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Gentle Giant
Tour History
***
Part Three ***
***
Going On After Phil ***
(early
1973 - mid 1974)
new information will be in
RED
Immediately
after the Italian tour of early 1973, Phil Shulman left Gentle Giant, due to some
serious personal differences and his concern over the strain that life on the
road was putting on his family. He was
also considerably older than the others.
The group decided to continue as a five-piece outfit. Their first tour as a five-piece was also
their second North American tour. It
seems to have run between March and May of 1973, although there are indications
that it may have been originally planned to have started as early as Feb. 8 or
9. If so, Phil's departure may have been
responsible for the delay.
Shortly
before leaving the band, Phil stated in the press that they had had some offers
from promoters to do some headlining in
TYPICAL SETLIST (Spring - Mid 1973)
Prologue
Alucard -
may have been played more often earlier in the tour
Funny Ways
Knots
The Advent of Panurge - The recorder quartet
began to include a rendition of Yankee Doodle, an addition which was
commonplace during many future tours.
Nothing at All
Plain Truth - This
may have only appeared in the band's longer headlining gigs and more often
later in the tour.
Mister Class and Quality?/Peel the Paint - This THREE FRIENDS mini-medley may also have only
appeared in the band's longer gigs and earlier in the tour.
Even
though they had to rearrange their songs for one less member, their shows were
still musically satisfying and generally well-accepted. Besides Knots and The Advent of
Panurge, it seems no other OCTOPUS songs were played.
Feb. 11 GG had appeared on an episode of the
St. Louis, Missouri rock music television program Tube Trip at some
point in the Fall of 1972, their very first North American TV showing. This is their second appearance on the same
program and it is also the first appearance for which the exact date can be
verified. They had been filmed on an
unknown date and location during their Fall 1972 tour and both episodes
probably aired the same film. By the
beginning of 1973, Tube Trip was being aired in both St. Louis and
Kansas City, Missouri, eventually adding a station in Atlanta, Georgia briefly
in the summer of 1973, before the program came to an end. As was generally the case with most episodes,
this particular episode was advertised as airing first in Kansas City on the
previous night of Feb. 10, but it was actually shown after midnight, in the
early hours of Feb. 11. The actual St.
Louis broadcast followed in the late evening of Feb. 11. Clips of the band playing live in a studio
were probably shown, although that has not been verified. Also appearing on this episode were Osibisa and a band named Julia. In both cities, the TV broadcast was also
simulcast over the radio. This film of
Gentle Giant appeared on two other episodes of Tube Trip in the Spring
of 1973, where it was combined with different acts.
St. Louis - ad for first Tube Trip
TV broadcast and opening titles Feb.
11, 1973
Feb. 23 Devizes,
England Corn
Exchange
UNCONFIRMED. Evidence is mounting that this may
have been Giant’s first outing as a five-piece band. However, this is not confirmed and
conflicting evidence pinpoints the following Winchester listing as the first
post-Phil Shulman gig. What is
definitely confirmed from multiple sources is that Thin Lizzy did play in
Devizes on Feb. 23, where their set was marred by violence between the audience
and some members of the Hell’s Angels motorcycle gang. One fan in that audience kept meticulous
notes on his concert experiences at the time and his still extant notes list
Gentle Giant as the opening act. Gary
himself, in a recent interview, recounted how the band opened once for Thin
Lizzy in 1973 or 1974 in what he described as an unannounced “warmup gig”. That could certainly be an accurate
description of this concert, as it did not appear on any publicized itinerary
or as part of an organized tour. The
only contrary information in Gary’s recollection is that he seems to remember
the show in question being in the north of England, whereas Devizes is in the
south. He also revealed that Thin
Lizzy’s Phil Lynott was actually a fan of Giant.
Mar. 4 Winchester,
England King Alfred's
College - John Stripe Theatre
This
show definitely did take place and it may, in fact, have been their first gig
without Phil. During the band’s
introduction, it was actually announced as such from the stage, as was the fact
that Phil had gone back to teaching.
Since King Alfred’s was a teacher education college, this comment
elicited a few chuckles from the crowd.
