Friday 11 April 2014

MUSIC REVIEW: Jon Anderson of Yes, Paul Green Rock Academy students at Bearsville Theater in Woodstock

Jon Anderson of Yes performs "Roundabout" with students from the Paul Green Rock Academy.

I think the thing that impressed me the most about Jon Anderson's performance at the Bearsville Theater Tuesday night was the way in which he was so obviously and genuinely pleased with the performance of his backing musicians, students from the Paul Green Rock Academy.

Jon Anderson's voice was etched on my skull when I was 7 or 8, and I stared at my brother's iconic Yes album covers for what seemed like hours. The band sold millions of albums and remain elders of the progressive rock scene.

To hear Anderson's voice in the intimate Bearsville Theater, to see his wide grin last for hours, to see him sort of semi-conduct his fellow musicians, play a tambourine, play air guitar, and just enjoy himself, would have been enough to bend my mind. But my goodness can those kids from the Rock Academy play. Slicing leads, pulsing bass lines, crisp vocals, all done with passion, persuasion and personality. All the kids were great, but guitarist Chogyi Lama was off the hook. Go see this kid now, because he's going to be playing stadiums and arenas in five years.


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