When bassist Chris Squire, one of the founding members of Yes, died last year, it seemed like the prog-rock pioneers might be a piece of history.
But three former members of Yes, singer and songwriter Jon Anderson, keyboardist Rick Wakeman and guitarist/singer Trevor Rabin, are keeping the music alive. The Anderson Rabin Wakeman tour will showcase the songs of Yes.
Prog was always an easy target because its grand ambitions, technical virtuosity and extended forms always seemed to invite bombast. But strip away the black-light-poster artwork and the classical-jazz gropings, and Yes had songs that endured.
Some listeners craved the dose of seriousness and heft to counterbalance the ephemeral bubble-gum charms of rock and pop. Yes managed to have it both ways, too, writing songs like “Owner of a Lonely Heart,” which were catchy radio hits in the end.
Anderson Rabin & Wakeman take the stage at Toyota Presents Oakdale Theatre, 95 S. Turnpike Road, Wallingford, Friday, Oct. 21, 8 p.m. Tickets are $35 to $100. 203-265-1501, livenation.com.