The show was held on a Sunday and could have been on Feb. 25, but it was
probably on Mar. 4. They rehearsed for
several hours in the theatre on the afternoon of the gig in order to work out
the bugs in their new stage show. This
was intended more or less as another warmup gig before the start of their
upcoming North American tour. The band did
not even use their normal lighting personnel, instead hiring a student at the
college to handle the lights. According
to this person, the only lighting demand made was that no flashing lights at
all were to be used. He also claims that
all the lights went well, except for one small glitch at the beginning. The band entered the stage in darkness and
the lights were supposed to snap on at the opening downbeat. Unfortunately, the lights came on early,
spoiling the effect. The tickets, which
went on sale the day before, were quite cheap, but there are conflicting
reports as to whether the show sold out.
Giant are said to have been pleased with the results of the show, as
were the record company representatives in the audience. Two separate tapes of this concert once
existed but sadly, both are now believed lost.
This concert was arranged by Rick Fudge, the same student friend of the
Shulmans who arranged their Feb. 12, 1971 King Alfred’s show.
Mar. 8 Hershey,
Pennsylvania Hersheypark Arena
The
J. Geils Band and Edgar Winter both played here,
although which band headlined is not clear.
Giant served as the support act.
Mar. 9 Chicago,
Illinois Kinetic
Playground
The
Tennessean published an ad on Mar. 4 indicating GG was to open for Edgar
Winter on Mar. 9 at the Memorial Gymnasium of Vanderbilt University in
Nashville, Tennessee. Meanwhile, on the
same day, the Chicago Tribune advertised a bill of Jo Jo Gunne with opening act Malo at
that city’s Kinetic Playground. However,
on Mar. 8, this Chicago paper printed a brief announcement that Jo Jo Gunne had canceled their
appearance and was being replaced by a brand new bill of headliners Gentle
Giant and openers Tranquility and Wildflower.
Right on the concert date of Mar. 9, the Chicago Tribune ran one
more advertisement for this revised lineup.
No further press about the original Nashville gig has been located in
either the Tennessean or Vanderbilt University’s own student
newspaper. Best evidence, therefore,
indicates Giant did play on Mar. 9 in Chicago’s Kinetic Playground, as they did
again on April 13, as listed below.
Mar. 10 Louisville, Kentucky Convention
Center
Giant
opened the show, followed by Jo Jo Gunne and headliner Edgar Winter. A tape of the show exists. A local newspaper reviewer enjoyed all three
acts but arrived late to the venue and saw very little of Giant’s set. All he could report was that the crowd seemed
to enjoy the band and they ended with Plain Truth.
Louisville
ad Mar. 10, 1973
Mar. 11 Cleveland,
Ohio Music Hall
Even
though some advertising was unclear, it’s confirmed that Mark-Almond headlined
this triple bill. GG and Focus played in
support, though who played first is still not known. One local review complained about boring
violin and drum solos ruining Giant’s otherwise fine set.
Cleveland
ads Mar. 11, 1973
Mar. 11 Giant appeared on another episode of
the Tube Trip television show, this time sharing air time with Mama Lion
and Ship. It was first aired in Kansas City
in the early morning hours, then in St. Louis later in the evening. It was also simulcast over the radio in both
cities.
Kansas City - ad for second Tube
Trip TV broadcast Mar. 11, 1973
Mar. 13 Wilmington,
North Carolina University of North
Carolina - Varsity Gym
opened
for Tranquility and headliners Jo Jo Gunne. In the
University of North Carolina college newspaper, The Seahawk, a review
was kind to Giant but heaped the most praise on Tranquility.
Wilmington
ad and flyer Mar. 13, 1973
Mar. 14 Chattanooga,
Tennessee Memorial Auditorium
opened
for Black Oak Arkansas
Mar. 15 Morgantown,
West Virginia West Virginia
University - Coliseum
The
band was scheduled to open this triple bill, to be followed by Jo Jo Gunne and headliner Edgar
Winter in the university's gymnasium,
After the audience had arrived, it was announced that the full bill
would not appear. Unfortunately, it’s
not known whether it was Winter or Jo Jo Gunne who canceled.
