Yes Magic

I once had such an amazing experience at a YES show, and have always wondered if anything similar was witnessed at any other performances, so this seems like a great place to ask!

I've probably been to over a dozen of their shows at various locations, but this one sticks out because of what happened during the encore. It was in a basketball stadium at a college in San Antonio, Texas about 1985. I had been going through town and seen the ad for the show and bought a last minute ticket which landed me way up in the cheap seats in the back.

As Steve was doing the solo guitar on Roundabout, their first encore after a great show, someone on the right side of the auditorium lit up some god-awful firework that began spewing sparks and smoke as it launched itself across the heads of the people on the floor and headed straight for the fans sitting in the seats directly across the auditorium. It was happening so fast, and this thing was emitting sparking light so bright I could see the faces of the people who were scrambling to get out of their chairs and clear of it's path.

At that crucial point, Steve Howe looked up and saw what was happening. In the next moment, the firework lay at his feet, smoldering but no longer sparking. He never missed a beat, just smiled and kept on playing, but there was this incredible feeling that swept through the audience. It was the rush that comes from just having witnessed magic at work. And when the band swung back into the tune with Steve, the audience came to their feet in honor of this fantastic moment. All Jon said when it was over was “Give Peace a Chance!!!”

To the fans, who hung out and discussed it ad infinim after the show, it seemed that Steve had seen what was about to happen and just said “No, not on my watch” and that was the end of the threat. We speculated that it could have been anyone in the band, but the energy was focused on Steve, and he was able to use it to full advantage.

Anybody else got a story of Yes magic? Would love to hear your wonderous stories!!!!

Re: Yes Magic

Hi WeeWarior,

Ah! Wonderous Stories! One of my favorites!

Wow, that firework could have gone anywhere, but because everything happens for a good reason, as you said “the energy was focus was on Steve” and so he must of attracted that experience, and everybody in that room apparentyly needed that experience specificall through Steve (perhaps).

In 1987 I saw Yes doing Big Generator. During “I'm Running” the stage set props, that were pillars, started wobleing. Things just started going wrong. Instead of having a reaction of fear, Jon started singing better! The guy practically was radiating light! He chose to be stronger than ever!

Therefore in this moment, Jon did't need to say the words “Give Peace a Chance,” he was peace and strength itself!

Here are two instances where Yes kept their cool (at least) and was “able to use it to full adavantage!”

Thanks WeeWarior!
Mark

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Aw, Mark, that's a great story!

I too have just been amazed at the energy Jon can pour out to an audience. And everytime that he seems to really reach in and grab me with his intent, he points to me in the audience, like he somehow saw the connection!

Had some great moments with Chris too when I was just about to levitate out of existence at one show, he was totally getting into it, especially since I had brought a gaggle of teenage girls to introduce to Yes. He was quite the showman that night!

Such marvelous masters of magic!

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“he points to me in the audience, like he somehow saw the connection!” Chills! Sorry if I'm too heady about this, but I feel that that kind of ability (to “see” the unseen, to see goodness and love from his heart) is a reason why the people are drawn to him, and why Jon (I feel) has unified such complicated (rich) music and a group of strong egos. To say it another way, like a plucked E string on a guitar causes to vibrate another E string, so too does Jon's spiritual radiance cause a common person's own natural spirituality to vibrate in kind…in Laké ch.

Mark

Re: Yes Magic

And speaking of “Masters of Magic” and a natural spirituality in everyone, perhaps Yes would be lost without us, and that we are actually “their” magic? When in-tune with these guys, we all are masters of magic! (Don't you think Jon would agree?)

In wholeness,
Mark

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Absolutely, I think that's what takes their concerts to that level of personal impact.

During that same show, when we were connecting so with Chris, they were doing a song (can't even remember which one) and they had somehow implanted lighting under the seats of the Starplex. They started going off in a series of colors, wrapping us all in these incredible soft glows. As they went through their sequence, I realized they were using the chakra colors!  I looked up at Chris, caught his eye, and did some kinda hand motion pointing to my chakra points and somehow asking the question “Is this what you're doing?”

He threw his head back and laughed and kicked his feet up in the air with some wild Karate/Tai Chi kinda move and landed right in front of us and began to pound away on that bass with absolute joy. It was so incredible…he was jamming on the fact that we saw the intent behind the 'light show'… he somehow even brought it to Jon's attention, who gave us one of those special waves and smiles that still makes me tingle to remember.

