Arthur Ziegler

Saturday, May 20, 2023 6:52 PM

In the early 70s I was going to college at Geneseo NY and lived with friends in a house off campus. One of those friends was on the concert council that would select music groups to play at the college. The bands would send free albums out as promotions and one we liked a lot was "The Yes Album" which we gave a lot of play. So Yes was chosen to play in Geneseo! The concert took place in the student union ballroom, larger concerts were held in the gymnasium, but Yes was just starting to become known with "I've Seen All Good People" getting some radio airplay. As was the custom at the time me and my girlfriend sat on the floor and we were only a few feet away from the stage. I had a good view of the soft boots they wore with feather trimmings on top, very much in a fantasy style! Even at the time I realized that Yes had booked this small gig before they had a big hit and were now obligated to play in a small venue for probably just a few thousand dollars! I tried to find the date of this concert online and found this: "November 30, 1971 Genesio College, New York City, NY" The spelling is wrong, it should read "Geneseo" and Geneseo is located in western NY, the Finger Lakes region far from New York City! I also found the line-up for this tour, note that Wakeman joined the group after this tour in time for the Fragile sessions:

Jon Anderson — vocals, harmonium, Dewtron Mister Bassman Bass Pedals
Steve Howe — Gibson ES-175, Martin 00-18 acoustic guitar, vachalia, vocals
Chris Squire — Rickenbacker 4001S, Fender Telecaster bass, vocals
Tony Kaye — Hammond organ
Bill Bruford — Ludwig drums, Paiste and Zildjian cymbals