An Evening With Yanni

I got free tickets to the Yanni concert last night at Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre. I didn’t find out about the tickets until just hours before. Not having anything better to do on a Monday night, I decided to go. Why not? Yanni is world famous. I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. I didn’t know much about the guy until after I got home from the concert and Googled him. He’s had quite the career. Before last night, the only song I knew of his was the theme song he wrote for the PGA Tour on CBS. I also remember seeing commercials in middle school about his «Live at the Acropolis» video.
This was my 2^nd concert at CEPAC in 3 nights. I’d attended the Zelda symphony two nights prior. I like listening to soundtracks (both movies and video games), so I’ve heard my fair share of instrumental music. Walking to the venue, I noticed how diverse Yanni’s fanbase is. His North American tour, «An Evening with Yanni,» was in Atlanta for 2 nights. He just came off from a highly successful worldwide tour last year. While Monday night’s show was not sold out, the building was still pretty packed.
Yanni tours with his ensemble which includes musicians who play the following instruments:
French horn
Trombone
Flugelhorn (like a trumpet, but more difficult to play)
Violin (3)
Cello (2)
Harp
Drums (2)
Bass guitar
Keyboards
Vocalists (2)
Yanni himself plays his own set of keyboards and a piano. I’m giving this concert 5 stars because man, can these people play! Each of the musicians in his band are at the top of their game. It’s like Yanni recruited only the very best violinists, cellists, drummers, etc. to be in his band. And they’re from all over the world. One of his drummers is Cuban, his keyboardist is Chinese, and one of his violinists is Armenian. Each is a true master of his/​her instrument.
Yanni allows each of his band members to showcase their talent throughout the show by allowing for various solo performances. They’re all incredibly impressive. I have to admit, I was pretty blown away by the music they could play on their instruments, particularly the flugelhorn player and the harp player. If you’re interested, I’m sure there are clips on YouTube where you can check out of each of these guys.
The crowd was very enthusiastic. Yanni interacted with the audience between certain songs. He seems like a nice guy. I didn’t realize he had so many groupies! Many women professed their love for him, some with straight up «I LOVE YOU, YANNI!» When Yanni prefaced one song by saying he wrote it based on love, a woman shouted, «For me!» Towards the end of the concert, some women had to be corralled by security because they were trying to get too close to Yanni on stage.
The show lasted about 2 hours with no intermission. Song titles I recall include Nightingale, Santorini, and Marching Parade.
Overall, I had a good time at my «evening with Yanni.» The music was beautiful, energetic, uplifting, and moving and the aforementioned musical solos were awe-​inspiring.