48 years, 4 months and 3 days ago Wednesday, June 9, 1976 Binghamton, New York Broome Country Veterans Memorial Arena 6,800 capacity
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Larry Guidici I remember this show like it was yesterday. In fact I may have it on tape somewhere. The Possette-Dart Band did not play. This was my first Yes concert and I could not believe they were coming to MY hometown. When "Soon" began they used laser lights heading out ot the audience. At that time it was incredible. Jon's harp solo, as I remebered it, was not unlike the harp section in "Awaken". The revolving drums in "Ritual" was fantastic. Of course, being a Huge fan of Roger Dean's work, I was also amazed at the "Armature" of his set. My friend whispered in my ear "What the hell is THAT supposed to be?" How can you explain it? Great show! It's cool that others still remember it as well. How many became great fans after this show I wonder. My older sister came with me too and then she understood why I only listened to YES at that time. John Fitzgerald One more note, I don't remember Pousette-Dart Band playing at this show... John Fitzgerald Yes, I was there too! A long time ago, that's for sure! It was my first "real" rock concert, and my mom allowed me to skip out of my afternoon classes (9th grade!!) to drive to Binghampton to see the show. I was a new Yes fan at the time and was totally blown away by the experience. My most vivid memory is how LOUD they were in that small hockey arena (they were originally supposed to play Hershey, PA - but moved to Binghamton for some reason). I had cotton in my ears (first concert, remember!) and it STILL HURT during Gates of Delerium. To this day the battle in "Gates" is the loudest sound I have ever heard. As for the music, Gates was great, but Sound Chaser was the best of the night. Steve was just amazing that night. I was a young guitar player just starting out, and his playing that night really inspired me to play better. I'll never forget how he sailed across his Telecaster that night!!! I also remember the revolving drum platform, and the really cool fiber glass recreations of Roger Dean landscapes, all bathed in a lot of dry ice 'smoke'. I've seen hundreds of concerts, including dozens of Yes shows - and this was the best rock concert of all for me. Tom Chase I went to the Yes show on 6/9, 1976 in Binghamton. I was already a big Yes fan, having been turned on to them a couple of years before when Relayer was first coming out. The Binghamton venue was not very big, so the show had a lot more visual and musical impact than usually occurs at bigger arenas. To put it mildly, I was dazzled by the intensity of the experience (no, I wasn't high). The synergy of the virtuosity of Yes musicians and the visual effects were more intense than any other concert experience I have had. I keep remembering Chris Squire playing the bass line for Relayer and wondering how any mortal could make his hands do that. The set was fantastic. Steve, Jon, and Chris each had his own spotlight in an arm that came out from a central section. I remember Steve blazing away at a solo when the arm came down and the spotlight got so intense everything just became white brilliance. Oh, yes, Steve, Jon, Chris, and Patrick Moraz were each dressed completely in white, which added to the effect. John was playing rhythm guitar on this tour (A Gibson SG I think). Some of the songs I remember them playing included 'Siberian Khatru' to open (Patrick seemed to get bored with the repetitiveness of the main riff, 'Heart of the Sunrise', 'The Gates of Delirium', The Last side of 'Tales' (remember Alan's revolving drum stage?), 'I've Seen All Good People', Soundchaser' (the best performance of a piece of music I've ever seen), and others, but it's been so long, that I cannot recall for certain which other songs they did. I've often told people that that concert was about as close as I've gotten to a religious experience of any type. My brother and I were so wiped out that we drove for a half an hour in the wrong direction after the show. It was, to put it succinctly: simply amazing. |