Billy Sherwood's feet presumably didn't hurt at all Saturday morning — and that had to be a huge relief.

After all, onstage Friday night at Foxwoods as the new bassist for Yes — during the band's first performance since the death of founding member Chris Squire — Sherwood had some sensationally iconic shoes to fill.

Fans, and presumably Sherwood's podiatrist, are happy to report it was a blister-free occasion. Standing in for Squire, Sherwood's nimble fretwork and support harmonies were pretty much spot-on, and over the course of the band's 90-minute set, his demeanor gradually shifted from earnestly focused to casting shy smiles at his band mates and the nurturing and supportive crowd.

With the loss of Squire, it's worth noting that Yes is out of original members. But over the course of an almost half-century career, a lot of musicians have been on the Yes roster and, by this point, the Yes sound, songs and entity are bigger than the sum of his nimble-fingered parts. Besides, this latest lineup has a lot of genuine Yes DNA from long-time veterans Steve Howe (guitar) and Alan White (drums). Keyboardist Geoff Downes has been a frequent contributor, and "new" vocalist Jon Davison has been onboard for years. Even Sherwood worked briefly in Yes in the '90s and was, for many years, involved with Squire in side projects.

This post-Squire Yes was very, very good. They played passionate versions of 11 songs, including requisite favorites ("Roundabout," "I've Seen All Good People," "Siberian Khatru," "Owner of a Lonely Heart," "Clap," the encore "Starship Trooper") as well as clever and relative rarities ("Going For the One," "America," "Tempus Fugit," "Time and a Word" and "Don't Kill the Whale".

If the evening's biggest question was how would Sherwood do, it was almost as important to fans to see how or if Yes would honor Squire. They did so with magnificent taste.

As the houselights went down to mark the start of their set, a single overhead spotlight shone down on Squire's signature Rickenbacker bass, placed on a stand stage-left in the position he typically occupied. While a recording of the beautiful Squire love song "Onward," from "Tormato," played over the P.A., a giant screen projected a montage of images of the late musician. 

It shouldn't be forgotten that it was a double-bill evening. Co-headliners Toto — whose own longtime bassist, Mike Porcaro, died in the spring of Lou Gehrig's disease — played first. While their reputation is for a brand of sophisticated pop-rock, as opposed to Yes' flat-out prog, it's also true that Toto's song structures and musicianship are pretty much on virtuosic par with any group in the world. The nine-piece Toto delivered incendiary representations of "Roseanna," "Hold the Line" and "I'll Supply the Love" that far transcended the milkshake-smooth sounds of those tunes on radio. There were also blistering new songs from the highly competitive new "Toto XIV" album — "Running Out of Time" and "Never Enough." And the audience-friendly take on their finale, the eternally wonderful "Africa," ignited the hall.

Fortunately for the happy faithful in Foxwoods, both bands memorialized their absent brothers in the finest way possible — through transcendent performances.