Review of "Fly From Here -- Return Trip" by Yes

When Yes originally released Fly From Here in 2011, it marked a reunion of sorts for the lineup that recorded Drama in 1980 -- Steve Howe, Alan White, Chris Squire, Geoff Downes and Trevor Horn -- except that Horn was in the producer's chair and Benoit David was singing lead vocals. It was a great album in my opinion and one of my favorite post-Yes West albums.
That said, I think I like the new version that features Horn back on lead vocals (making it a full reunion of the Drama lineup) and is appropriately titled Fly From Here -- Return Trip.

Here are my takeaways on Fly From Here -- Return Trip:
1) Trevor Horn sounds great, especially on the suite-length title cut...which isn't a surprise since him and Geoff Downes co-wrote it in 1980. Trevor brings his own flavor to the song and makes some subtle adjustments to the mix and lyrics that give it a very fresh sound.
2) The vocal mix overall sounds great. Trevor Horn did a great job of bringing out the harmony vocals and giving them some extra crunchiness.
3) Having the full version of "Hour of Need" is cool. I always enjoyed that song since it's a Steve Howe co-lead with Benoit David (original album) and now with Trevor Horn. Howe's guitar work is strong as well.
4) "Don't Take No For An Answer" (featuring a Steve Howe lead vocal) is a nice treat. First, Howe's guitar work on the song is great (as expected), but has some nice crunchiness that adds to the song, especially on the end solo. Vocally speaking, Howe is solid. He does not have the pipes of a Jon Anderson or other well-known Yes vocalists (not that he needs them, since he's a guitar maestro), but like Ringo Starr with the Beatles, he sounds solid on his own songs or on songs written for his voice. Definitely a nice addition to Fly From Here -- Return Trip.

Buhler's rating: ***** out of five.

Yestival

Over the last few months, I have really gotten into the progressive rock band Yes. You know, the guys who sang "Roundabout," "Owner of a Lonely Heart" and other songs?
Either way, I decided I wanted to see them live this year -- and that I wanted to hit up their post-show meet and greet. After all, it would be cool to say hey to a band in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, get their autographs and get a pic with them. However, the nearest weekend concert to northeast Nebraska (where I live) was in Elgin, IL on Saturday, Aug. 19 -- over 500 miles away. Good thing I love road trips!
I got up at 4:45 Saturday morning, jumped in my already-packed car and headed out to begin a five-day weekend. I hit U.S. Highway 20 near Randolph, NE and cut across all the way to Dubuque, IA before taking a brief detour into southwestern Wisconsin to add it to my "states I've visited" list. I later got back on U.S. 20 near Stockton, IL and after grabbing my first-ever truck stop shower in Hampshire, IL, it was on to Festival Park.
I got to the park about 5:15 p.m., got my VIP goodies and then tried to spend some time in the shade -- and visiting with other fans -- till the fun started at 7. Carl Palmer's ELP Legacy was great as expected, and it was my first time seeing someone play a Chapman stick, which is pretty fascinating!
Todd Rundgren's hourlong set began around 7:45 p.m. and he put on a good show (though I would have loved a performance of Bang On the Drum All Day!).
Yes took the stage around 9:15 and did not disappoint! I especially enjoyed "Time And a Word," "South Side of the Sky," "Soon," "Going For the One," "Don't Kill the Whale" and "Machine Messiah."
Some thoughts:

• I was impressed with Jon Davison on lead. He's got huge shoes to fill via the "other" Jon and I thought he did great.
• Billy Sherwood is a great choice to succeed the legendary Chris Squire on bass, in my opinion. 

• Steve Howe (the Jedi Master) seemed a bit more relaxed than expected on stage. Musically, he was his usual self -- I'm still amazed what he can do with a steel guitar!
• The twin drummers of Alan White and Dylan Howe are a cool addition. They did not both play together on every song, but they had a good sound all night.
• Last but not least, Geoff Downes is still the man on keyboards.

Of course, the meet and greet was cool. Geoff was cool as always -- he remembered me from Asia's Sioux City meet-and-greet in June (the fact I wore my Thomas Magnum Hawaiian shirt to both didn't hurt!) and I exchanged thoughts on the Seahawks with Alan. I thought Billy and Jon were cool, though we didn't get much time to visit per se.  I kind of froze a bit by the time I got to the Howes, but did manage to tell them that they favored and that Steve was one of my favorites  I also got my Relayer and Live at Mesa albums signed.
As I said, great night! Making it even better was spending 2 1/2 days in Missouri seeing family and friends!

