YES Delivers a Fragile Masterpiece at Steelhouse in Omaha, Nebraska on November 7, 2025.
Photos and Review by The Pit Magazine Contributor, Peter Amisano Photography
Progressive rock titans, YES, brought their “The Fragile Tour 2025, The Album Series” to Steelhouse in Omaha, NE, and it was nothing short of a transcendent revival. Performing their landmark 1971 album Fragile in its entirety, along with a selection of classics, the evening was an amazing display of prog rock favorites and extraordinary musicianship.
The current lineup—Steve Howe on guitars, Geoff Downes on keyboards, Jon Davison on vocals and acoustic guitar, Billy Sherwood on bass and vocals, and Jay Schellen on drums—proved that age is just a number when you’ve got virtuosity in your veins.
The show kicked off at 8 PM, with no opener. The venue, with its sleek industrial vibe and intimate 7,000-seat capacity, was a perfect modern complement to the show’s hippy meets 70’s rock feel. The stage was a visual feast with a massive video wall animated with Roger Dean artwork, the iconic floating islands, crystalline spires, and ethereal landscapes from the Fragile cover, now displayed onscreen in sync with the music.
The first set was a stroll through YES’s golden era, opening with the 12 minute “Siberian Khatru” from Close to the Edge and closing the first set with the classic Tempus Fugit. Howe’s virtuoso guitar work, Downes keyboard mastery immediately set the bar stratospheric. Howe, at 78, plays like a force of nature. Davison, channeling Jon Anderson’s ethereal high register without a hint of strain, soaring over Downes’s swirling Mellotron and Moog swells. Sherwood’s bass lines filled with the late Chris Squire’s spirit, locking in seamlessly with Schellen’s propulsive drumming—a fitting tribute to Alan White.
Then came the main event: Fragile straight through, a 45-minute odyssey that transported the crowd back to 1971. “Roundabout” exploded as the opener, that iconic intro giving way to incredible keyboard runs and melodic guitar work. The album’s heavier side shone in “South Side of the Sky,” where Sherwood’s bass growled like thunder. The encore was a curveball gem: a debut live take on The Beatles’ “The Word,” infused with YES’s psychedelic flair, followed by the ritualistic closer “Starship Trooper.” As the final notes faded and the Dean animations dissolved into stardust, the house lights rose on a venue alive with cheers. No one wanted it to end.
Photos by The Pit Magazine photographer, Peter Amisano Photography in Lincoln, Nebraska. ©2025.
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