A look into the musical world of Trevor Rabin: composer, performer, and a man of many careers.
Introduction:
A series of essays wherein I explore the numerous musical identities of my favorite musician: from child prodigy to teen idol to guitar hero to singer/songwriter to award-winning in-demand film composer.
Featuring news/updates and commentary/analysis of Trevor's career and associated projects. Comments are disabled but please feel free to contact me at rabinesque.blog@gmail.com.
My abiding gratitude and thanks to the following for their generosity and assistance with this entry: rePete, Cee, fiendish_thingy, Judy Davis, Annie Hambach, Kim McCall, and James Cushing. And as always: caveat lector because op-ed and potentially controversial opinions.
As I noted in my State of the Tour entry, I did not attend an ARW concert this year, but thanks to the efforts of kind fellow fans I did obtain some merchandise, which I consider an important part of my fan experience.
Except...well, this year was rather a fail on the part of whomever makes the decisions for such things, in my estimation.
But for those of you who enjoyed the merchandise offerings (as well as whatever you might have received in the VIP package if you bought one), then I'm glad you were well-pleased. But I am compelled to expound upon what I believe were some missteps on the part of the organization.
First, I wanted to note that there were different offerings throughout the year. The merchandise available in the UK, for example, was the same as what was sold at the US shows the previous year. But the merchandise in Japan was largely different, and there was new merchandise introduced during the Summer/Fall tour respective of the name change from ARW to Yes Featuring ARW.
But of course there was one notable exception...the tour book. More about that later.
Design flaws
When we were first introduced to the overall design scheme of the ARW branding, I will admit that I was not overly excited by the graphics. This is not a slight on Jay Nungesser, it's just that it didn't really speak to me as a band logo, and although he did explain to me the significance of the maze design it wasn't compelling to me as a concept. That's on me and my aesthetic opinion, of course.
However, with the name change came the prominent use of the "new" Yes logo and again, I don't particularly care for it. In fact, it makes the ARW logo look positively beautiful by comparison. It's not a design which truly fits for a rock band, especially a legacy band who cannot use the logo most closely associated with their adopted identity. Which then brings me to...
Shirt scandal
As we see from this photo (with thanks to Judy Davis) of the merchandise for the Summer/Fall tour, the shirt selection is a little on the slim pickings side when compared with the previous year. Four shirts versus three shirts and a hoodie - but you might very well say, "It's the same number of garments, Humble Narrator!" And that is certainly true but there's a distinct lack of variety on offer as regards the look of those garments.
2017 (North America)
And then there is the not-so-little matter of utilizing the classic Yes bubble logo on two of those shirts, which became limited edition strictly by way of legal sanction. With thanks to good friend of the blog Cee, I was able to obtain one of them. The hoodie is not too bad but those shirts are totally boring compared with the vibrancy of last year's shirts. So what the hell happened there?! Not to mention what truly seemed to me to be a flagrant disregard for intellectual property. And frankly that's not a good look on anybody.
Programme? What programme?!
As a young concert go-er, the one piece of merchandise I would purchase without fail was the tour book, and I have a collection of various programmes. So when it was revealed that a tour book was being sold in the UK, my first response was disappointment that it had not been offered here, but it's clear to me now that they were waiting to make a tour book when they had live performance shots to include, as there are photographs from the Los Angeles show. And thus I can say that I am actually in the tour book (along with many other happy fans) so I am very happy that I now have a copy of my very own.
You can't see me, but I'm in the photo on the left (up in the balcony).
However, when the Summer/Fall tour got underway, the initial reports that there were no tour books being sold admittedly made me a bit crazy. Why?! Did they sell out? But even so, why didn't they print new ones for this tour? I had an exchange with Jay Nungesser, who stated he wasn't sure why they weren't being sold, but when the tour made it to Canada (which was almost exactly a month after my exchange with Jay) the tour books now appeared in the merch booth. It appears they first sold the remaining stock, as I have one with the original cover.
