Mark Barbour

Friday, August 15, 2025 9:19 PM

I have a fond if somewhat twisted memory from the October 19, 1980 show at the Nassau Coliseum. I actually saw two 1980 NYC area Drama shows during my teenager years when I lived in Queens. The first was one of the three September 4th, 5th and 6th shows at Madison Square Garden for which I bought a ticket.

Then I attended the October 19th date at Nassau Coliseum, the final show of the 1980 North American expedition, when a low-level mob guy asked me and a few other scrappy street kids to man shopping carts turned into hot pretzel vending stations before and after the show. He had a beat up cargo van parked in a ramshackle rusty shed in the old Willets Point junkyards near the Mets/Jets venue Shea Stadium. Those dozens of acres of junkyards were eventually razed and removed to make room for the new Mets stadium Citi Field.

Around 5pm on October 19th five shopping carts, big boxes of "fresh" pretzels, small grills and bags of charcoal, along with five idiot kids, were all stuffed into the ratty van for the trip to Nassau Coliseum. We unpacked and set up our pretzel carts and were all assigned spots outside the Coliseum by 6:30pm.

We all merrily heated and sold this dude's pretzels right up until 8pm when we were told to return the carts to his parking spot. Then he had us all follow him to a side entrance to the Coliseum where he indicated to an the usher supervisor that we were with him and should be admitted to the show. We easily found seats since ticket sales for this gig were pretty poor.

We were told to leave the arena when the encores started so we could retrieve our carts and take up our spots and sell pretzels to the departing audience. It was an all-cash business and I think we got paid $50 each, and a free Yes show, for our labors.

The entire night of setting up our carts and selling pretzels right outside the Coliseum not one cop, security guard or facilities supervisor ever came up to us and asked what the hell we were doing there. Yes playing a brand new album live with their new Buggles brethren was strange enough but the whole mafia pretzel-selling experience was just surreal.

Hoober Doober

Saturday, May 21, 2016 1:16 PM

I remember hanging out at Eisenhower park when the radio announced. YES tonite at the coliseum in the round, still good seats available. My friend and I decided to go celebrating our birthdays the following week. If Anderson and Wakeman where there this show would have been sold out real fast.
Although no Anderson,or Wakeman the band played as if they had to make up for there absence and they did. However Trevor Horn's voice was shot. But seeing them in the round was one to remember. If you have a chance to see YES, GO... they are in my opinion one of the best progressive rock bands ever. If not the best, and the're dam near 70. They do need to put the original band back together whats left of them. RIP Chris Squire one of the best.base players now hanging with John Entwistle

STEVEN NAUHEIMER

I WAS AT THIS SHOW AND BASICALLY IT WAS THE SAME SET THEY PLAYED AT MADISON SUARE GARDEN A MONTH EARLIER. ALL YES SHOWS ARE FUN SO THESE
WAS THE LAST TIME DRAMA WAS PLAYED IN THE AREA.