Just say Yes. Over 5,000 people did Thursday night.
Yes, the five-man band from England, brought its classically inspired progressive rock to Wolf Mountain's amphitheater and took the mixed audience on a vivid, musical voyage through time.The show was a compilation of new and old "Yessongs." Though some audience members favored the older songs and others the new, Yes performed each song to its fullest.
At the start of the 2 1/2-hour show, guitarist/keyboardist Trevor Rabin, bassist Chris Squire, drummer Alan White, keyboardist Tony Kaye and guest guitarist Billy Sherwood, walked out from behind the stage and kicked out the heavy mainstream rock of "The Calling" from the band's new album "Talk." When vocalist Jon Anderson emerged and filled the air with his clear soaring tenor, the audience jumped up to greet him.
The simple, catchy rap of "I Am Waiting" kept the audience standing as Squire's bass rumbled through the crowd. And when the band sang the angelic choral introduction to "The Rhythm of Love," hands flew to the sky. The rest of the show was incredibly tight and wonderful.
Rabin cranked out sharp, cutting solos as Squire and White provided the roaming foundation to songs like "Real Love" and "Love Comes To You."
"You sound great. You look good, too," said Anderson during one of his many monologues during the breaks. He could have been talking to the band because the of the CD quality sound that was enhanced by an FM frequency transmission called "concertsonics."
The syncopated staccato introduction to "Changes" and the electric symphony of "Close To The Edge," showcased Yes' tight trademark orchestration. Mood-setting spotlights caught and highlighted each calculated note, drum snap and chorus.
After intermission, the band returned to the stage and artistically belted out "Owner Of A Lonely Heart" from its first number one album "90125." Rabin missed a cue for the lead, but corrected his mistake with a quick step and smile. Yes played the second half professionally well and its members had a good time making music. But some fans were disappointed when "Yesstandards" like "Starship Trooper," "Survival," "Long Distance Runaround" and "Time And A Word" were left off the set.
Still, Rabin, Squire and Sherwood chanted out perfect harmonious backups to Anderson's heartfelt vocals on other pieces like the hypnotic "Where Will You Be" and the new single "Walls."
There were also three different highlights of the night. The first emerged when the band performed the full artistic arrangement of "And You And I." Squire's bass complemented Rabin's minstrel-like acoustic interlude just before Kaye, Sherwood and White rocked into the song's majestic finale.
The second highlight came when Rabin and Anderson took on an acoustic guitar duet that segued into a reverent version of "Your Move" that features "I've Seen All Good People." Anderson encouraged the audience to sing the chorus before the band jumped into the song's electric, skipping coda.
And last was the new Yes epic "Endless Dreams."
"It's great to be in a band like Yes and write and perform `Yes-songs' like this one," Anderson said as the band opened the opus with a blinding flash. Rabin took on the piano and displayed his classical repertoire as Squire, Kaye and White shot out quick keyboard crunches and symbol crashes. Anderson served as the singing narrator and seemed to guide the audience through the song's soaring musical nooks and crannys.
White flashing strobes and rolling colored spots once more injected the amphitheater with atmosphere as Yes reached yet another audio and visual plane of this musical voyage before leaving the stage.
Only one song served as the encore. The hyper, spiraling arrangement of "Roundabout," Yes' trademark piece, finished the show and left the audience chanting for more. The song was a fitting end to an energetic evening.