(photo: Judy Davis)
Weeks later, it appeared a different version was now for sale. However, only the front cover was changed.
(with thanks to Annie and Kim for getting this photo to me)
The contents are exactly the same otherwise. And it's pretty okay, really, although I find it somewhat disconcerting that Brian Lane was the mastermind behind it. Don't believe me? Why else would there be an entire page devoted to jokes about his notorious reputation for mis-management? However, I did enjoy the center spread of photos featuring Our Guys with their better halves. And it was also great to finally see Lou and Lee's shots from the photo session with Jon's daughter Deborah.
It does call to mind what occurred during the Talk tour - a tour book was created for the Japanese tour, but there was never one offered for the US. I realize merchandising often reflects what the market desires, and that's one reason why there always seems to be better merch available in Japan, because the fans do buy it. But tour books are popular in most regions, I would say, and I hope that this was a lesson to the organization in terms of being better-prepared as regards merchandising in the future. Because doing a reprint of a tour book with about two weeks remaining in a tour is rather too little, too late. Those programmes with the new cover should have been ready to be sold at the very first gig. There is no convincing me otherwise, and I am someone who does have knowledge of how these things are accomplished.
Doo-dads (and the lack thereof)
As you can see from the photos I've included, there were a few other items on sale last year and they seemed in keeping with the demographic of attendees - hats and coffee mugs, as well as posters advertising the tour which one could purchase either autographed or not. The posters were available this year as well, but the only other item which could be found was a refrigerator magnet. And hey, I love fridge magnets. But this one is particularly uninspired.
I call this 50 Shades of BORING.
(with thanks to fiendish_thingy)
Take our money, please! (or don't)
One other element I've made note of in fandom discussion is the lack of an online store for merchandise sales. Fans are willing to spend money all the time if they love a band. I would have been more than happy to buy merch in that manner this year but since it wasn't available I was very fortunate that fellow fans were kind enough to give me the hookup. So Mr. Deal-A-Day and his cohorts are seriously dropping the ball by not making this available for fans.
***
It would seem to me as regards the merchandise that for some reason there was a distinct lack of readiness/coordination behind the scenes this year. Last year the merchandise was on point, with a pulled-together unified presentation and decent variety. This year? It looks as though it was all done at the last minute and with an eye to larceny. As a fan it truly pains me to have to state it, but it's not like the evidence isn't obvious, and there was somewhat of a fandom backlash regarding the use of the Dean logo on the t-shirts.
My one request for next year? Guys, please, give us something worthwhile for the 50th Anniversary. I know you can do better than this and I think we're worth it, don't you?
It's been quite a year once more for fans of Trevor, from seeing him onstage and on television - through multiple tours and Yes' induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame - we've had much to be thankful for during these Golden Years of Trevor's career in his re-commitment to his legacy as a member of Yes and as a rock n'roll musician.
I wanted to wish my readers all around the world a joyous Holiday season - whatever tradition you might observe - with positive thoughts for the New Year bringing plenty of things to enjoy as regards the Yes 50th Anniversary celebration.
Although I know many of you do not celebrate Christmas, I wanted to include one of my very favorite holiday songs which I have loved for many years and I think it is also a fitting tribute to the memory of David Cassidy, whom as we know passed last month.
Thank you, ever and always, for your patronage and support, and an extra special thanks to those who have emailed me or messaged me via Yesfans with comments and questions throughout the year. Rabin-esque is a labor of love and I'm so grateful to be able to share it as a part of this wonderful fandom family!
The following contains my usual op-ed and analysis, so caveat lector if you're not particularly interested in such things or may take offense to my point of view. Also, this is a long entry with various photos/videos and so might be more of a strain on older/slower browsers.
Even as I did not attend a single ARW show this year (because they did not tour in Southern California this time) there is still so much to discuss, leastwise because they did play 55 dates total and it makes for lots of interesting details to ponder and comparisons to make. And I can do so because there is plenty of documentation out there to absorb. I am thankful for this consideration because, even as I understand why the tour didn't make it to my region, as someone who wants nothing more than to see at least one ARW show per year (although more than one would be nice) I was sort of dying inside.
