Tears For Fears
Levitt Pavilion
Denver, Colorado, USA
May 29, 2022

lineage: Sony ECM-717 (mic) / Sony PCM-M10 (recorder) > 24/96 > Audacity for normalization and limiter on some loud claps and nearby yelling) > CD wav (track splitting) > MP3Tag (for file tagging) > FLAC (using Traders Little Helper) Level 8

Tracklist (1:43:22):

00 intro music (removed official release)
01 No Small Thing
02 The Tipping Point
03 Everybody Wants To Rule The World
04 Secret World
05 Sowing The Seeds Of Love
06 Long Long Long Time
07 Break The Man
08 My Demons
09 Rivers Of Mercy
10 Mad World
11 Suffer The Children
12 Woman In Chains
13 Badman's Song
14 Pale Shelter
15 Break It Down Again
16 Head Over Heels
17 End Of Night
18 Change
19 Shout

CONTRAST CLAUSE: This is the hi-resolution version of the recording previously shared here:

http://www.dimeadozen.org/torrents-details.php?id=731107

The 16/44 version at the above link also has the photos from the show, which are not included here.

Original Notes:

This is the first concert my wife and I have attended since the start of the pandemic. Originally, it would've been Nick Mason's Saucerful Of Secrets,
which was scheduled for March, but, that was postponed into October - we also had tickets for Matchbox Twenty, which was scheduled for 2020, postponed into 2021, then, 2022 and now for 2023. So, it's been a long wait.

Admittedly, over 2 and a half years, our enthusiasm for concert going has slightly waned - we're not getting any younger and, even in our last concert season of 2019, we only saw three shows. I'm strictly a classic rock fan, whereas my wife is generally the same, but, with a slight adult contemporary lean (read: tickets for Matchbox Twenty), so, those shows are starting to get fewer and farther between, not to mention, members are starting to pass through to the other side. Also, in 2 and a half years, we've moved on - the idea of being out late, surrounded by a bunch of jerky drunks, just doesn't hold the same appeal.

So, with that, we attended last night's show. We've only seen one previous concert at this venue - Yes featuring Anderson Rabin Wakeman in September 2018 - but, this time, there was a LARGE turnout and, I suspect, the venue was struggling (like other businesses) with staffing issues, as the parking was totally chaotic (pro tip for those attending shows here: take Evans PAST Platte River and park on a side street in the nearby industrial area, such as on Osage), there were huge lines getting into the restrooms (women's restrooms were out of toilet paper) and an even longer line to get to the actual seats - so long, in fact, that we missed the first half of the opening set by Garbage (so, I did not record their whole set). At long last, after waiting in line for some 40 minutes to get to our seats, as we got to the entrance of the seating area, my wife - a sweet natured, easy going woman, if there ever was one - finally had had enough and snapped off on some drunk jerks who were trying to cut in front of everyone, which resulted in some drunk asshole saying "f you" to her and nearly getting socked in the mouth by me. Not cool.

Nice start to our first concert back. Then, it started to rain.

As we sat there in the rain watching Garbage - who were, admittedly, excellent - I was shivering, as it was cold, but, also, because, the adrenaline from the earlier confrontation was coarsing through me, and, I was thinking to myself "why did we even bother?" The weather got worse before it got better. Then, between sets, we started talking to a nice lady sitting next to us, who had attended the show by herself and is a huge Tears For Fears fan - so are we! She spoke enthusiastically of the new TFF album, The Tipping Point - we love that album, too! Suddenly, my wife and I started to get excited for the emminent arrival of what we had come to see. "Stay", from their new album, played over the sound system and I knew we were about to start.

Your enthusiasm for this show (and tour) will likely depend upon how much you like their new album, since they played 7 songs from it - we LOVED it. If anything, I was disappointed not to hear my faves from it - Please Be Happy, Master Plan and Stay. The rest of the crowd seemed to enjoy it, too - there were two younger ladies seated behind us who also clearly knew the album and danced the night away, as it were - even if there were a few rushes to the restrooms during some of the new material. The old classics went over VERY well and they smartly sprinkled those throughout the show, starting with song 3.

Ironically, as a big classic rock listener, I actually prefer their more recent material, so, yes, I love their big hits, but, was really happy to hear "Secret World", as "Everybody Loves a Happy Ending" (their 2004 reunion album) is one of my favorite albums by anyone. All in all, this turned out to be a very enjoyable show, despite the difficult beginning - as we left, my wife looked at me and said "wow, that turned out to be great", and I agreed: shows like this are why we still bother. The recording turned out pretty decent - I'm no pro taper and use the old Sony ECM-717 more out of its stealthiness rather than its dynamic sound, but, we were located about 20 rows back, slightly off center, so, had a good angle on the stacks and, as a result, a very listenable result. Quite a bit of talking going on around us throughout the show and very enthusiastic reactions to the familiar material, so, this might play better on your sound system rather than on headphones - as I type this, I'm listening to this on my computer speakers and it sounds like one of our better recordings (of course, I'm typing this the next morning after what felt like a very LOUD show). For those keeping track, we also taped Tears For Fears at Fiddlers Green in 2015, so, this is our second recording of them and I think this one is superior in performance and in audio quality.

Finally: please don't sell the recording, but, otherwise, do with it what you wish. Share it and trade it, and remember: these and other greats will not be around forever, so, let's enjoy them while we have them. Best wishes to all of the fans out there and Namaste.