Educate yourselves, folks

Random thoughts on what I hate about politics: 

• People that can't (or won't) tell the difference between socialism and communism.
• People post memes about candidates based on bad or false info. Bernie Sanders doesn't drive a six-figure sports car (and what's wrong if he does?) Ted Cruz isn't a white supremacist (just saw a meme proclaiming that one!) Donald Trump is not going to send people of color back to Africa. People need to know the facts, not a stupid meme or clickbait story.
• And while I'm at it, don't believe everything you see on the internet -- even if it's ripping a candidate you despise.

Educate yourselves, folks. 

Some examples of things floating around online:

Some of my recent political columns

Hey folks, check out some of my recent political columns that I've written for the Norfolk Daily News

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Here is today's column:

My latest political column -- feel free to comment, like and share
Posted by Mike Buhler on Wednesday, February 10, 2016

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Here's one from last Thursday:

My column in today's edition about some things I learned over in Iowa. Highly recommended read, and not just because I wrote it ;)
Posted by Mike Buhler on Thursday, February 4, 2016

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And here is a column that I wrote the day of the Iowa caucuses:

My column in today's Norfolk Daily News about this weekend's leg of the #presidentialcampaigntour #iacaucus
Posted by Mike Buhler on Monday, February 1, 2016

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Feel free to read and enjoy!

The final leg of the Presidential Campaign Tour

It would have been hard to find a much better way to conclude the Presidential Campaign Tour.

Over the last few months, I have taken advantage of living close to Iowa to go see candidates during the Countdown to Caucus. Before last weekend, I had already seen six of the candidates – Ted Cruz, Chris Christie, Marco Rubio, Carly Fiorina, Rick Santorum and Mike Huckabee. I added four more candidates over the weekend and also took the opportunity to see three that I had seen before.

After getting off work early on Friday afternoon, I went to Bev's On the River in Sioux City to see Florida Gov. Jeb Bush. While I thought that Gov. Bush would have benefited from being a little more informal, he did have some good things to say – in fact, he reminded me a lot of his dad, former President George H.W. Bush. He was joined by two of his three children, Jeb Jr. and Noelle, and I also got to shake hands and exchange introductions with Jeb Jr.

Me and former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley in Sioux City

After departing Bev's, I drove downtown to the headquarters of former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley. While the event was listed as a phone bank for volunteers to stir up support, I was surprised to see several attendees at Bev's join me at O'Malley headquarters. Gov. O'Malley touted his record of passing progressive legislation as Maryland governor, including abolishing the death penalty and legalizing same-sex marriage, and he also spoke about his plan to make the nation's electric grid fully green in the next 35 years (by 2050).

While at O'Malley headquarters, I also got the chance to make a new friend or two and even had a chance to chat with a lady who works at Sioux City Planned Parenthood. My conversation with her was quite interesting, but productive.

Saturday began with a midday trip to the Holiday Inn of Sioux City to see Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, and I have to say he was an impressive speaker. He was more libertarian than I expected – he advocates auditing the Pentagon for one – but did a good job of making his points. I've often said that I could see the GOP going in a more libertarian direction in the future, and hearing Sen. Paul did nothing to dissuade me from that.

After leaving the Holiday Inn, I headed to the small town (population 2,142) of Ida Grove to catch Texas Sen. Ted Cruz one more time. I had heard Sen. Cruz twice in October just as his campaign was starting to gain momentum and I wanted to see what he was like three months later. As I was three months earlier in Atlantic and Council Bluffs, I was impressed in Ida Grove. Sen. Cruz is a dynamic speaker and also knows how to make fun of himself and I found him very likable. While I may not like all of his positions, I do like Sen. Cruz.

Me and Sen. Ted Cruz in Ida Grove

In addition to making another new friend or two in Ida Grove, I also got the chance to meet a TV crew from Austria and to meet Fox News contributor Byron York – and give him my extra copy of the Ted Cruz coloring book, autographed by Sen. Cruz himself.

I concluded Saturday back in Sioux City with another visit to former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum. During the Presidential Campaign Tour, Sen. Santorum has impressed me with his authenticity and his knowledge of foreign policy. He did so once again Saturday night. If he does not win the presidency, I am of the opinion that Sen. Santorum would make a great Secretary of State in a Republican administration.

The final day of the Presidential Campaign Tour began at Morningside College in Sioux City with another chance to see New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who hosted a town hall at the school. Gov. Christie once again was impressive, displaying a solid conservatism while also showing that he could work with Democrats to end gridlock and perhaps detoxify the climate in Washington, just like another former governor did as president – Ronald Reagan.