(#fangirlproblems)
As we know, it really was a matter of two different tours: the dates in the UK, Europe and Japan were a continuation of last year's US tour as it was - for most performances - the exact same setlist. The North American tour later in the year could be considered a new(ish) tour with a few setlist changes and a beefed-up production design plus new venues and cities were visited. The primary difference, in my estimation, was touring under the new moniker and all which it implies. But I'm still not interested in engaging in the legitimacy debate so that's not happening.
First I wanted to include a few compendiums from various sources at different points during the year, to give everyone an idea of how both the performances and the staging evolved throughout the respective touring cycles. Of course those of us who have been assiduosly following along will have already watched these particular videos.
UK tour: Birmingham, England
Summer Festivals/European tour: Schio, Italy
Summer/Fall tour: Toronto, Canada
I find it easier to write about this if I break it down into subtopics so here we go; and I will continue to refer to the North American tour as "Summer/Fall."
Round the World
As someone who desires this ensemble to succeed and evolve, it was really nice to see the guys touring the world this year, with stops in Israel, the UK, Low Countries, Japan, Western Europe and North America. I can imagine many fans were grateful to have the opportunity to see them and I'm really looking forward to what could be considered a well-staged classic iteration of their performances with the release of the March 25th Manchester Apollo show on DVD.
Of those gigs elsewhere there are two I wanted to note in particular: one is the first show of the year at Menora Mivtachim Arena in Tel Aviv, the only arena ARW has played thus far and even though the gig was a bit fast-and-loose there was also a lot of energy which makes it a great show to watch, in my estimation. And the stop in Rome at Cavea Auditorium Parco della Musica was also a great performance in a beautiful setting. No offense meant to Merrie Ole but I really wish the Rome date could have been professionally filmed as well.
Territories
The Summer/Fall tour itinerary was interesting in that while there were new cities/venues included - and a three-date stint in Canada which was excellent news for fans above the lower 48 - more than a few of the exact same venues were played, and more than half the tour could be considered as being booked in the East Coast/Northeast region of North America. And I can certainly understand varying the particular regions in order to give more fans a chance to see the band, but given that there were many of the same types of bookings made - multiple dates in New Jersey, New York and Florida - it suggests to me that the East Coast is the true stronghold for the band as well as Larry Magid having a vast network of bookers and local promoters, and therefore we can expect for the life of this band that they will always have a larger presence in that area of the country. Which, if you're an East Coast-based fan, is good news for you!
Venues
As I noted, some of the same venues were visited this time around in the US, such as the Goodyear Theatre in Akron, the Count Basie Theatre in Red Hook, and Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater. But interestingly there seemed to be more of an emphasis on theatre type venues, with more than a few Performing Arts centers booked rather than casinos. And then there was a winery, which was incredibly picturesque (and the show I would have chosen to attend had I been able to afford to travel to NoCal - even as its' small stage precluded the use of their backdrop, projections, and custom lighting rig), as well as Wolf Trap in Virginia and Toronto's Massey Hall which are historic venues in their own right. So I would say this enterprise is moving up in the world a bit but I expect that their preferences are not going to change in terms of the type of venues/capacity they will play in the future, and also that they will continue to tour solely on their own with no support act rather than as part of a double bill or package tour.
Fashion Watch
It seemed The Boys were each mostly committed to a uniform this year, although Rick did add a couple capes to his repertoire and Lee opted for casual with a rotating selection of t-shirts. But is it just me, or are those skinny jeans beginning to appear more and more like a tribute to Chris' black spandex? (I kid because I love.) Trevor continued his strategy of switching it up most nights, although it was primarily the same pieces as last year. But I do have to thank Whomever/Whatever it was which convinced him not to wear the track pants again for Summer/Fall. That was indeed an aesthetic too far.
