Dream Theater. I think he enjoyed the show even more than I did, and that is saying A LOT.

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