Kevin Carrigan

I was 15, and spending the summer in Tempe as a house guest of friends ( I lived in Memphis). This was my first YES show--and while I am fast approaching 50 now, I remember it very well, We were among the very first in the gate. It was "stadium seating", which meant that not only were there no assigned seats--there were no "seats" at all in front of the stage--so, we ran to be right at the front and center position. I can''t recall if he was there when we first arrived or hr slipped out to the stage while we spoke to one another in anticipation, but, we became aware that Jon Anderson was onstage--dressed casually (it was very hot)--strumming an acoustic guitar and watching us as well as other members of the crowd filing in...or whatever caught his eye. He was kind of lazily singing--"la la la"s and that sort of vocal doodling, but he was not miked--this was not a sound-check. He winked at us, and seemed pleased that we weren''t freaking out or making a big deal at his being there. Some of our neighbors noticed him, too, but others didn''t realize who he was--surrounded as he was by several busy roadies.
I don''t remember his departure, but he must have left as Spirit began to play while the sun was still relatively high. They were fun and seemed happy to be playing for so large a crowd. Their leader (Randy California?) was large, bald, and tribal...and he did the "play the guitar behind the head'' thing a little too often. I think he even played it with his teeth.
Ace was next and there developed a palpable tension between them and the crowd. This audience was there to see YES and did not care for ACE''s pop-oriented stuff. Their last tune was their hit "How long..has this been going on?" which they played almost in defiance of their listeners...who hated it.

Gary Kaylor

This was my first YES concert as well as I had just finished my military years overseas. I had been a YES fan for 2 years and as a bassist C.S. has been my greatest influence. They were fantastic! I was also at the show the night before and as I remember the order it was:
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
R.E.O. Speedwagon
Aerosmith
Johnny Winter
Z Z Top

I have pics of both these nights on slide format.

bones@npgcable.com

Ron Haholy

I was stage hand at that concert, I and the keyboard player climbed the mountain that day we went to the top, took some pictures, he climbed up there on his platform shoes.

if there is a way for me to post the pix I would

haholy@cox.net

Ron Granstra

Just to correct a few of the items that Rick mentioned, this show was not the first that Yes performed in Phoenix (Civic Plaza circa 1972 and also the Coliseum prior to this show), the stadium itself was a spring training site originally for the Seattle Pilots who moved on to other digs, Feyline Fields was indeed the concert venue that inhabited the stadium and there were a number of shows that were not produced by Barry Fey that took place there over a few year period.

steve brown

this was my first yes concert, although ive been a fan for about 4 years at that time. it was a hot late afternoon, and i remember the lead from ace {name forgotten--old age ] passing out. yes was amazing, though jon had a rough time getting through ctte. {he lost his voice briefly during "i get up i get down} for their first time in phoenix, i understood. great memories at that concert. lets not break all our halos at once, but when was the last time you could smoke that much pot in public with no hassles. terros had ambulances outside as they did at all concerts there to handle the ones who overdid their druggies!!! suprised i remember this much!!!

Rick Mounts

The actual venue was Tempe Diablo Stadium, current spring training home of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Feyline productions produced the show, so that might explain the term Feyline Fields.
The night before the Yes show the site had a concert featuring Aerosmith and ZZ Top among the opening acts. I couldn't go because of work and I know that there were some other great bands on that bill but I'm trying to be as accurate as I can.
The first band at the Yes show was Spirit. Anyone remember Randy California singing "I got a line on you"? By the way, he forgot the lyrics to Bob Dylan's "How does it feel"
Ace was next and all I remember was their hit "How Long"
Yes was amazing, this was the first time they came to Phoenix. Jon commented on the warm breeze and the fabulous sunset. We spotted Patrick before the show climbing a butte adjacent to the stage to get a better view.
The fact that they played Relayer in it's entirety and being the first time seeing Yes live makes it an unforgetable experience.

Hans Nielsen

Sunday, September 11, 2022 1:58 PM

I feel like Kilroy saying "I was here". I was there. Ace, Spirit, Yes at Tempe Buttes. What a scene. Guys with signs on their hats selling lids for 10 bucks, I was three sheets in on 4-way. Ace sucked. Spirit was aight, and Yes came on when the 4 way kicked in. I saw someone in a white robe climb the butte and thought I saw Jesus.