Rock fans, let’s be honest with ourselves: our heroes are dying on the daily.
As legendary musicians from the ’60s and ’70s retire from the road or shuffle off this mortal coil, it’s left many acts soldiering on with just one or two original members. Frequently, the results are tepid and disappointing, feeling like not-ready-for-Vegas tribute shows.
More rarely, though, the pairing of a venerable rocker with younger, talented and eager musicians yields invigorating results.
Fortunately, the latter’s the case for Yes singer Jon Anderson, 80, whose recent work with a relatively unknown group of New Jersey musicians called the Band Geeks has allowed him to add new spark to his former band’s epic 1970s material.
Anderson and the Bank Geeks brought that sense of energy, urgency and — importantly — fun to San Antonio’s Tobin Center on Friday night with their Yes — Epics, Classics & More tour. As the name suggests, the 12-song setlist was stacked deep with some of the English act’s longer and more ambitious compositions.
To that end, the show kicked off with “Close to the Edge,” an 18-minute 1972 track many aficionados consider one of Yes’ definitive works. Still, delivered without the requisite tension, it could make for a trying experience for fans more familiar with the band’s radio hits or turned off by its sometimes indulgent tendencies.
Fortunately, both Anderson and his cadre of younger musicians brought crackle to the proceedings. Waving around a tambourine trailing colorful streamers and appearing to hit the song’s high notes effortlessly, the singer came across as far from a frail octogenarian. His countertenor voice was consistently clear throughout the night, rising just above the musical maelstrom.
The Band Geeks also attacked the material with fervor. The group’s musical director, bassist Richie Castellano, proved a worthy stand-in for late Yes bassist Chris Squire, who’s propulsive, sharp-toned fretwork often felt like the band’s revving engine. Castellano’s Rickenbacker provided a dark yet melodic counterpoint to Anderson’s upbeat vocal delivery.
After “Close to the Edge’s” sweeping conclusion, the audience delivered a standing ovation — one of several that night.
The setlist also included the Yes masterworks “Perpetual Change” and “Awaken,” similarly ambitious sagas that could easily have bogged down had Anderson and the band not delivered them with such passion and drive. During lengthy solos, guitarist Andy Graziano and keyboardist Christopher Clark delivered on the virtuosity fans expect from Yes’ music but without bogging down into cheap theatrics.
The setlist also included four pieces from Anderson’s recent solo album, True, recorded with the Band Geeks. Most of the material leaned heavily on Yes’ 1970s sound, unfolding like vast tapestries that integrate delicate melodic passages with moments of muscular rock. Anderson’s voice remained in fine form throughout. And, once again, Castellano’s driving pulse kept the crowd riveted through the unfamiliar material.
By the time the group closed out the night with the Yes classic-rock radio staples “I’ve Seen All Good People,” “Starship Trooper” and “Roundabout,” it had already won over the crowd — not by pandering but delivering on the qualities that draw many to Yes’ music in the first place: a sense of ambition and exploration.
If Friday’s show demonstrates the magic than can happen when aging rockstars surround themselves with younger blood, let’s have more of it.
