----------------------------------------------------- SEPTEMBER 22, 2003 ----------------------------------------------------- Source: The Age (Australia) http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/09/20/1063625255088.html Rock gods' reincarnation begs affirmative action By Michael Dwyer YES Vodafone Arena September 19 There comes a time in most punters' lives when leaping from a perfectly good chair seems a little passe. Faced with the mere arrival of Yes - - the REAL Yes, with flaxen-haired keyboard player Rick Wakeman glittering wizard-like in long, purple and silver overcoat -- a standing ovation was impossible even for old bones to resist. Copious bows and waves later, the reunited UK prog rock gods began their first Melbourne show in 30 years exactly as they did their 1973 concert album, Yessongs, their tape of Stravinsky's Firebird Suite giving way to guitarist Steve Howe's dexterous riff to Siberian Khatru. What followed revisited much of that classic era, particularly the band's definitive Fragile album, with its labyrinthine arrangements, exquisite musicianship and breathtaking, rollercoaster dynamics in near-perfect nick. Dressed, strangely, in a powder-blue power-walking ensemble, singer Jon Anderson defied his recently broken back with joyous new age psychobabble before a typically lengthy union of Magnification and Don't Kill The Whale, every soaring note of his astonishing vocal range intact. The staging was modest, which only emphasised the consuming focus of the five musicians' craft. Towering, tight-trousered bassist Chris Squire enjoyed his 10 minutes of slap and thunder with The Fish (Schindleria Praematurus), while Wakeman brought the house down with a lightning-fingered suite from his Six Wives of Henry VIII album. Highlights included the alternately urgent and euphoric Heart of the Sunrise, spectacularly punctuated by Alan White's impossibly fast and precise drumming. And You And I, the four-part epic from '72's landmark Close to the Edge album, was called to a halt twice by Anderson, his demand for sonic perfection ultimately bearing fruit in one of the glorious, cavernous harmonic structures for which Yes is renowned. An encore of I've Seen All Good People and Roundabout brought the crowd rushing to the stage at last. We'd all seen a few score rock shows in our time, but few that truly deserved the shoe leather like this one. Close Window YesInThePress.com For site comments, problems, corrections, or additions, contact YesinthePress@aol.com