Jon Anderson keeps his summer tour small, intimate
His days on the big stage in front of thousands of enthusiastic fans may be over, but it’s a certainty that making music and sharing it with fans is not something Jon Anderson is ready to stop doing yet. It appears that quite a few people are curious about what he’s up to these days, how his health is holding up and why he’s not on the road with his old group as they tour with fellow classic rock legends Styx this summer.
Those issues have been given space here in the past, but perhaps it’s worth posting an update regarding Anderson’s current activities. It looks like his health is holding up pretty well given his current activities and that is great news for fans who wondered if he would ever perform again after his health scare during 2008.
Yes fans who now consider themselves more enthusiastic about Jon Anderson than a revamped Yes with a new front man occupying Anderson’s place on stage may be in luck this summer, but that depends a lot on where they live or their willingness to invest the time and money it would take to travel in order to catch one of his shows. These days he’s playing smaller and much more intimate venues which will give his fans a unique opportunity to get much closer to him than the amphitheater and casino venues where Yes is performing.
Anderson’s summer tour is not particularly ambitious when one considers that only nine shows are planned between now and August 11th. There could very well be a very good reason for that, however, since those serious health problems that kept him from re-joining his Yes band mates may be forcing him to take things a little slower these days. Still, Anderson seems to be making a favorable impression on fans and critics alike as reviews of his newly-released CD surface.
With his early summer tour of the east coast behind him, Anderson will be stepping out on July 9th to begin the tour that’s being billed as the one that will officially support his new CD, Survival & Other Stories. Among the reviews of the CD that I’m hearing about, a quote from one particular review caught my eye. Nick DeRiso of “Something Else Reviews” said, “Anderson, right from the first, simultaneously sounds more YES than he ever has as a solo artist and yet somehow different.”
As an old-school Yes fan, it’s interesting to hear that Anderson’s new CD may be more reminiscent of his work with Yes than his previous work as a solo artist. Although many Yes fans are clearly disappointed that he was unable to be part of the current Yes tour, this new CD may help soften the blow a little bit for those that simply cannot accept the group as Yes without Anderson.
Jon Anderson’s summer tour schedule is as follows:
July 9 – Courtenay, BC Vancouver, Canada – Vancouver Island Musicfest at Exhibition Grounds
July 10 – Courtenay, BC Vancouver, Canada – Vancouver Island MusicFest at Exhibition Grounds
July 12 – Seattle, WA – The Triple Door
July 14 – Portland, OR – Aladdin Theater
July 31 – Vernon, BC, Canada – Komasket Music Festival Komasket Park
August 3 – Lincolnshire, IL – Viper Alley
August 5 – Saint Charles, IL – Arcada Theatre
August 7 – Jerseyville, ON – Festival Of Friends Ancaster Fairgrounds (with America)
August 11 – Shirley, MA – Bull Run Restaurant
Real Rock News blogs at Realrocknews.com.
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