Notes by Owen G. Tabard

It was a muggy Sunday evening in South Florida, and even in October the mosquitos were out in force, but still, the crowd was eager. We were there at the Pompano Beach Amphitheater, of course, to see Yes, that venerable institution of prog rock, in Florida on their Classic Tales of Yes tour. But as the sun sank low, and the house lights dimmed, it was not the band who took the stage—at least, not the officially.  When Roger Dean opened the show it was a better treat for Yes fans than any other opening act could have been. Dean has been an integral part of Yes since the beginning, having designed the famous bubble logo. A consummate draftsman, Dean’s artwork has graced about half the group’s albums, providing a surrealist landscape as a backdrop for some of the greatest prog albums of all time. You might even say that Yes’s honorary sixth member really stole the show, taking the audience through a slide presentation of drawings and paintings, with fascinating revelations of his artist