I'm going to push back a bit on some of these comments above. I understand what many of you are saying; I just flat out don't agree with some of it.
Progatron , in your post above quoting my last one, well, you proved that you haven't really followed the band closely for at bit. Jay Schellen has been part of the touring bad for Yes for over three years, and frankly his playing is phenomenal. Why was he asked to join in the first place? Because Alan had back problems that were so severe that he finally had to have surgery on his back, which led to his missing the 2016 tour and accepting a supporting role for the years since. (We also know from our own Phil Collins how difficult it is to come back from neck and spinal difficulties. Frankly, I'm surprised both are still able to perform to a degree.) Alan has much more difficulty walking than playing - when he is actually behind his kit, his playing is fine. I'm a bit puzzled too that he plays on that side kit while Jay plays on the main kit during some sections of the show; the optics of it certainly aren't great. To be honest, I think Alan is still hopeful he will recover enough to play full shows again - if he felt that he would never get there, I think he would have already retired.
A lot of people have difficulty with Jon Davison's singing. When he first joined, I had the same (but mild) reservations. The show I saw on Wednesday, however, he was the best I have ever heard him. In fact, I consider him to be one of the stars of that evening. He really delivered that night, it was really the best I have ever heard him perform. (I'll speak more about the absence of Jon A. below.)
I also saw the "classic 5-man" reunion (my personal favorite permutation of the band too) at virtually every Philadelphia and NYC area show from 2002 to 2004 - I saw at least five shows, but it may have been six. The shows on those tours were indeed great; however, if you were bothered by the tempos you heard recently, they were playing slower tempos even back in 2002. They haven't approximated playing at original 70s tempos since the 90s - they were still getting there for the reunion tour in the early 90s (one of the best shows I have ever seen), they were there for the "Keys To Ascension" shows, they were there during the "Open Your Eyes" tour (terrible album, stellar tour), but after that tour, they started slowing down. You might say, "Well, they're even slower now". No doubt, but they only sound "plodding" compared to the 70s playing - which is only logical: they are all a lot older. They aren't all that much slower now than they were a decade and a half ago.
Backdrifter , I was once a "No Anderson, No Yes" Yes fan myself. (As far as Wakeman saying the same comment, he has never played in a Yes without Jon despite the band's myriad personnel changes, so what else would he say?) Anyway, when they decided to tour without Jon in 2008, I abstained with prejudice; I was "proud" to miss that tour.
Then, I watched some of the videos after a while. Benoit David was doing quite a decent job with the vocals; he wasn't Jon A., to be sure, but he was far from sounding dreadful. The rest of the band sounded as good as they had in the past. The more I watched, the more I felt like a chump for not at least giving this new version of the band a hearing in person, and not just copping out by passing judgment at a distance by only watching videos on YT. I said if they make a new album and I don't dislike it, I will see them in person and decide whether Yes is still for me. Well, they released "Fly From Here", I not only didn't dislike it, I loved it; I went to the show (in Sheffield, if I remember correctly), and I concluded that I still had my band. (I should note that Alan's back troubles really started acting up on this tour - the tempos were a bit slower on the faster songs (but not annoyingly so) and Alan started looking "winded" after shows - it was only later that I found out it was more from trying to hide wincing in pain than from exhaustion.)
Of course, during that tour, Benoit managed to blow out his voice; thus, the Jon Davison era began. (I was dubious about him too, especially after their releasing "Heaven and Earth", which I did not really care for at all. The saving grace for the beginning of his era was that they started doing the whole album tours - I loved those. Songs that had rarely been played got live versions again, some got played for the very first time.) A final comment on the Benoit David era - the "Live In Lyon" CD they released from that era of the band is one of my very favorite Yes live albums - yes, seriously. Is it as good as YesSongs or YesShows? No, of course not. But it isn't massively distantly behind them either - very dynamic and well-played music.
I also saw ARW twice and they were very, very good. One of the things that tickled me the most about that tour is that the old 70s purists finally had to be at least more accepting of Trevor Rabin's contribution to the Yes story. That must have twisted some of their panties in a bunch - in order to see Jon and Rick together again, they had to see and hear Trevor too. And they all played very well together (Lou Molino and Lee Pomeroy were a great rhythm section as well - I first saw Lee on Steve Hackett's first "Genesis Revisited" tour, so I knew he would be up to the challenge of playing Chris' bass parts.) However, I never felt - not once - like I was seeing a "more authentic" or "better" Yes when seeing ARW than the "official" Yes - I felt like there were two Yeses at the time and that I was a bit spoiled for choice. I kind of wish they were continuing, but they seem to be done for good.
Ultimately, what really gets to me sometimes about the criticisms of the current Yes is that those who are so eager to cast aspersions on them haven't seen them actually perform in person. YT videos are merely an approximation of the live experience - they just aren't the same as the real thing. I myself was guilty of this same myopia back in 2008; I had to admit to myself that I was wrong for passing judgment in this way. Frankly, I'm glad I changed my mind - I've seen at least 6 additional shows in person since that "Fly From Here" tour show and I loved every one of them. This band still sounds great live. If they didn't, I'd stop going - I'm not just going for the label.
I also understand having preferred band members - I pointed out above that the 5-man reunion from 2002 to 2004 was my favorite permutation of the band too (although that was still behind the 8-man reunion of the early 90s). However, while Yes was never as flexible with band membership as, say, Hawkwind, they have rotated players often for literally decades. They haven't had all original members since "Time And A Word", their second album - before they made any of their albums that people know them for. Changing members is part of the Yes DNA - a fact that Rick Wakeman himself pointed out on the "YesStory" video/DVD when he said the could see a Yes extending far into the future long after the original/"classic" members left/died. He didn't see that possibility as the band being inauthentic - indeed, when Benoit David was the singer, his son, Oliver Wakeman, was the keyboard player. (Now, do I personally have the same viewpoint that Rick expressed in that video - no, I don't. If Steve Howe left the current band, I wouldn't accept them as authentic - unless, of course, both Jon and Trevor rejoined the band, then perhaps I might. If Geoff Downes left, Rick, Tony, or Patrick would have to come back. Alan's potential replacement has been in the making for the past 3 years - I'd fully accept Jay Schellen; he's been playing the drum parts brilliantly on the previous 3 tours and the current one. Fortunately, I think Billy is around for a while and, as rightly pointed out above, he does have Chris Squire's imprimatur of approval.)
People's tastes are people's tastes. If you can't abide them anymore for whatever reason, then don't go. It's just the tone of many of those who leap to criticize them now seems to suggest that anyone else with any "sense" ought to feel the same way. (Let me further point out that I'm NOT directly accusing anyone here of that same narrow-mindedness - I mention here more as an explanation for the length of this post. I've been hearing these shots taken at the band for quite a while, and I think it's time the opposing viewpoint got a proper airing.)
Finally, let me reiterate this: the show I saw last Wednesday was spectacular - not spectacular on training wheels, not spectacular with an asterisk, not spectacular with fingers crossed behind my back - but spectacular, full stop. In recent years, when they tour, I am usually content with seeing just one show per tour; however, this show was so good I'm seriously contemplating seeing another, even if I have to drive a bit to see it. It was just that good.