Met lots of famous people and seen some incredible peformances in my day, but I've never experienced anything close to the power and brilliance these guys radiate. We are so blessed to be part of their family!

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i'll make a very long story short. one yesshow i went to was a complete surprise. i was hitching from arizona to cleveland, ohio in order to get to the yesshow i had tickets for. while traveling thru st. louis a guy picked me up and he was going to the yesshow at southern illinois university just across the river, and he had an extra ticket. whoa!!! i could go into the whole story to let you know how odd the synchronicities worked, but i won't.

anyway, at the show, i got separated from the guy and ended up losing all the stuff i was carrying. i left the concert shoeless, and shirtless. i had my ripped jeans, an i.d., no money, a new testament, and ankle bells that i bought from a powwow i was at in arizona.

then at the cleveland show, trying to get into the gate early to get a field seat close to the stage, the gate where i (and a long line of people) was standing never opened. so i chilled out and walked around the stadium, eventually forsaking the concert to join with a group of christians to live our lives under a relatively radical interpretation of the bible, which i continued for two years.

anyhow, i've never given up my deep appreciation for yes music (despite my ‘christian‘ friends‘ admonitions), and many concerts have very magical moments, both the journey to the shows and having arrived at the shows. 

the last years of their concerts, i've been buying the cheapest seat available, then going to the farthest seats in the center.  usually there are a lot of empty seats so i'm free to dance up a storm.  aaaaaah 

Re: Yes Magic

Jack -

I replied to your post in Whatever.  I felt it more appropriate there.

Mark

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I only ever saw them live once …. around '74 I guess it was.
Nothing “spooky” happened – just one of the most amazing concerts I've ever been to.

Re: Yes Magic

Good time frame!   :^)

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the concert experience i shared was in 1976, which may have been the same relayer tour.  unless, mikefrog, yours was the topographic tour.

that really is an amazing statement, thirty-three years later, and you still can say that it was one of the best concerts you've experienced.

thankfully, i can rate other yesshows i've been to as better.  especially the OYE-and-after era, not to take away from the incredible relayer tour.  pat moraz was a wonderful addition of energy at that time.

and now i want to share how much i love my cat, princess goddess, the warrior princess.

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For some reason, not a whole lot of Patrick Moraz fans out there. Moraz's energy and musicality was a very nice addition to Yes, especially then.

“Yesstories” by Tim Morse states that Patrick M. says that he contributed very largely to the musical structure of “Awaken,” specifically the Circle of Fifths (a musical round or spiral).

I liked his “I” concept album so much that I bought it for my band director at the time (I'm sure it was WAY too intense for him. Maybe he never even listened to it?)

Yes, my beloved deceased kitty - Arthur.  One friend; “A big ball of love!” I miss him. Had a dream with him in it where he was talking to me…He said he “wants to go to Washington” (IL).

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did you find any synergy at washington, il?

i bought 'i', but never was able to appreciate it. back then i needed jon's voice. also, i didn't and still don't like the concept of finding one ‘soulmate' to jump off a cliff with. i'm much more interested in finding a castaneda-style warriors group to jump off a cliff with. : ) anyway, in my many moving adventures, i gave the album away. if the universe will synchronize ‘i' back into my life, i'll give it another few chances.

anyway, moraz' contributions to yes music were critical to my enjoyment of yes. relayer, awaken, wow! wakeman is great, and outrageously experimental. so when he left, i was amazed that anyone could step into his place so powerfully.

i'm not a trained musician so i don't have that understanding of the process. i'm in total awe of people that can ‘hear' and then compose a piece of music, of anything near the complexity and depth of feeling of yes.

Re: Yes Magic

Hi Jack -

My Step-Mother and her mother used to live in Washingtom IL. I've spent a lot of time there. So, yes, there is synergy there.

Yeah, I agree, the romanticness of “I” was a bit much for me too. Because I am a musician (ex-drummer) perhaps I was able to swallow it better.

I'd say I was really into Concept albums back then. A little bit moreso than Jon's voice. So it was logical for me to see the “romance” in the album as a small ingrediant in the bigger picture of the album, and also focus more on the excellant musicianship. Like a scene in a play, or characters - “Oh well, except for that one scene, it was a pretty good play.”