The Setlist
As I had previously reported, there were changes made to the setlist for Summer/Fall but they were not extensive. Originally for the three pieces which were removed - "I've Seen All Good People," "Changes" and "Long Distance Runaround/The Fish" - there were supposed to be three additions: "South Side of the Sky," "I Am Waiting" and "It Can Happen." However, the latter song was never performed although Rick noted it had been rehearsed, as well as soundchecked at least one venue (with thanks to Judy Davis for that bit of info). "The Meeting" was also removed but as that had occurred in the previous touring cycle I wasn't considering it as part of this overall revision. Then ten dates into the tour "Lift Me Up" was directly swapped out for "Changes" and that was the extent of said changes, which resulted in a shorter setlist overall with 12 songs (when compared to the previous cycle with potentially 15 songs performed, depending on how you count).
I think "South Side" and "I Am Waiting" were great additions in terms of nods to both Classic Yes and YesWest, even as both eras are represented overall. Now there is an equal amount of material in the setlist and it would seem to me they will strike this same balance in the future. "It Can Happen" would have also been an refreshing choice and now I can't help but wonder if it partly had to do with providing something interesting for Rick to play as regards the various textures the song employs. I still believe "Hearts" would be a great choice for next year. As I don't expect the set will get any longer, I would be willing to swap out either "Hold On" or "And You and I" for it. But of course these decisions aren't up to me (or anyone else other than Jon, Rick and Trevor). As for replacing "Lift Me Up" with "Changes" although I was disappointed that Trevor was down to one song - and that is a consideration specific to those of us who were there to hear Trevor sing as well as play, and I am aware that is fewer people than those attending the show in total - I do believe perhaps the primary reason had to do with Trevor's comfort level in performance. It seems, when comparing the two, that he displayed more ease when it came to singing "Changes" versus "Lift Me Up" and given that this wasn't a one-off decision (i.e. it wasn't added on the fly at one particular show but rather was a permanent substitution) it would seem it was given ongoing consideration during those first two weeks of the tour and was an inevitable adjustment. And for those of us who pay attention to setlist statistics, the change occurred at almost exactly the same point as on last year's US tour, meaning that it was a previously agreed-upon intersection for making a change. As well as "Changes" being a signature song for Trevor in terms of both playing and singing, in the end it was the right choice, in my opinion.
As the show employed a static setlist for almost the whole of the tour, it's an interesting consideration for those fans who attended multiple shows - because fans being fans, they want to be supportive and also have that experience more than once - as to what is rewarding about such an endeavor. Good friend of the blog Cee attended three shows on this tour and she notes: "...even though the set list is the same, I find the vibe and energy are different at each show depending on the audience, and that makes them all unique."
And I would agree with this as it mirrors my experience last year in terms of the difference between the Los Angeles and Anaheim crowds and vibe in the venues.
One thing which strikes me about the Summer/Fall setlist is how it really seemed to be divided into two distinct acts (regardless of the intervals they did have at a few dates), as the first half is more YesWest-heavy and upbeat, whereas the second set has more of an epic feel to it. And that is definitely fitting for the ebb-and-flow of a progressive rock show, but the sense of two distinct moods is palpable to me now.
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One of the very best changes in my opinion was updating the lighting for the Summer/Fall tour, although this was actually enacted with the staging of the Manchester Apollo show for filming purposes, as I had previously reported. From all the photos and video I have seen - when compared with the shows I attended last year - the new lighting makes a world of difference in terms of the presentation and impact, and an engaging production is always a plus in the contemporary concert market. As well it was nice to see the use of projections throughout the tour, as this is a particularly Yes-ish type of production value. I will also say that bringing Chris Fudurich onboard as the Front of House mixer was helpful in terms of achieving a better balance of sound even as there continued to be complaints from some attendees regarding the lack of bass in the overall mix - but as the guys from Progressive Palaver noted (and I agree with this) it really did seem to depend on where you were sitting as to how dynamic and full the mix sounded.
