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Tuesday, April 15, 2014 12:59 PM

This was one of the first concerts that I attended, and as a thirteen year old who was just getting into music, it was a pretty big deal for me. This was the second time I had seen Yes, the first time being as support for the Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band at the same venue the year before. I think there may have been two shows that evening, as was often the case back in those days. If that was the case, being a young kid, I would have attended the early show. The Yes line-up at the time was Jon Anderson: vocals, Peter Banks: guitar, Chris Squire: bass, Tony Kaye: organ, and Bill Bruford: drums. They playing material from their second album “Time and a Word” and the set included the excellent “No Opportunity Necessary, No Experience Needed” (a cover of a Richie Havens song, with a swirling Hammond organ intro taken from the film “The Big Country”), “Then”, “Sweet Dreams” (which was an early single and has featured in their set off and on to this day), “Astral Traveller”. There was an acoustic part to their set which featured the track “Time and a Word”. Yes were one of my favourite bands at the time, largely as a result of seeing these performances at the Empire, which seemed so fresh, sharp and exciting at the time.
The Nice were virtuoso Keith Emerson: organ, Brian Davison: drums, and Lee Jackson: vocals, and bass. They had just released the album “Five Bridges Suite” and played the Suite in its entirety. The work was commissioned for the Newcastle Arts Festival in 1969, and refers to the city’s five bridges over the River Tyne. I recall Lee Jackson, himself a Geordie, making great play of the local aspects of the work. The album cover features a picture of the Tyne Bridge, and the five movements, which the Nice played that night are: Fantasia, Second Bridge, Chorale, High Level Fugue and Finale. I think they also played their moving interpretation of Tim Hardin’s “Hang onto a Dream”, “Rondo”, and “America”; the latter two songs being showcased for Emerson’s organ playing. Keith Emerson was sensational, pulling his Hammond organ about the stage, stabbing it with daggers, and generally being an amazing showman. The picture on the front of my programme, shown above, sort of sums it up. A great gig by two important and influential bands, which sticks in my mind to this day.