Attendance at current Yes concerts.

[Strawbs]

I haven't seen Yes live since 1977. Not only was the place sold out, the tickets sold out in a matter of a days.

What's the attendance at current Yes concerts? Are they still selling out? If not, wouldn't they be better doing free shows at summer fests and other things like that? I saw Pat Benatar last year at a summer fest. There were at least 10,000 people there. I don't think they would have had half that amount if we had to pay. I wouldn't have gone, even though she was great. I'm sure if Yes played at free concerts, they would pack the crowd in.

[The Whale]

You might be suprised... They played a small performing arts center in the small town I live in in up state NY the last two years. Last years show was about half full at the begining and after the opening act the crown thined out even more. This year they didn't come back and the closes place there coming is 2 hours away and tickets are only $5 but I'm still not going. I think there a tuff sell at the moment.

Short of Jon coming back I don't see them "packing the crowd in" at any point.

[rmig68]

You might be suprised... They played a small performing arts center in the small town I live in in up state NY the last two years. Last years show was about half full at the begining and after the opening act the crown thined out even more. This year they didn't come back and the closes place there coming is 2 hours away and tickets are only $5 but I'm still not going. I think there a tuff sell at the moment.

Short of Jon coming back I don't see them "packing the crowd in" at any point.

Really?
For the Bank of America Pavillion in Boston, the tickets start at $25 for back lawn but are generally $50-$60 throughout most of the venue and up to $85 closer to the stage. This is a decent sized place. Sure, they aren't packing 15,000 people arenas anymore, but they are usually good up here for a few thousand anyway. The last time I saw them at the Ziterian Theater, I was pleasantly surprised by a nice sized crowd, and that was with Benoit David, not Jon. I think maybe Jon would bring in a few more, but then again, how large were the places he and Rick play at?

I think they do need a much better marketing firm. Give me three weeks with them and I'll put another 2500 people in the seats. Do you notice that their music never shows up anywhere? Even FFH has many pieces of music that I'd try to market to sports and other promotional media outlets.

Who the f*ck runs their marketing?? I can't even begin to tell you how I'd get their music and image out there, affordably and uniquely. Jeez, at least The Ladder (God help the poor thing) had Homeworld appear in a video game, but nothing, nada, no unique way of adapting to this world...How many Yes apps should we create???

The marketing possibilities are endless...unless you're the company they are using now....

[smatt]

At a recent Jon show here last weekend they puts seats on sale for 1/2 prices.. $17.50 for a 400 seat/standing venue.... Depending on where it's at Yes has been drawing from 800-3,500..... They jsut put soem pretty darned goo dsets for Yes' show here at the Gibson ampitheater on sale for $20, just behind the seats they were charging $130 for I'm of the opinion that often times the promoters set prices to high. They suffer from their catalogue being obscure... They are Rush, or Pink Floyd, or even Journey who's music is still easily playable on the radio... But if you're a promoter where do you draw the line... If you charge $30 less per ticket on average... Will you sell enough extra tickets to make up the difference? Will you hit that attendance threshold for an additional share of the concessions? The various contracts differ from show to show, city to city, venue to venue....

Free shows are great and all.. But you still have to get paid, and somebody is paying for them...

[rmig68]

I think a lot of us also feel that they should get right back on the horse and try to create a good, solid album. Of course, I also think it should be a modern album that sounds up to date and takes advantage of the full spectrum of sounds and recording techniques available and be dark, and heavy and have hauntingly beautiful vocal harmonies, powerful in band orchestration and of course a dark, rocky, jagged cliffy thingy Dean album cover with a new strange font, and that it....

OK, slap me whenever you feel the need.

My point being is that I think they tour almost too much instead of taking some time to write a beautiful album together.

"If you record it...they will come."




There's Jon and Chris and Steve and Jon and Trevor and Trevor and Alan and Geoff and Tony and Bill...but why the hell are they wearing baseball uniforms?

[downbyariver]

I know I'd have been willing to see Yes this summer, but the ticket prices at the closest venues to me made it a bit cost prohibitive- $62.50 was the minimum price per seat when fees were included, which is well out of my price range. Then you figure in gas, parking, etc. and maybe a beer or two at the show and you're really getting out there for someone on a low income.

It's not about the current lineup, I'd go out and see any of the lineups Yes has have put together over the years, including this one, were it affordable. Not singling out Yes here, concert prices in general are bit too rich for my blood. I don't think I'm the only one in that boat.

Seems like in some parts of the country, concert going (for acts that are known anyhow) is becoming something that's not as widely accessible pricing wise as it was once was. On the other hand, in other parts of the country, someone on the thread mentioned Yes tickets are going for $17.50- at that price, you bet I'd be there- but it's not a reality for my region.

[collegehill]

When Yes played Cincinnati's Blue Ash July 4th last year with Peter Frampton, they drew 100K. It was a nightmare, honestly, with many folks cell phoning and chatting through the entire show. I'm not sure just plugging Jon A in would change much of anything without a proper marketing approach. As pointed out earlier in this thread, Yes's PR approach is so bad, they can't get out of their own way at times. There are so many opportunities to get music into the hand's of fans and gain new ones: A free download of a track from a new album, record store appearances in towns you are playing in, creating proper videos, a proper web presence, etc. These package tours don't help, either. I don't think Frampton or Procol Harum or Styx are really the right match for Yes, particularly as if nothing else, they cut into the set lenght potential for Yes. Something with ELP or Crimson, billed as a prog festival, would draw wildly.

