Prog-rock giants Yes come to Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall in Sarasota

It's hard to keep up with Yes. Since the band began its life, 46 years ago, members have come and gone, and come back again and left again. None of the current members were in the band for its first album in 1970.

Earlier this year, the band played its first show ever without bassist Chris Squier, who died of leukemia in June at age 67. "It had a huge impact on the band, obviously," said longtime drummer Alan White in a phone interview from his Seattle home.

"Myself and Chris had been playing together for 43 years. We kept the band going all those years." But there's plenty of continuity in the current lineup. Guitarist Steve Howe was with Yes for many of its classic early albums, including "The Yes Album" and "Fragile."

Keyboardist Geoff Downes first played with the band in 1980, and White has been a member virtually continually since 1972. Along with singer Jon Davison and bassist Billy Sherwood, they'll play at Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall on Wednesday.

The music is challenging enough that it's kept White interested all these years. And it's drawing fans from the '70s as well as their children and even grandchildren. "We feel like a lot of the kids who come to see us were brainwashed by their parents into liking our music," he said.

Jon Anderson will always be the most identifiable voice of Yes, but White said current singer Davison does an admirable job of re-creating Anderson's vocals on the classic material.

"He sings very much like Jon," White said, "and he was a big fan of the band before he joined."

Details: 8 p.m. Nov. 11, Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, 777 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota. Tickets: $84.72-$192.25. Information: 941-953-3368, vanwezel.org.

-- Marty Clear

This story was originally published November 4, 2015 at 6:05 PM with the headline "Prog-rock giants Yes come to Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall in Sarasota ."