Me and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie in Sioux City

After leaving Morningside, I drove across Iowa to Marshalltown to catch Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. While I did not get the chance to personally meet the senator, I did get to meet his daughters, grab a pair of T-shirts for my mom and sister (who are both strong Bernie fans) and also ran into an old high school friend that grew up three miles from where I live, no less.

Wow! It's hard to believe the Presidential Campaign Tour is over. It was one amazing ride – I got to see 10 presidential candidates, but more importantly, I got to see what most of them were like in person and to gain a perspective of them I would have never gained just by watching the news or campaign ads. Do I want to do it again? Absolutely!

Want to see more photos? Check them out on Facebook by clicking here.

Thoughts from Mike Huckabee in Spirit Lake, IA

While I was on my way to Minnesota and the Mall of America (Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. was really good eatin' too!), I took a minor detour over to Spirit Lake, IA to listen to former Arkansas governor (and 2008 Iowa caucus winner) Mike Huckabee, who is now the sixth 2016 presidential candidate I've got to meet.
While I was a bit late and did not get to hear all of his talk and Q&A session at a retirement community, I did get to hear him re-iterate his support for traditional values and his strategy for dealing with ISIS, which includes expanded bombing and building a coalition for a ground war to topple the budding caliphate.
On a personal level, I found him to be a very nice guy. I told him my dad's family was from Greene County, AR and he told about how that his son attended Arkansas State in Jonesboro (which borders Greene County) so he could partake of Greene County's duck-hunting options. While I am undecided on who I am supporting for president, Huckabee's geniality was refreshing on a cold and snowy Friday in northwest Iowa.

Thoughts from Rick Santorum in Sioux Center, IA

As I have said on more than one occasion, one of the perks of living close to Iowa during caucus season is getting a chance to see the presidential candidates up close. 

After a two-month layoff, I had the chance to go back to Iowa Wednesday night and listen to former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum speak at a house in Sioux Center. It was officially described as a house party, but it also had a lot of town hall elements to it as well. Sen. Santorum spoke for roughly two hours and then visited with the roughly 40 people who attended.

Among the topics that he spoke on were:

• National security and radical Islam -- National security has been a common theme among the GOP candidates that I've heard and for good reason. Not only have recent attacks by followers of ISIS and the continued menace of Iran made people in America worry, but national security might be the GOP's strongest issue come Nov. 8, 2016. Santorum said that the way to defeat ISIS is to take their land (thus depriving them of their caliphate) and that Iran must not be allowed to get their hands on a nuclear weapon. Santorum's comments on national security overlapped with his comments on radical Islam, where the senator elaborated on the dangers that radical Islam poses to the world while displaying his knowledge on the topic.
• Immigration -- Santorum is known for his anti-amnesty views on immigration and spoke about them them Wednesday. He said that those who are here illegally "need to leave" and proposed using E-verify to combat illegal immigration, saying that cutting off the financial incentive to come here illegally would go a long way toward solving the problem. He also said that amnesty is not fair to those who came here legally and followed the rules.
• Other issues -- Santorum also reiterated his pro-life stance on abortion and choking up while speaking about his daughter, Bella, who was born with Edwards syndrome. He also highlighted his views on marriage, mentioning that he had proposed a constitutional amendment defining marriage as one man and one woman in the wake of a 2003 Supreme Court decision that struck down anti-sodomy laws in Texas. Additionally, Santorum proposed a 20 percent flat tax to replace the current income tax system.

A few outtakes from Sioux Center:

• After the event, Sen. Santorum and one of the attendees engaged in a discussion about immigration. While the attendee and Santorum disagreed on the issue, the discussion remained civil.
• Santorum brought up an interesting point on the immigration issue. He said that the biggest opponents of amnesty were immigrants who had came here legally and went through all of the legal processes that they were supposed to. Along those lines, Santorum and Sen. Ted Cruz -- two of the strongest amnesty opponents in the presidential race -- both had fathers who were immigrants and came here legally.
• One concern that Santorum expressed about a nuclear Iran was the prospect of the Iranians using a nuclear explosion to create an electormagnetic pulse (EMP) that could potentially devastate the United States' electrical power grid. On an aside, the Soviet Union used a similar tactic to conquer the United States and win the Cold War in the 1987 ABC miniseries Amerika.

Here a few photos from Wednesday. Jacob Hall took the one of me with the senator.