Jon Anderson & The Band Geeks
Paramount Theatre
Denver, Colorado, United States
July 8, 2026

lineage: Sony ECM-717 (mic) / Sony PCM-M10 (recorder) > 24/96 (some light limiter and edits on some hand clapping, fades added at the beginning and end of sets, some light treble (+.07) and downsampling to 16/44 using Audacity) > CD wav (track splitting) > FLAC (using Traders Little Helper) Level 8

Tracklist (2:13:43)

01 Firebird intro
02 Close To The Edge
03 Perpetual Change
04 Counties And Countries
05 And You And I
06 Giving Is Living (with piano outro)
07 Soon

- set break -

08 Awaken
09 I've Seen All Good People
10 Once Upon a Dream
11 Leaves Of Green
12 Starship Trooper
13 Roundabout

Notes: I've noticed that, on the Yes/adjacent recordings that I've shared, I've typically used my notes to provide background on my history of Yes, or discuss at semi-length about the virtues or shortcomings of the current band. I'm not going to do that here - I'm a Yes fan and sometimes I agree with what they do, and sometimes I don't.

Instead, I'm going to talk about my taping philosophy in general, and taping this show in particular. I would be interested in feedback / comments / contrary opinions.

When venues first starting using body scanners and metal detector wands for rock shows, it gave me great anxiety to stash my "gear" and smuggle it into the shows. But, I realized a) everybody is filming the shows with their phones; b) those body scanners and metal detector wands are mainly there to ensure nobody is smuggling weapons or explosives into the venue; and, c) if you are discreet and not interfering with others enjoyment of the show, nobody really gives a shit, up to and including the band (with obvious and not so obvious exceptions). In fact, now that I'm not getting physically searched, it's actually easier to bring my gear - I don't really even stash it anymore.

From the mid-2000s to mid-2010s, my wife and I would bring a video camera into the show with us, and film from the back. I think we did, maybe, 40 shows over that 10 year period? Honestly, they mostly aren't that great quality wise - I never brought a monopod, so they were generally shaky, and sitting in the back (where I felt safest and least obtrusive), I had a lot of head, arm and body dodges. That said, we did do a couple of decent videos, and, shaky or not, I do still look at them from time to time because, after all, my personal home videos aren't professionally filmed either, and I appreciate having video of a show that I attended.

But, after 2014, my wife was tired of always sitting in the back, and we were making a bit better money, so I bought the Sony PCM and started audiotaping shows from much better seats. My buddy loudpuppy had the ECM mic that he wasn't using; it's pretty stealthy, and is fine for a low-to-mid level microphone. However, sitting closer has it's pros and cons when it comes to audiotapes. Bottom line: I like contribuing to the community and sharing what I audiotape, but like my videotapes, I do them for myself and my wife to enjoy in the years to come. If you like it, that's even better. I've known some tapers that were damn near obsessive about it (I knew one guy who would get uptight about missing ANY show, even bands he didn't follow), and while I appreciate their output, that's not me - if my wife or neighboring fans talk, cough, scream, I don't really care too much as long as you're not sloppy or drunk in my face about it. Don't scream right into my microphone or my ear, (or puke in front of or on me), and I'm cool. I think that's a pretty minimal expectation.

Which brings us to last night's Jon Anderson show.

As noted, I love Yes, and I really love Jon Anderson, so we're an automatic go when he comes to town. For this show, we sat in the sixth row, which has it's strengths and weaknesses: pro - we're super close and can see everyone on the stage well; con - I could literally hear the sound going over my head from where we sat. Pro - still super close to the stage, great view; con - we're crammed in like sardines, and every single sniffle from nearby attendees is perceptible on my recording. Plus in those close rows at the Paramount, the seats are super close to the row in front of it - meaning, if someone needs to get up from the middle, everyone in the row pretty much has to vacate the row. Or rub bodies with the person passing them.

So, how was the show and how is the sound?

The show was great. Period. Jon is nearing 82 years, and watching him sing Close To The Edge - a song I've seen and heard performed numerous times, not to mention the literally hundreds (or thousands) of times I've heard studio and live recordings of it - with such passion nearly brought a tear to my eye. At the end of that song, my wife (who knows the song OK, but is more of an 80s Yes fan) and I looked at each other and both mouthed "wow!".

