Yes Featuring Anderson, Rabin, Wakeman at the Knight Concert Hall, Miami

By: Arlene Allen

Yes has been making music for nearly five decades; proclaiming them classic rock is a bit of an understatement.  Wrapping up their two-year tour as Anderson, Rabin, Wakeman last Saturday evening at the beautiful and intimate Knight Concert Hall in Miami, the band invited attendees to revisit their legacy and share in a celebratory two hour show of absolutely masterful musicianship.

Original Yes frontman/vocalist Jon Anderson formed Anderson, Rabin, Wakeman in 2010 with other Yes alumni Trevor Rabin on guitar, bass and vocals and the legendary (and still flamboyant) Rick Wakeman on keyboards.  To be in an auditorium with such masterful musicianship, listening to songs that have spanned all of the decades of my life was an incredible experience. The years have honed the incredible talent of the trio into pure musical genius.

Jon Anderson’s voice sounds exactly as it did when the band formed and the quality of the sound system at the Knight Center made each note crystal clear and pitch perfect.  I closed my eyes and was transported back in time to 1971 and hearing “Roundabout” for the very first time. Yes’s music has always been of an epic nature, with lyrics painting a story for rapt listeners. At age 73, Anderson still has the vocal ability to hypnotize and draw people into his musical visions. Anderson also accented songs with tambourines, bells, Indian manjeera chimes and, at one point, a lyre.

Trevor Rabin definitely claimed part of that stage as his own. Watching his fingers fly over his guitar fretboard was like watching hand ballet.  Rabin penned most of Yes’s “comeback album” 90125 which included the band’s number one hit song “Owner of A Lonely Heart.”  Rabin and the band performed the song as their second to last number and brought the already pumped up audience to their feet.

Rick Wakeman took to the stage wearing his classic velvet cape and stood ensconced in a fortress of keyboards (I counted ten of them; there may have been even more). Wakeman is also a showman and dramatically hammed it up for the fans.  Wakeman has to be the keyboardist who paved the way for the synthesizer/electronica bands of the 70’s and 80’s such as Styx and Boston.

The set included the very best of the Yes catalogue yet in reality just displayed the tip of the iceberg of the band’s musical legacy. The band played the Grammy- award winning “Cinema,” the iconic “Perpetual Change,” “Hold On,” “South Side of the Sky,” “And You and I,” the hit single “Changes” and several others before ending the set with the aforementioned “Owner of A Lonely Heart,” saving “Roundabout” for the encore.

If you are familiar with the band you know that each of their songs range in length from five minutes to well over ten minutes.  Because it was the last show of the tour, it seemed the band put all of their many talents on display and performed each song as if they were caressing it. They seemed to genuinely enjoy being onstage with each other and the reverence of the audience.  The show ended with the band thanking and honoring all of the musicians, technical crew and road crew for all of their hard work over the past few years.  The crew came on stage wearing capes of their own, in a joyous and infectious jubilation. It was truly a night to remember.

Yes are 2017 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductees and the audience left knowing they’d been in the presence of greatness.