------------------------------------------------ AUGUST 11, 2001 ------------------------------------------------ Source: Cleveland Plain Dealer Band uses orchestra in encore of classics  By Anastasia Pantsios Radiohead, this is your future!  A crowd of about 4,000 diehards, almost all middle-age, came out to Blossom Music Center last night to hear Yes, a band that could be considered the Radiohead of the early '70s. Like Radiohead, it created a distinctive sound that was technically intricate and compositionally complex, yet strong on pop values. It too was esteemed by musicians and critics and hence vastly influential - probably more so than 50 percent of the rock hall's inductees. Yet it was also a huge commercial success without (in its original guise anyway) adapting to commercial trends. Its current tour is called the Yessymphonic tour, indicating that it is per forming with orchestras of local musi cians at each stop. The or chestra is filling some of the functions of Yes' departed former keyboardmen Ric Wakeman, Tony Banks and Patrick Moraz, yet adding something of its own. Yes currently consists of two of its founders, vocalist Jon Anderson (also playing guitar, keyboards and percussion) and bassist Chris Squire, along with two musicians from its early '70s heyday, guitarist Steve Howe and drummer Alan White. It also has an anonymous hired keyboardist to fill things out. What Yes does with all that firepower is impressive. For 2½ hours without a break, it plumbed its classic albums such as "The Yes Album," "Tales from Topographic Oceans" and "Fragile" for tunes like "Perpetual Change," "And You and I" and "I've Seen All Good People." It played some tunes from its upcoming release, "Magnification," as well. Yes set its parameters with its first two songs: an epic 20-minute "Close to the Edge," followed by a brisk, three-minute "Long Distance Runaround," displaying both its arty and its pop sides and its ability to balance the two. The 56-year-old Anderson still has the beautiful voice that made Yes distinctive - high and clear without any shrill ness. In fact, it has a soft, translucent quality. Howe and Squire both displayed their much- vaunted virtuosity without showboating. Howe switched instruments nonstop, at one point even playing a lute. Surprisingly, Yes has played with an orchestra only once before, in a single 1970 performance. Its music is ideal for orchestral augmentation. Pantsios is a free-lance writer from Cleveland Heights. Close Window YesInThePress.com For site comments, problems, corrections, or additions, contact YesinthePress@aol.com