mike rae

It was a rainy 4th of July that year, and I remember sitting at my friend's place in Rochester, debating whether we should go, but finally we just decided 'aw, what the hell' and went...lawn seats were still cheap then, so we gathered rain gear and drove out, arriving just in time to hear the group button up The Rhythm of Love (which didn't bother me much, as I'm not as keen on the 90125 stuff) but then they proceeded to play a fair amount of olde stuff, including the entire Close to the Edge album, and Wonderous Stories was definitely a highlight...they only played one or two tunes from Open Your Eyes from what I remember.
That was the only time I would see them with both Igor and Billy; Igor proved to be a very competent keyboardist, and Billy got to shine on the couple non-Steve Howe era tunes, like Rhythm of Love and Owner of a Lonely Heart, otherwise his rhythm guitar got buried deep in the mix.

Dave Wilson

Thanks John for posting a review of this show. I'd forgotten that I even went to it.

I was living in NYC at the time and made the trek up to the lovely Finger Lakes Center the night before and met my buddy Steve. Stayed at a shitty little place and quaffed cold Buds all night listening to the band on a tiny little CD.

We got up early the day of the show and walked to the venue and watched their road crew assemble the rig and staging for the band. We got ballsy and walked right up on the stage pretending we belonged and gazed happily at all things YES. Went back to the hotel and got fired up for the show.

It pissed poured rain commencing late in the afternoon and pretty much continued thru the course of the evening. I remember finishing our umpteenth can of beer in the doorway of the school adjacent to the theater prior to our entrance and was already cold and damp.Great to hear Wondrous Stories live for the very first time. Completely unexpected. Great show all around too.

I miss not being able to attend shows there anymore as I'm now living in Toronto and the distance is too great. It's the perfect size and atmosphere. Seen Yes twice, ELP once and John Denver there

john yeara

This was a great show! Rained outside, but I was inside right in front of Chris...3rd row...and Billy....
Funny Billy story...there was some drunk chick dancing in fron of him givin him the bedroom eyes...he had a security guard pass a note to her....Billy, pickin up some nasty drunk chick!
Anyways, they did the whole CTTE album...that was a highlight for sure....I had seen them in Nov the previous year & they were pretty tight then...they were feakin incredible here!

Jeff Bianchi

Seeing as I'm only 19, this was my first Yes show. I've been a fan for a long time and actually getting to see them perform live floored me. The most memerable moment was when they played the last part of "Close To The Edge". I knew what the song was about, but when I heard Jon singing it right there, I could feel what it was about. It was amazing. There was so much energy in the music and every song they played received a standing ovation. Although it was a great show, I'll have to admit I felt a little out of place. I was the only teenager there. Everyone else who attended were the older folks.It was rather amusing to me.

Richard Copeland

I attended the Yes concert on July 4, 1998 at the Finger Lakes Performing Arts Center, in Canandaigua NY (near Rochester). We had awesome seats, on the fourth row from the stage. The concert ran nearly three hours and was incredible. It was great hearing old favorites like "Close to the Edge" once again.

Since this was the Fourth of July, Jon sang the first few words of the Star Spangled Banner. He then mused that he has always wanted to sing that song in concert. Soon the crowd began whistling and cheering to urge the band to play it. Jon staggered back, crossed his arms in mock horror, and came back to the mike and said "I only know the first line!!"