Bill's PurpleCrayon Blog

YES, INDEED!

Last night was amazing.

Elisabeth and I saw (make that experienced) Yes at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids on their 35th Anniversary Tour. We sat in front of bassist extraordinaire Chris Squire, a mere six rows away from him. To our right was keyboard wizard Rick Wakeman. To our left, center stage, was impish vocalist Jon Anderson. From our vantage point, we saw every facial expression, every gesture, every wrinkle on their crowding-60-year-old faces.

At one point, we gave Jon Anderson a high five when he walked through the audience, up and down the aisles, during "Rhythm of Love." Our seats were on the aisle (Row F, Seats 13, 14 to be exact) so when Jon walked by us, we raised our hands and he briefly grasped them as he sashayed by.

Music is my passion, so this -- watching one of the most technically proficient and consistently fascinating bands of all time -- made for an unforgettable experience.

For those who care about such things, here is the set list from the Van Andel show last night:


Concert started around 7:30

Firebird Suite (intro)

Going For the One
Sweet Dreams
I’ve Seen All Good People
Mind Drive
South Side of the Sky
Turn of the Century
Foot Prints (excerpt)/Mind Drive (excerpt reprise)
Yours is No Disgrace

Intermission

Rick Wakeman piano solo
The Meeting w/ Jon Anderson

Acoustic Set

Long Distance Runaround
Wondrous Stories
Time is Time
Roundabout
Show Me

Steve Howe guitar solo

Rhythm of Love (Jon Anderson walked through audience!)

Alan White drum solo

And You and I
Ritual (Nous Sommes Du Soleil)

Encore

Every Little Thing
Soon

Concert ended around 10:30


I go to a lot of concerts, and I listen to a lot of music, but I'm always drawn to groups that are unique and musically challenging (what can be more challenging than Primus or King Crimson, huh?). Show me a killer vocalist (where's Steve Perry when you need him?), a monster drummer (Neil Peart and Mike Portnoy come to mind), an awesome guitarist (Steve Howe, take a bow), or an unbelievable bassist (Chris Squire or Les Claypool, perhaps?) and I'm in heaven.

King Crimson. Yes. Rush. Primus. Spock's Beard. Genesis. Kansas. ELP. Renaissance. Marillion. Dream Theater. Led Zeppelin. Journey.

Ah, the giants. Legends.

And let's not forget relatively new bands such as Porcupine Tree, Opeth, Evanescence and After Forever.

Stand-outs one and all.

To me, it's all about originality, creativity and knowing one's chops. It's about craftsmanship.

The music industry can complain all it wants about a severe downturn in sales. It can blame the Internet. It can take Napster-like organizations to court until even lawyers gag on the litigation. But the fans are not to blame. Radio stations with their rigid playlists are. The music industry itself is. Stop signing bands that have marginal talent, give listeners something that challenges them, and release high quality music, well crafted, lyrically intelligent and chock-full of talented performances and you'll have fans snapping up CDs like birds bobbing for spring worms.

Plus, it doesn't hurt to employ the talents of a Roger Dean now and then. Let's not forget artsy album graphics. (Whatever happened to mesmerizing album Art?)

If you're in a band, and I mean a really great band, and you'd like someone on your side who believes in you and has all the advertising and marketing chops to help you market yourself, contact us.

Keep Purple!


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