[jimjacksonjim]

When Yes played Cincinnati's Blue Ash July 4th last year with Peter Frampton

Two years ago. 2010.

I was there, too.

[luvyesmusic]

Get off your ass and see a YES-show. 1977 was a long time ago and that's one reason they don't sell out anymore because old YESfans fuddy-duddys no longer leave the house or rarely. ;-) I still love to see/hear them live and seeing Alan, Chris and Steve still make it worth it to me even though they have aged just like I have. ;-) Go see a YES-show, Bob. :-)

[barry4806]

Frampton & Styx put more butts in the seats than Yes. This tour with PH will test their drawing power. Outside of the diehards they have damaged the brand, there is tons negative reviews on the ticketmaster webpage. Some fans may not know about JD replacing BD. And for the diehards the setlist is stale. I had tickets for a recent JA show and didn't go. I have seen his one man show 3 times and thought it was very good, but I know the stories by heart and he needs some music to go with his gift of voice. And Yes and Jon have over toured the same setlist to death.

[Micah68]

This sort of stuff does not interest me

Its like keeping a record of your Gas and Electric reading

[rann]

IMO, Mr. Sparkle Vest may have put off many Yes fans, old & new. Youtube has not been kind to BD's ill-fated tenure with Yes, but it has been honest. If I had been so unlucky as to have attended one of BD's Yes concerts I would have sworn, never again! Nothing personal against BD; I would have sworn off Yes after seeing Trevor bleating his way through Yes classics also. They simply were incapable of filling liitle JonA's rather large shoes. JonD is a different story...

I agree that Yes needs WAY better marketing & PR. JonD should be touted as the new front man...and a yank, no less! Youtube IS kind to JonD, but Yes should invest in a few decent, pro-shot live clips of JonD singing on familiar and not so familiar songs from the Yes library.

[Micah68]

There you go - the metre's just been read

[1yesfan]

When Yes played Cincinnati's Blue Ash July 4th last year with Peter Frampton, they drew 100K. It was a nightmare, honestly, with many folks cell phoning and chatting through the entire show. I'm not sure just plugging Jon A in would change much of anything without a proper marketing approach. As pointed out earlier in this thread, Yes's PR approach is so bad, they can't get out of their own way at times. There are so many opportunities to get music into the hand's of fans and gain new ones: A free download of a track from a new album, record store appearances in towns you are playing in, creating proper videos, a proper web presence, etc. These package tours don't help, either. I don't think Frampton or Procol Harum or Styx are really the right match for Yes, particularly as if nothing else, they cut into the set lenght potential for Yes. Something with ELP or Crimson, billed as a prog festival, would draw wildly.

That Blue Ash show (my home town) on the 4th ALWAYS brings in crowds like that (50K folks, the 100k is bit of a stretch) every year no matter who is playing. It is a HUGE event here in Greater Cincy area as it has one of the better fireworks display after the shows in Cincy. As much as I love YES the crowd was there for the events of the day/evening not for them or PF.

[collegehill]

I think attendance may be important enough to make Yes go with package tours versus touring on their own. Other than the Rite of Spring tour last year, they've paired up with some folks that probably aren't helping their cause (Frampton, Styx w/o Dennis DeYoung, Procol Harum). The Asia co-bill was probably the better one musically and financially (only 2 additional folks to share the profit as Howe and Downes did double duty!).

I do feel that band's often play into / up to the crowd's enthusiasm. If the hall's half full, it can very well impact the show. If it's full of cell phone talkers / freebie concert lovin' folks, it probably doesn't help the band go full tilt.

If the right PR was invested, Yes could go with a number of attempts to get the train back on the rails:

1) The full album concert approach - this has really gone over well with many bands, playing the whole of a particular album. In Yes's case, there may be value in performing all of Drama (takes the Anderson void off the table), with the instrumental jam of Do We Really Have to Go Through This fleshed out into a FFH suite performance (ties in nicely as it's genesis is from the Drama period). I would also see Fragile or the Yes Album as really nice options, giving more casual fans a dose of familiarity as well as us more tuned in fans a chance for A Venture and Perpetual Change.

2) Go high tech with a "text your request" segment into each show. Open up each show to 2-3 requests. Share the request on stage, play into the crowd with a quick "yea or nea," then play a request that suites the band's mood that night. This would require some refreshing of the band to learn a few rare songs, but it would make each show unique. It could also go along with a purchase the live show right after via portable drive. And be wise enough to practice a Tales medley :)

3) Advertise! Use FB, email blasts, anything really would be an improvement over what they're doing. Share with the fan base (or push out to a variety of music reporting stops) what you're doing.

[eldato]

YES sold out awhile ago.

[Melissa]

You might be suprised... They played a small performing arts center in the small town I live in in up state NY the last two years. Last years show was about half full at the begining and after the opening act the crown thined out even more. This year they didn't come back and the closes place there coming is 2 hours away and tickets are only $5 but I'm still not going. I think there a tuff sell at the moment.

Short of Jon coming back I don't see them "packing the crowd in" at any point.

Did you say $5!!!!!
Oh, you should really go! I have the Melbourne show from this spring and the sound really good. The FFH material is much better live than on the album, although IMHO the suite still suffers from being yuggley.

[1yesfan]

I have ALWAYS been one to push the idea of instead of playing the dumb local rock station music before the shows and have the band go in and record a non vocal set of about an hours worth of YES tunes with new fresh twists to them and play that before the shows, you know, that time when you get there and sit in your seats waiting for it to start and you get the lousy music before the show.