Yes? Yes.
Chastain Park? No.
Yes
and Atlanta Symphony play well at Chastain Park
-- for those who could hear them.By Art Howard
(Review of
8/18/01 show)
Atlanta's
Chastain Park Amphitheatre is frequently
criticized as a place where
wine-and-cheese yuppies gather to talk shop while
drowning out the major artists playing in front
of them. Yes' Chastain show on August 18th
revealed that it was neither the yuppies nor the
band that made the show less than what it could
have been -- it was the venue itself.
Whoever laid out the money for this amphitheatre
built it just yards away from an apartment
complex, so a noise ordinance is in effect, and
the bands are only allowed to play at a very low
volume. This means that someone saying
"excuse me" to get to the bathroom
could blot out Yes and the entire Atlanta
Symphony Orchestra, who were joining the band. As
a result, tensions mounted in the audience
throughout the show.
During Steve Howe's acoustic guitar solo,
"Mood for a Day," the shouts of
"LOUDER!" from the crowd were louder
than the sound system. Howe could probably hear
the shouting better than he was hearing himself.
At the end, as the band encored with "I've
Seen All Good People," the guy in front of
me poured a beer over the head of the guy in
front of him, and that guy leapt back over his
seat and began choking the guy in front of me. A
barely audible concert + beer = violence.
Despite the problems, the band played on with
smiles on their faces.
As far as Yes went, Alan White is just not a good
drummer. I felt he played poorly on the live Yessongs
album from 1973, and things haven't gotten any
better in 28 years. Used to the criticism was,
"Alan White is no Bill Bruford (Yes'
original drummer)." Now the criticism is:
not only is he not Bill Bruford, he's also not
Stanton Moore, Jeff Sipe, or even Neil Peart. I
would rather hear Yes with any of those drummers
than White, who's sense of time seems to wander
and who takes the swing out of Bruford's original
parts.
Chris Squire's role in redesigning the tone of
the bass guitar and bringing the instrument to
the fore in rock is undeniable, but his solo was
no great shakes.
On the up side, Yes turned in a devastating
version of "And You and I" with the
symphony, complimented by some surprise harmonica
from Squire, which was very well done. They also
played a new song called "Don't Go"
that sounded nice, and some deep cuts like
"Perpetual Change" and "The Gates
of Delirium." Jon Anderson's voice actually
sounds stronger now than it did in the early
`70's; he may actually be the best musician in
the band. Anderson also proved to be a very warm
and engaging front man. "It's hot, it's
raining: it must be Atlanta!" he joked, then
asked the crowd, "Do you need some towels?
We have some backstage we'll bring out for
you." Steve Howe was Steve Howe, which is
all he needed to be.
Though Yes and the ASO played well, they couldn't
overcome the stumbling block of the noise
ordinance. A veteran of 25 Yes shows seated next
to me said Chastain was the worst venue he's ever
heard them in, and urged me to go see another
show at another venue on the tour. I might just
take him up on that.
|
