Herringthorpe Leisure Centre, Rotherham, 23/9/00 I had heard nothing but glowing reports of the band 'Fragile' and was persuaded by a mutual friend to go see them. So, despite having only listened to 'The Ladder' and the occasional piece from the early 70s, I was persuaded to part with £10 in return for an evening of Yes music.

The support band played for about an hour. They all looked like they'd just left the office to play the gig, but I was suitably impressed when they started with some exciting and powerful music. When the singer came on, I was somewhat surprised as I had been expecting someone like Fish to arrive! The quite small and shy-looking chap who came to the front of the stage almost apologetically, had a good voice but seemed to be disinterested in the music. Perhaps I'm being unfair, as he said he had the 'flu, and it must have been a struggle to sing and look excited through a wall of cattargh. I was particularly impressed with the very high standard of their music - in places a little like Arena or Pendragon, and very exciting and well written.

I was informed by the guy next to me when the intro music started, and then Fragile took the stage and played a truly ripping 'Cinema'. I saw Yes play this earlier in the year and in many ways enjoyed it more this time, as the band were much closer to me and there was more intimacy between them and the audience. 'Siberian Khatru' followed and the singer arrived. I've often felt that the singer has a tough job in a tribute act, as it can be difficult to sound like the person you imitate without resorting to surgery. When Steve (singer) started, I saw people break into grins and breathe sighs of relief. This probably had something to do with him sounding just like Jon Anderson. Throughout the rest of the gig, he sang perfectly with seemingly little effort the tunes that I don't think many other people could possibly do. As for the rest of the band, the sound was virtually spot on. Nothing jarred or sounded odd. Everyone sounded like they were supposed to - not an easy task at all !!

!The lead guitarist (Rob) had a Steve Howe tone. The keyboard player had a Rick Wakeman sound. The drummer was just like Alan White and the bassist sounded like Chris Squire. What higher praise can there be? I didn't spot any mistakes. The only problem I felt was in the mixing which had the Rob's guitar too loud, occasionally drowning out the keyboard parts. Also there was some faffing around with Rob's acoustic, but neither of these were the band's fault. I must confess to being somewhat mystified by the presence of a 2nd guitarist. I must had heard him about 3 times during the entire gig (and I was actually trying to hear him). Was his guitar switched on? Did Yes ever have more than one guitar in the 70s? There wasn't even anything played from The Ladder, which would have used both guitarists. Very strange. I should say that £10 was a bit steep for any tribute act, but that wasn't down to the band either.

Overall the sound was great, the pieces and solo spots nothing short of superb. The evening was immensely satisfying, and made me realise that I have an awful lot to learn about playing the guitar. If you like your Yes, don't wonder whether you should see Fragile. Go.

Dave Woodward