Live Review: Yes

The intro tape built to an appropriate crescendo and Yes took the stage to the expected enthusiastic cheers and applause, with Steve Howe ripping into the opening riff of Yours Is No Disgrace with more “guitar god” bravado than anyone could have expected. Singer, American Jon Davison – brought in recently to replace Benoit David, who had been forced to drop out because of a respiratory complaint – took centre stage and out came “Yesterday a morning came and smiled upon your face” with enough of original vocalist Jon Anderson's tone to satisfy the most hardened fans and we were away – Yes was back in Sydney for only their third time in a gloriously dysfunctional, more than 40 year career.

Only, sadly, it turned out that it wasn't the Yes we were all hoping for. Though there were a few dodgy moments, Davison managed to make a good fist of taking over from one of the most distinctive voices in rock history – and on short notice too – but in the end all he delivered were the lines and the tone. He's obviously yet to really “become” a part of Yes and his performance essentially floundered as a consequence. The real tragedy however was the lack of fire on stage that might have lifted him to those necessary heights and, if there's one band's repertoire that needs that fire and demands those heights, it's Yes.

Tonight however, the fire of old only appeared occasionally. All the bits were there – Howe's brittle yet sinuous guitar, bass player Chris Squire's toppy, metallic runs counterpointed here and there by those thunderously subsonic Moog Taurus pedals, Alan White's quietly masterful drumming, Davison's voice and Geoff Downes' solid recreation of Rick Wakeman's classic keyboards sounds – but the mix was shocking, with much of Downes' playing buried while Squire's bass often seemed too prominent.

The “hits” were delivered – I've Seen All Good People, Your Move, Close To The Edge, Roundabout, even the '80s “pop” hit, Owner Of A Lonely Heart – and a few monochrome tunes from the latest album, Fly From Here, too. But in the end – and I hate to say this – it all seemed a bit tired.