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Rating: On the afternoon of July 4th, I find myself with the usual suspects on the small hills in front of Tollwood, a folkloric market with stalls from below and above the equator. The weather is clear and there's already a considerable flow of people by 4:00 PM.
I was convinced to buy a ticket for this show by a friend who said it was a must-see. To tell the truth, I only own one Yes vinyl, specifically Yessongs, a collection of live recordings from '72 and '73. I still don't know what to expect from this concert, because when considering the discography of this band... it's hard to know what to anticipate.
After a stop at the bar, laden with beer, I head towards the front rows and notice that the average age of the audience reflects the age of the band, but I don't mind and consider myself an exception.
The band called to support them is Kraan; no longer active, these "Old German Rockers" have decided to dust off the instruments and introduce their elder cousins. In the meantime, I consolidate my position in the second row amid the evil glances and grumbles of battered fans.
The time has come for Yes; the lights dim and the intro begins... the exact same intro as Yessongs. The members appear and the stage, decorated to evoke the atmosphere of their album covers, appears too, I'd dare say surreal. The band starts strong, fast, precise, perfect sound and acoustics and... wait! I know this song... Yessongs!!
The next one comes, and then another... all from Yessongs. If I like the album, seeing them play drives me crazy.
The incredible thing about this concert is that I never expected to see them play 95% of Yessongs without a flaw, unquestionably high artistic quality, only those same things were recorded 30 years prior...
how is Jon Anderson perfectly in tune? Chris Squier is a machine, Alan White beats really hard, and Rick Wakeman has a keyboard stage that takes up half the platform... such class!
They play for a long time, they laugh from the stage... a night of progressive wonders performed by those who designed progressive.
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