Although dynamic production values are something we expect from any version of Yes - and even progressive rock in general - and even more specifically from tours in the 21st Century, it's not always necessary. One consideration which comes to mind when I view the It Bites concert video It Happened One Night is it features a show with a very basic presentation - not much at all in the way of lighting or staging - but what it does have are four gentlemen who are consummate professionals (with a matching palette in stage attire), great songs, and spot-on intense and upbeat performances to an appreciative crowd. The stripped-down staging of it is something you don't notice unless you've watched it multiple times (as I have of late).
The Game
It was revealed in PROG's coverage of the 2016 tour that Rick and Trevor were playing a game (which dated back to their first experiences performing together) every night with "Changes" in that Trevor would find a way to include a word of Rick's choosing in such a way that the audience wouldn't notice - and thus his very noticeable seeming flub in the Union-era Denver concert footage was finally explained. But as "Changes" was not performed at the first nine shows it fell to "Rhythm of Love" to be the song for the game - I believe the word Rick gave Trevor in Saratoga was "crabs" - and while I get that they want to have fun and avoid tedium, look guys: don't mess with my favorite of the setlist. When "Changes" returned then so did the traditional iteration of the game but it doesn't appear they played it at every gig, unless Trevor was entirely stealthy on some nights.
The Guitars
Given that Trevor has a previously-stated preference for playing very few guitars onstage, it's not a surprise that he hadn't really changed it up much for Summer/Fall (there having been only a few changes to the setlist, so no need to change out guitars, necessarily). As usual Trevor plays the Strat on most of the material, busting out his custom Pantera for "Changes" (and previously "Lift Me Up") and "I Am Waiting" and using his signature model on "Awaken." However, he did bring along his candy apple red Strat to use for "South Side of the Sky." I imagined this was for the same reason as his choice of guitar on "Awaken" - because the song utilizes a specific tuning and therefore it's easier to use another guitar. But it was a change which also occurred mid-tour in Kettering. Prior to this Trevor was using the Strat on "South Side" so that may discount my theory altogether.
When I first saw/heard clips from Stockton and Saratoga, the detail which struck me immediately was the lack of solo spots for Lou and Lee. As "The Fish" had been deleted from the setlist I could understand why but I originally (erroneously) believed that Lou still had his drum solo, but then I watched the Saratoga show and saw that wasn't the case. (And in relation to a comment I made last year, "Lift Me Up" sounded far better without that drum solo intro.)
I felt it was a bad decision, and I'm glad they rectified this six gigs in. It appears it may have been first performed as a substitute for the walkabout as they weren't able to enact it in Littleton (a situation which would come up several times during the course of the tour). Instead they played an extended jam within "Owner of a Lonely Heart" which included solos from Lou and Lee and this was the way in which I truly felt the song was made newly dynamic, as well as a more organic way to include a solo spot within the show. And then choosing to continue it was a great decision! The walkabout is fine but I feel it's a bit played out and therefore what I've been calling the "bass battle" was a nice addition to this section of the show. Adding a bit of comedy - something natural to Rick and Lee from their time together in English Rock Ensemble - is fun for everyone.
Old vs. New
So now that the US has two tours to compare, are they equally enjoyable? Of course most fans would reply: "Yes!" and I would be apt to agree but I'd give the edge to Summer/Fall if only for the fact that this year's version of ARW is relaxed, honed and completely in tune as an ensemble. And I understand that it's a process and a continual evolution, but I think it's reasonable to opine that some markets deserved better than a band attempting to find their way to that professionalism, consistency, and entertainment which everyone paid to see at every performance on every tour. Thankfully, some of those areas were lucky enough to have another chance this year and from the reactions I've read, were wholly gratified by the second time.