As I was watching him hit one spectacular note after another, I thought to myself "he looks older, but is moving with decent mobility. He could come back another 2 or 3 times in the next few years. Or this could be the last time I ever see him." I've done a couple of meet and greets with Jon over the years, found him to be a nice enough guy, and contemplating that this could be it hit right in the feels.

**gulp**

Audience was pretty chill. A bunch of Yes fans must've got sober in the last couple of years, because we had a run of shows there for a while where we were surrounded by non-stop drinking and carousing, leading to people getting sick, thrown out or fights breaking out. Fortunately, none of that occurred last night. My wife noted that, in our videotaping days, I used to smoke a joint in the parking lot, then have a beer or two before the show started - and, I never once threw up or got in a fight. Again, pretty minimal expectation.

I do wish Jon would go a little deeper into the catalogue - on the one hand, I've heard all of the Yessongs in this setlist many times, and wouldn't mind a refresh (I'd freak out if he did something like "That That Is" or "Animation"). But, on the other hand, to see them performed live, by the primary author, who is largely still singing these in the original key, with a terrific and enthusiastic band... it still works. I'd come back year after year for it. In fact, after the show, my wife and I were comparing / contrasting Steve Howe's Yes performance from last November to Jon's performance last night and I said "I love these songs. If, 20 years hence, Jon Davison in his 70s is performing at the Lone Tree Arts Center as "former singer of Yes" (or "Jon Davison's Yes Carousal Of Prog", or whatever), I'm probably there for it. Presuming I'm also still around for it.

Even if only to complain about it.

Back to last night: Jon's new songs are pretty good, but I'm not ready to annoint them classics (compared to, say, Paul McCartney's Days We Left Behind). I had intently listened to True in the weeks leading up to the show and seeing them live left me with the same impression - they feel strongly like they're aspiring to Yesness. We saw him play a couple of these "new" songs in 2024, and I felt then as I do now - impressed that he's still compelled to make new music, impressed by the musicianship, but not sure they reach the pinnacle. Ask me again in 2028.

So, in summary: great show, decent recording with a notable audience presence. Also: some echo as we were right under the Paramount's famously high ceiling. Who will like this? Yes fans, completists, people that attended the show. I've included 10 photos taken from our seats - they ain't art, but they give you an idea of the stage set-up and how the show looked from where we sat. That said, we were pretty close and pulled some decent snaps.

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.

01 - Firebird intro - 2026-07-08 Denver (in_halen 16-44 master).flac:b759ae764cdf9096c12770124a108744
02 - Close To The Edge - 2026-07-08 Denver (in_halen 16-44 master).flac:f4b61337fa9bba74bc5bdbfe8533945e
03 - Perpetual Change - 2026-07-08 Denver (in_halen 16-44 master).flac:ac927ab343e97f4c3d00d6468684d138
04 - Counties And Countries - 2026-07-08 Denver (in_halen 16-44 master).flac:078038334f438666a84ddf6a3a88610e
05 - And You And I - 2026-07-08 Denver (in_halen 16-44 master).flac:6ca612c9b98f25187d0285561db346bd
06 - Giving Is Living - 2026-07-08 Denver (in_halen 16-44 master).flac:9fdee1223eb39f759d2f10fa1db6a7e5
07 - Soon - 2026-07-08 Denver (in_halen 16-44 master).flac:3d45079ad69b535ebfb026d6abb48724
08 - Awaken - 2026-07-08 Denver (in_halen 16-44 master).flac:908272b9f87fcb5fff97377300de137a
09 - I've Seen All Good People - 2026-07-08 Denver (in_halen 16-44 master).flac:5f194cb83a8b5ec2b5890bad15fa6f1b
10 - Once Upon a Dream - 2026-07-08 Denver (in_halen 16-44 master).flac:c070f4efafb2952282af16ed2b7edddf
11 - Leaves Of Green - 2026-07-08 Denver (in_halen 16-44 master).flac:972f138de6a889f82458f9ef367b431e
12 - Starship Trooper - 2026-07-08 Denver (in_halen 16-44 master).flac:dddbfd276c2305230e2dd34a95d089f0
13 - Roundabout - 2026-07-08 Denver (in_halen 16-44 master).flac:c133439ceb30690094d62e46cec755d4

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