TORONTO -- It seems that British progressive rock group Yes never met an 8-minute song they didn't like. Or 15-minute song or even a 20-minute song for that matter.

Playing more than 21/2 hours before roughly 7,000 fans at the Air Canada Centre last night, the group relied on early albums and epic-length tunes to win the crowd over.

With no opening act, the group, in their late 50s with lead singer Jon Anderson pushing 60, opened with Going For The One from the 1977 album of the same name.

Standing on a mini-riser, the vertically challenged Anderson was in rather fine form for most of the evening as bassist Chris Squire and guitarist Steve Howe helped on the opener.

But the performer who seemed to steal the show for most of the evening was keyboardist Rick Wakeman. Flanked by keyboards, Wakeman's early spotlight during Sweet Dreams was a forerunner of what was to come.

If his meticulous yet frantic playing wasn't enough for cynics, his enthusiasm seemed to flow through the other members quickly. At times his playing was almost as loud as his jackets.

The crowd, made up of baby boomers as well teens and twentysomethings new to the band, responded strongly to I've Seen All Good People, one of several lengthy numbers which sound like two, three or four songs in one.

Nonetheless, hand claps and a standing ovation quickly followed.

"Canada, sweet Canada, it's great to be with you tonight," Anderson said before doing one portion of a new song Mind Drive. A second portion of the same song bookended two crowd pleasers in South Side Of The Sky and Turn Of The Century. South Side Of The Sky might have been the highlight of the first 80-minute set as Squire's bassline took on a life of its own.

Aside from the strong musicianship, fans were unfortunately subjected to some of the more bizarre inflated stage props around courtesy of designer Roger Dean. Three white-and-black inflatables took up large areas near the back of the stage while another hovered over the group.

Perhaps under the influences of hallucinogens they would make sense, but instead one resembled a mutated Pilsbury Doughboy.

After a brief intermission, the energy of the first set stalled during an "unplugged" series of tunes. Seated and performing acoustically, Yes plowed through The Meeting, Long Distance Runaround and Wonderous Stories, all of which had most sitting and rather indifferent. The turning point came during a "Chicago bluesy shuffle" version of their hit Roundabout. Wakeman's barroom-style piano playing morphed the song from a prog-rock staple into a pedestrian version, albeit a catchy and pleasing one.

With the chairs removed, Yes had their batteries recharged for the homestretch. Rhythm Of Love brought the show back to life as Anderson worked the floor of the venue.

And You And I, from the band's 1972 album Close To The Edge, kept the momentum going as it had a certain flavour like fellow prog-rock group Supertramp.

"It's amazing that we can still play for an audience," Anderson said of the tour celebrating the band's 35th year. It led perfectly into the 20-minute set closer Ritual. Each member seemed to have the spotlight for a couple of minutes on this one.

Although an encore was still to come by this time, most knew they had received their money's worth.

JAM! Rating: 3.5 out of 5

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