My dear friend fiendish_thingy has attended gigs for both tours and she commented: "...this year it was obvious that they were 100% focused, back to playing like they could in their prime and everything fine-tuned. The effect was less cute and more powerful. It wasn't like they weren't having fun but they were having fun because they knew they sounded so good..."
The Merch
I have an upcoming Collector's Corner entry regarding this year's merchandise but I did want to acknowledge that different merchandise was being sold on the Summer/Fall tour reflective of the name change; but also they were indeed poaching the classic Yes bubble logo design which is - according to fandom research - jointly-owned by Roger Dean and Steve Howe. As we know, things are not always what they seem in Yesland but it appears - thanks to anecdotal evidence from various individuals - that ARW's management did not have permission to sell merchandise bearing the classic logo and had to pull the two t-shirts which featured it from their inventory in the last two weeks of the tour. Fans are of course free to speculate as to why a band would produce their own bootleg merchandise.
Also: the merchandise sold in Japan was, in my opinion, far superior in design and variety to anything which was sold in any other region.
***
As always to everyone who has requested and followed the Tour Reports, I thank you for your patronage Even as it's a lot of work to produce them, I love the process of finding everything I can related to each gig and I hope you've enjoyed the journey too. I suggest, if you're interested, to go back and check the entries because I've updated nearly all of them from this year in some way as more material is made available.
To everyone who attended a show (or shows) this year: I hate you. Just kidding! 55 down, none to go, another tour and no more shows...but for everyone who continues to support Our Guys, I hope it was a blast and here's to next year and whatever musical adventure we will all embark upon with Jon, Rick, Trevor, Lou and Lee.
Note: as this entry has many embedded videos, it might be difficult to load on older/slower browsers.
As we fans continue to wait patiently for news of the release of the March 25th show, I happened to spot a reference to it on Twitter the other day by Doug Gottlieb (who along with his brother Glenn designs various merchandising for Yes Official and published the fanzine Yes Magazine for many years).
But what can we expect to see? Well, thanks to audience members who filmed that night we can at least have a better idea of what it will be. And of course those who were there are looking forward to re-experiencing the show and hopefully their enjoyment of it.
But first I would like to state - given the nature of the fan inquiry above - that I do not find myself confounded or frustrated or alarmed by the lack of an update at this time. I've also stated this at the Yesfans discussion forum, and hey - it's post-tour and the holidays so whatever might be happening, I would say that Our Guys have earned some well-deserved relaxation and time to pursue other projects if they so choose. Would it be nice to know what's going on? Sure it would. Are they obliged to tell us? Absolutely not.
I will say that what I am going to miss from the DVD is "The Meeting" which was performed in London but not Manchester, and then also at some dates in Japan, but one can only hope that it might turn out to be a bonus feature.
As you can see in this excerpt from "Owner" there was a camera filming the walkabout as Rick and Trevor went up-and-down the aisles, while Jon, Lou and Lee kept going onstage.
This is sort of a behind-the-scenes video from the FOH area which includes part of "Owner" and all of "Roundabout" - because of where the filmer is situated the sound is really great, in my opinion.
Here's a bit of the epic grandeur of "Awaken" with the kaleidescopic effect of the changing color projections on the backdrop.
The YouTube channel MrMoogman features the entire show but rather than include all of it I prefer to note those aspects of interest to me as a viewer. However, one may view all the videos on his channel if so desired.
"Lift Me Up" features a rather comedic introduction from Jon.
Trevor does his best to reprise his classic phrasing on "Changes," making for one of the best renditions of the song in this era.
Lee positively outdoes himself on this performance of "The Fish" and when you consider that every performance of this piece was bravura-worthy, that is quite a feat.
Of course the final product will be of professional caliber and entirely optimal for repeat viewing, I have no doubt. But at least we can tide ourselves over, after a fashion, while we wait.
It was interesting to learn that Chris was Trevor's first choice for FOH, but due to prior commitments he wasn't able to come into the organization until after the first US tour. The interview is nicely comprehensive in terms of past and current projects, as well as technical details for the gear nerds among us.
