Jackson Free Press

Last night, progressive rock pioneers Yes played three full albums at Jackson's Thalia Mara Hall. It appeared, for a moment, that it might not happen and I almost didn't believe it would until two hours after the scheduled start time.

The show was supposed to begin at 8 p.m. At 8:05, show promoter Arden Barnett came out for his customary introductions. He announced that the band had come into some bad weather and had to charter a private jet to make the Jackson show. He then announced last minute opener, local guitar guru, Barry Leach who proceeded to play a solo set of acoustic music that managed to keep the crowd in check. Kudos to Arden and Barry for making this happen under what I'm sure what was an unexpected event.

After Barry played, Arden announced the plane had landed and the band were en route to the venue and to expect a full show.

At approximately 10 p.m., the closing refrains of Stravinsky's "Firebird" blasted over the P.A. and Yes took the stage.

The three albums the band was advertised to play were The Yes Album, Close To The Edge, and Going for the One. I was a little surprised when the opening of Close to the Edge began. I wondered if the show would indeed be cut short (Maybe the lesser known Going for the One was going to be cut?) after all, with the concert's late start time. That feeling quickly gave way to joy as I was able to enjoy a live reading of the band's prog-rock masterpiece the first time I heard the lyrics, "I get up, I get down..." Close to the Edge is a near-perfect example of the genre and certainly held up in this live setting. I was also floored by the tone of Chris Squire's Rickenbacker bass (not to mention his ability to play). I was swimming in the full organ barrage played by Geoff Downes.

The thought of two-album show went by the wayside when at the conclusion of Close to the Edge led directly into "Going for the One", the title track from the album of the same name. It was highly impressive to hear the extremely difficult "Parallels" performed live. Rhythmically, the band was anchored by long-time drummer Alan White. Also, the audience were treated to the "triple-neck bass" (see below). If the band was tired from the long trip to get here, they weren't showing any signs of it. Guitarist Steve Howe jumped around the stage with the energy of 12-year-old boy.

My confusion about the three album set was resolved when I realized that it made perfect sense for the band to close with the The Yes Album. Although that album was released before the other two, it also boasts a couple of instantly recognizable hit songs in "Starship Trooper" and "I've Seen All Good People." New vocalist Jon Davidson pulled off the stunning feat of recreating the uniquely high vocals of band co-founder Jon Anderson. At the conclusion of "Perpetual Change", the audience was blasted with confetti. Yes had just performed three very difficult studio albums live.

If that wasn't enough, the band played a celebratory encore of "Roundabout".

Finally, at 12:40 a.m. the exhausted audience exited the doors of the auditorium. After three full albums and an encore, Yes did not disappoint.

TB