On the Silent Wings of Freedom: Yes Conquers Broward Center with Prog Perfection

All images by Larry Marano

Yes's Fragile Tour 2025 delivered a powerful example in why these British icons remain untouchable, performing their 1971 masterpiece in its entirety with the kind of technical precision that would make lesser mortals weep at Broward Center for the Performing Arts.

Opening with the seismic "Siberian Khatru," the band immediately established that age is merely a number when you're dealing with this caliber of musicianship. Steve Howe's fingers danced across his Gibson with supernatural dexterity, while the rhythm section locked into grooves so tight they could bend spacetime. The album's deeper cuts—"On the Silent Wings of Freedom," "Circles of Time"—proved revelatory in the live setting, transforming from curiosities into epic journeys.

The real magic emerged during the complete album run-through. "Roundabout" exploded with fresh urgency, Chris Squire's bass lines (carried forward by Billy Sherwood) rumbling through the theater like tectonic shifts. "Heart of the Sunrise" closed the main set with apocalyptic grandeur, Jon Davison's vocals soaring into the stratosphere.

The Beatles' "The Word" offered a psychedelic palate cleanser before "Starship Trooper" launched the crowd into orbit. Forty-plus years since Fragile's release, Yes proved they're not just preserving prog's legacy—they're still defining it. This wasn't nostalgia; this was vindication.