------------------------------------------------------- APRIL 18, 2004 ------------------------------------------------------- Source: San Jose Mercury News http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/entertainment/music/ (abbreviated link text) Yes finds groove after shaky start By Brad Kava Mercury News It took about 45 minutes for the classic rock band Yes to shake off the cobwebs and head to those uncharted topographical oceans that have kept them touring for 35 years. The band sounded rusty for a while in its HP Pavilion show Saturday night. There were muffed harmonies, out-of-sync bass, drums and guitar, and wrong notes -- the kinds of bumps this band is so good at avoiding that people often thought they were classical musicians in the guise of rockers. Maybe they couldn't hear each other, or maybe it was because this was only the second night of a world tour. But all of a sudden, during ``South Side of the Sky,'' guitarist Steve Howe and keyboardist Rick Wakeman began stretching out, trading improvised riffs and the magic came back. They mostly glowed the rest of the night, as they turned the hit ``Roundabout'' into a surprising acoustic shuffle; pulled out the Beatles' ``Every Little Thing,'' one of the first songs the group rehearsed 35 years ago; and did a wonderfully adventurous half-hour of ``Tales From Topographical Oceans,'' the ponderous, arty three-album suite that almost sunk the band in the early 1970s and has become a classic over time. ``We never thought we'd want to play that 30 years later, or have an audience that wanted to hear it,'' said singer Jon Anderson. A crowd of about 5,000 blissfully cheered and danced, before giving him a standing ovation. Not all music is meant to pop and fizzle; like a great old cabernet, Yes' music is standing the test of time. Close Window YesInThePress.com For site comments, inquiries, corrections, or additions, contact yitp@yesservices.com