Thanks to Rog P. I got a ticket last minute and decided to take a half day and go downtown in Philadelphia to Eighth Street Music (http://www.8thstreet.com Very nice folks, good prices) and meet Steve Howe.......

I got there early and met some folks who traveled very far (Atlanta, Ohio, Connecticut and Virginia) Rhea Frankel was there (minus Roy) . I was the first person in line. Steve got there a little late, but was in a great mood and was smiling from ear to ear as he arrived (picture to follow within a few days). The store itself was long and narrow, so Steve setup in a teaching room upstairs behind a table and in front of two murals depicting the Steve Howe Interactive CD-ROM. Ed Sciaky from Philadelphia radio fame showed up too. I got a chance to talk to Ed about some of the many hours of audio tape of interviews over the years that Ed has. Apparently, Jon has expressed some interest in them as well. Ed has interviewed Jon and the band on every tour from 1971 onward. He has in depth interviews for both Close To The Edge and Tales From Topographic Oceans (with Jon "interpreting" the movements piece by piece) Here's hoping they can come out through King Biscuit (Ed's current employer) or through Beyond Sound.

I finally got up to see Steve and he gave me an autographed "All Access" pass (special printing with Philadelphia printed on it) and signed my LP import copy of The Ladder! I bought the CD-ROM and Steve signed the box as well. I also got a question answered that had bugged me for quite a while now. The Dead has a free form song called Dark Star that varies quite a bit from version to version, but in almost all of the early versions there is an ascending "bridge" that sounds like it was pulled note for note from Ritual. Steve was not Influenced by Dark Star in the writing of Ritual. Steve thanked me for the question and said he would give it a listen.

Wow! I have a back stage pass! Where should I go now?

Well what do you do when you have an "All Access Pass" that reads "Special Appearance - Philadelphia"?

So I went to the Tower Theater. I got there around 4:30pm. I got my canvas bag with my Ladder LP and camera and went backstage. I met some nice folks backstage! One gentleman had worked there from the time the Tower had re-opened in the early seventies! He was taking a break so we sat on a wood bench and he went through a long list of notable bands that he had worked for over the years, including David Bowie, Hall & Oates, Bruce Springsteen, Genesis and others. I took my coat off and rolled up my sleeves as it was getting hot. Someone from Yes management came over and asked if we could load the confetti cannons. So I helped load confetti cannons. They are air compressed in case anyone was wondering. Now I know someone out there is thinking, "Oh, it must be Ed's fault that third cannon didn't go off." No.. it was never compressed with air because other more important issues came up like, That gel light is more pink than magenta. and we need to mount a second projector in the projector room. It was about this time that I started wondering if any of the other Howe appearance folks were going to show up. I was increasingly aware I was the only one that showed up. There also didn't seem to be any greeter. "Maybe I'm not supposed to be here." was a thought I quickly rejected and got down to the business of finding a cup of coffee.......

Before I sought out my drug of choice (coffee), I took some pictures of the stage including the Pedal setups of Billy, Chris and Steve. I got shots of Howe's beautiful American Indian rug, His guitar collection, Jon's harp, mini keyboard and percussion instruments, Igor's Keyboards, Alan's drums, etc., etc. about this time another Photographer had emerged and was taking some pictures himself. I decided to sit down and watch what happened next. Alan arrived and was talking (American) football with a roadie. He was pleasant and relaxed. I asked Alan if he would sign my Ladder LP and he signed it very well and detailed (I think it was the first time he had seen the LP version). Oh here it comes again, YES, Alan is a really nice guy. Alan then waited for the mixing board crew to get situated and started pounding out some rhythms to set levels, etc. I got some pictures of him from behind his kit. Alan hung around talking to Roy Clair. Well that was fun!

After finding the coffee machine, and realizing it was going to take a long time to brew that gigantic coffee pot, I decided to stroll around the basement area where the caterers were setting up for dinner @ 6:30. I noticed a large 12'x12' hole in the center of the basement floor under the stage and was told that it once contained a hydraulic lift to push a Hammond organ through the stage. The platform would then turn as the orchestra played. "Wow, how Yes!" I thought. I discovered that Sean Lennon is a pretty good cartoonist. He had sketched a kindly looking mythical creature's face on a wall when he played there a few weeks back. "Well that coffee isn't done yet, I guess I'll head upstairs and see what's happening." Steve's guitar handler was busily looking after Steve's arsenal when Steve arrived to set the height and tilt of his Martin on a stand. He did some checking of his equipment and then talked to us for a little. I got a couple pictures that may not come out as I was using 400-speed film without a flash in a dimly lit backstage environment. Steve left for the dressing room. It was time for that cup of coffee! Downstairs I went.

