1. I vowed years ago I would never see Yes without founding singer Jon Anderson, and I’ve stayed true to my promise. That meant Saturday’s ARW show—featuring Anderson on the mic, fellow classic-era returnee Rick Wakeman on keyboard and ’80s mainstay Trevor Rabin on guitar—was my first chance to reconnect with the progressive-rock band’s live catalog since 2004.
2. Rumors of Anderson’s vocal demise have been greatly exaggerated, judging from this performance inside the Palms’ concert theater. From the opening lines of “Perpetual Change” (off 1971’s The Yes Album) through the encore—classic-rock radio staple “Roundabout”—the 72-year-old’s iconic high-pitched instrument soared through the room, despite the band having played its taxing two-plus-hour set five times over the previous eight nights.
3. 1970s Yes epics “And You and I” and “Awaken” were the night’s highlights, naturally, best showcasing Wakeman’s fast-fingered wizardry, Anderson’s ethereal lyrics and the original group’s advanced compositions, but Rabin-era cuts off more commercial LPs 90125 and Big Generator fit in surprisingly well. Main set-capper “Owner of a Lonely Heart” brought the largely older crowd to its feet, of course, but “Hold On” and “Changes” felt like real time-capsule gems, from a period many longtime fans write off too easily. (Also: Rabin gives good guitar face.)
4. Including “Heart of the Sunrise” and especially “The Fish (Schindleria Praematurus)”—two Fragile warhorses closely associated with founding bassist Chris Squire, who died in 2015—seemed risky, but the songs actually turned into poignant tributes. Respected session man Lee Pomeroy, who has performed with Wakeman, Electric Light Orchestra’s Jeff Lynne and Genesis’ Steve Hackett over the years, stepped to the front of the stage during a pair of forceful solos, and spent the rest of the concert co-anchoring ARW’s precise works with drummer Louis Molino III, who has collaborated with Rabin, among many others, in the past.
5. Wakeman wore a cape, cause why wouldn’t he? Yes, and by extension ARW, might border on Spinal Tap at times, as when Wakeman strapped on a keytar and strode through the crowd playing it (alongside Rabin with his guitar) during “Owner of a Lonely Heart,” but the band and its fans don’t apologize for anything, and they shouldn’t. Prog-rock isn’t for everyone (see: ushers with dazed looking dazed and confused during the 20-minute, multi-sectioned “Awaken”), but for those who appreciate it—like the man two rows in front of me, who raised his walking cane high above his head with both hands in celebration—it doesn’t get much better than this.
