CIRCUS Magazine
October 27, 1977

Going, Going, Gone!
Yes Tour Suprises Diehard Fans,
 Stage Show Finest Ever

Jim Farber

Before the latest _Going For The
One_ album and tour were un-
leashed onto the unsuspecting
public, a whole lot of critics
and even some fans were praying
Yes would own up to their dinosaur
musical style of Cecil B. DeMille bom-
bast and quietly hurl themselves into
the nearest tar pit. Many fans felt
Yes had become lost in space on _Re-
layer_ and even you guys who hung on
during the last three years probably
did so more in the spirit of hopeful
loyalty than true enthusiasm.
But this latest issuance from the
band has once again established Yes
as a viable entity - one still relevant
in an age where it's more de rigeur
to stab your face with safety pins or
succumb to the heaving metal drone of
Kiss and Rush than to fold into Yes'
Cosmik harmonium. Whereas fellow
monoliths, ELP, have had both criti-
cal and financial problems with their
latest Con Ed-hoarding album and
tour, Yes have been incredibly suc-
cessful by presenting a more acces-
sible show than ever before, featuring
an on-stage attitude that's loose and
at times almost (gasp!)  funky.

  As Jon Anderson revealed to Circus
Magazine just before the tour began,
the stage is a simpler one, without the
Roger Dean designed giant space globs
of the last stint, featuring instead
a dramatically lighted cubist design,
highlighted by 3-D stretched fabric
backdrops, similar to ones often used
by such dance troupes as Alvin Ailey's
company. The band's new sound sys-
tem has also helped, offering a sur-
prisingly clear delivery considering
the mangling acoustics of the over-
grown halls the band has been playing
in. Most importantly, though, for
Yes' new earthly success is their
more spontaneous stage manner, aid-
ed by Chris Squire's enrollment in the
Jack Bruce school of intruding bass-
ists, making for some fierce push and
shove sessions with Alan White's
drums.

  As Anderson promised, the band are
not performing anything from _Relayer_ 
or _Topographic_, in reverence to
Rick Wakeman's wishes, concentrating
on the highly successful new LP plus
old faves all the way from "Yours Is
No Disgrace" through "Close To The
Edge." Wakeman's role has been re-
duced a bit for this tour but, as he
explains, the band wanted to avoid the
solo showcases this time around in
order to give a shorter, more unified
concert.

  "We didn't want to have one guy
have a blow while the rest of the
guys go off to take a piss," says Wake-
man demurely. Still, with this format
all egos are in check and no one has
to suffer through a "beat-yer-brains-
out" drum solo just to satisfy the
democratic whims of the band.

  Anderson's munchkin vocals remain
a standout, ever emphasizing his cos-
mik overload Iyrics - chock full of
phrases like "total mass retain" - 
which I still think sounds like some-
thing from an Evelyn Woods Reading
Course. As for his stage presence,
Jon is still the one canned guru that
we've all come to know and flinch at,
but with the fine sound system, one
can see that the emotion in his voice
is actually what establishes Yes as
one of the few technocrat bands with
heart. The wave of the future may
be punk instead of Yes' polyrhythms,
but you can be sure that with this
type of trend-transcending emotion,
Yes will remain among the top per-
forming bands for years to come.