This was about my 7nth Yes concert, but my first real travelling road trip since I had to drive up from the University of Illinois for the show. Some Yes fans from my college town convinced me it was worth it; although I doubt they had to twist my arm.
What I found in Madison Wisconsin shocked me. Far from the conservative corn fields of my college town, Madison Wisconsin was fully radicalized. The vegetarian coop had left wing propoganda all over the walls, and there was a thriving metaphysical bookstore (which, 23 years later, I began to work at). This town was just so much more interesting. We went to visit some friends who shared a common interest in Eastern philosophy and who were also going to the YES concert. We had met a couple of years earlier at a meditation retreat and had discovered our mutual love of Yes. I was intrigued to learn about the new gurus that were enshrined in their apartment.
The Yes concert was simply the frosting on the cake for this trip. We had already seen the show a few days ealier in Illinois. One of the highlights was the amazing medley starting with "A Time and A Word" and ending with "Soon." Of course, "Awaken" was the climax. But I was always partial to "Circus of Heaven" on this tour-- Jon's lyrical imagery was just so wonderfully out of control on this song! And "Future Times/Rejoice" had such a positive outflow of energy. I've always wanted to hear YES play this again in concert.
The experience of joy on this tour was just very intense within me. I think my heart was just really opening up, and Yes was part of that process. Everything I read and listened to just seem to come together into one spiritual whole-- the wider I read the more it all seemed to flow together like links on a chain. When I look back over my life, that day in Madison in 1979 really stands out, so much so that here I am 25 years later writing about it-- I couldn't NOT write about it. It showed me the possibilities of spiritual growth at a time when I was still finding my path. It showed me how a community could nurture that growth. And it SANG this knowledge to me; music has that power to transcend the intellect and go straight to your heart. -=-=-==- om===- Nick (SoulQuest7@aol.com)