the pod bay door

David and I attended the Yes concert tonight at the Oakdale Theater in Wallingford CT. The opening band (also from the UK), Porcupine Tree, was inspired by Yes, and a handful of other 70s art-rock bands like Rush and ELP. They wandered on stage at 7:25 pm, and played for about 40 minutes.

Yes walked on stage around 8:40 or so, and played a solid two hour set. The crowd was mostly over-35s, many of whom bought a lot of beer, and screamed their lungs out, trying not to embarrass their kids in many cases. Sitting two seats from us was a guy with his 17-year old kid. The kid told us he was seeing Yes for the 12th time, and his dad was attending his 44th concert. When Porcupine Tree would finish a song, he’d scream, “WHERE THE HELL IS YES??”, and after the second time, someone a few rows down yelled, “PUT A CORK IN IT!”. We sat in the second balcony, and the seats were fine. Mostly older people surrounded us (yes, I include myself in the definition of “old”), so no one stood up and danced through the 11 songs the band performed. (The set list is below).
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David, Susan and I are on the Quinnipiac University campus, in the library where Susan works. The campus sits at the foot of Sleeping Giant State Park, a local mountain covered in trees that are all changing colours as I type. The campus is a private institution, and has lots of money (and Canada geese). The library building is two years old, and is, frankly, gorgeous. The PAC stations are black, with flat screens, and the campus is about to go ubiquitously wireless. (U of Alberta, just watching…)

We are off shortly to take more photos of the breathtaking scenery (not the geese). Then into New Haven for more fun and lattes. Later tonight: Yes.

I arrived yesterday afternoon in New Haven on the train, from Grand Central Terminal. Earlier in the morning, I wandered to the Strand, and picked up a few books. Some of the titles I want are not in stock, no big deal. I realized when I landed that I left my NYC maps and guide book in Edmonton. Perhaps my subconcious is getting cocky in its old age, assuming I know my way around well enough now. Admittedly, when I went to see the Halloween Parade, and then to Strand, it was on automatic pilot. Still, I bought another fold out map which I do need for downtown, beyond the numbered streets and avenues.

In New Haven, David, Susan and I relaxed and visited, and scouted the papers for things to do. I noticed that Yes is playing here tonight, so David called and secured two tix for us to see the concert (Susan passed). We went for Chinese food, then rented the movie, Last Orders, starring Michael Caine, David Hemmings, Bob Hoskins, Tom Courtenay, Ray Winstone, and Helen Mirren. Great movie, hard to understand the heavy English accents in parts. In a while, we are going out to see the gorgeous fall colours here, lots of reds and oranges and yellows.