Yes tore into Close to the Edge by playing it in reverse order, with the slashing opening riffs of “Siberian Khatru” kicking things off July 30, 2014, at Symphony Hall in Atlanta.
Howe hunched over his hollow-body Gibson like a mad wizard, conjuring fluid tones as his fingers ran rampant over the frets and strings. The band didn’t cheat with an abridged version of the title track, either. After a gorgeous reading of the tender “And You and I,” with Howe playing a slide guitar for the opening lines before retreating to the guitar slung over his shoulder, Yes made its way into the first major opus of the evening.