That cup of coffee was so gooooood! And what goes great with a Gooooood cup of coffee? Why a great big piece of Yes cake of course! Someone had prepared a beautifully decorated pair of vanilla and chocolate Yes cakes! The vanilla had the modern Yes logo covering its rectangular length. The Chocolate had a small Yes logo in the top left corner with The Ladder written prominently underneath. I ate the "D" in ladder. There was also something else about 30 Yeses or something... but THAT had been eaten so we will never know...Hey just fifteen minutes till dinnertime! I figured I should check upstairs in case I was missing anything. Well by this time I had pretty much figured I didn't belong there but I guess everyone had seen my face enough there to just leave me alone. WRONG. I was asked three times for my stage pass. In each case I showed them my pass I got from Steve Howe and was excused each time with an apology. I guess the CD-ROM was so new and the Philadelphia lettering on it may have thrown them off. I also was wearing my white dress shirt from work and had recently gotten my hair cut. I guess this way more than makes up for the time I couldn't get a ticket to the sold out '79 Spectrum show! I then was pleasantly digesting my cake and enjoying the intoxicating effects of that gooooood cup of coffee, when lo and behold, Jon Anderson comes and stands right next to me! He was talking with Roy Clair and getting ready to go to the dressing room. I thought, "I better ask him now for his autograph before he goes into his dressing room." I waited until he had finished talking and then asked if he would sign The Ladder LP I was lugging all over the place. He signed it Oh, Oh, Oh Jon A. I had met Jon before and I didn't have the butterflies in the stomach this time. I know he is just a man. (Barry, he is not an angel) He was very nice and looked pumped for the night's show as he rubbed his hands together once when mentioning Philadelphia. Jon headed for his dressing room and Ed headed for dinner.

"Yes Who's Coming To Dinner" was the name of an old vinyl bootleg I have in the forth pocket of my Yessongs album. For some reason that came to mind. Well let's see is that Ox tail? Stuffed tomato, sea bass, scalloped potatoes? I'll take a little of this, a little of That, That Is. Hey you say tomato, I say Tormato! You knew that was coming didn't you? I sat down with the roadies and struck up a conversation with the cartoonist that sketched the charictures of Yes in the tour program. He is the tour manager Paul Silveira's Brother. I told him about the Lennon sketch in the next room. Dinner was wonderful, wonderful. I had gotten some gravy on my shirt so I took it off to expose a T-shirt with WMMR on it. (I was going to have written "Dead at thirty" on it in marker, but thought it might make some people feel ill at ease.

Well that's a rant for another day anyway. The reason I'm mentioning this is because I think it may have been the reason I was escorted out the back door. (And rightfully, WMMR sucks). But before that happened, I heard some noise coming from the direction of the dressing rooms. Someone from the catering company was not in a good mood as he ran down the stairs. I heard on one of the back stage security cordless radios that some drinks were missing from upstairs. Soon after, I saw Igor coming out of the dressing room. I asked him if he would sign my copy of The Ladder and he did. He pronounced his name slowly in a Russian accent as he wrote his name at the top. Well within seconds of getting that accomplished, The head honcho of the roadies asked who I was with. "I'm here by myself today" was my reply. He didn't like that answer. Okay the gig was up. But hey it was time for the show anyway! I thanked him sincerely for my wonderful time and left into the cold cruel rain of the backstage door. I headed for my car to store my goodies and made it into The Tower Theater (a wonderful place to see a concert) for the opening of Yours Is No Disgrace.

Thank You Yes, Yes Management and The Tower Theater for a wonderful day I will always remember! (and a great meal to boot)

D. Edmund Arnold eddie@ccil.org

(The pass I received from Steve Howe did not entitle me to any priveleges at the concert that evening. The Steve Howe Interactive CD-Rom does contain a pass that reads "All-Access".)