Whatever the case, it appears that Giant agreed to play and even extend
their performance. The majority of the
crowd left, but those who stayed witnessed a full length Giant set. Although not confirmed, a fan at the show
specifically recalls the band doing a fine job on River. One person in attendance recalls that that both bigger acts canceled while only the
opener actually performed, but that seems unlikely. More information is needed about this
concert.
Morgantown ad Mar. 15, 1973
Mar. 16 New York,
New York Felt Forum
Cash
Box reported that there was a standing room only crowd in attendance on
this night to see Giant open for the Mahavishnu
Orchestra. As fans of the headliners,
the members of Giant were very much looking forward to this gig, but were
disappointed in Mahavishnu's performance. Ray, who was jumping around a lot and even
rolling on the stage, supposedly split his pants during Giant's set. A partial tape exists of Giant’s performance,
while a complete tape recorded by a different person in the crowd is now
missing. Originally, Giant was booked on
this date to play a gig with Grin, Foghat and Edgar
Winter in the gym at
Mar. 17 Passaic, New
Jersey Capitol Theater
opened
for Edgar Winter. The show was sold out
in advance. Curiously, a review in the Herald-News
stated that the members of Gentle Giant were all classical musicians who, upon
realizing they were unable to make a living playing the classics, had just
recently switched to rock music.
Passaic
ad Mar. 17, 1973
Mar. 18 Allentown,
Pennsylvania Allentown
Fairgrounds - Agricultural Hall
At
this show, the first of the year sponsored by the Allentown Council of Youth,
GG played before Foghat and headliner Edgar
Winter. The show was sold out with 5,500
fans present. For much of the year,
concerts at these Fairgrounds were held outdoors in the grandstand but, being
scheduled at the tail end of winter, this one was held at the indoor
Agricultural Hall facility. The Hall was
cramped and more than one critic complained about the heat, smoke, poor
ventilation, and uncomfortable seating on the concrete floor. An existing tape shows that portions of the
crowd were quite rambunctious throughout the evening. At one point, many fans were unable to see
and were yelling loudly, prompting Derek to ask, from the stage, for a return
to order.
Allentown Mar. 18, 1973
Mar. 19 Lewiston,
New York Niagara
University - Student Center
Giant
played second, after Foghat and before Focus. The concert was held in the upstairs
gymnasium portion of the Student Center which was normally used for the
University’s basketball and volleyball games.
Giant’s appearance at this gig was as a last-minute replacement for
another unknown band who canceled.
They
again were afforded headlining status in Canada, with their appearances there
once again extremely well-received. In fact,
Giant continued to be a major draw in Canada throughout their career. The credit for initially breaking the band
there goes to Kosmos Productions and promoter Alain
Simard, who booked the original 1972-1973 GG concerts in eastern Canada, mainly
in cities all over Quebec Province.
Simard was also a journalist who wrote many articles in Pop-Rock Magazine
at the time touting the band’s virtues.
Melody
Maker mentioned there were nine concerts scheduled for
Canada, but a schedule printed in Billboard only listed six. Personal recollections from fans in
attendance at the shows at times differ from the information in either of these
sources. However, the dates listed
below, particularly those in
Canadian dates with Necessite March
1973
Mar. 21 Ottawa,
Ontario High
School of Commerce - Auditorium
The
Quebec area prog act Necessite was the opening
act. According to two newspaper
accounts, the attendance was 600. This
is not to be interpreted as poor attendance as it was a relatively small
auditorium. The reviewer for the Ottawa
Citizen was impressed with the band’s music and noted they were very well
received, but criticized the “overacting” on stage and the overly loud volume
in such a small venue. A couple other
interesting occurrences were pointed out in this same review. At one point, John’s drum solo was panned
rapidly back and forth between the stacks of speakers on the left and right
sides of the stage. More significantly,
the group came out for a brief encore, most likely The Queen, during
which they played a snippet of the Canadian National Anthem. This is the only confirmed occasion after mid
1972 when they played a country’s National Anthem at the end of a gig. It may have happened at other times but
appears on no other recordings from this time period. It seems that the band was interviewed on
this day, as an interview was broadcast over an Ottawa college radio station
just five days later, on March 26.
Ottawa Mar. 21, 1973
Mar. 22 Quebec City,
Quebec Palais Montcalm
Tapes
exist of what are believed to be both of the scheduled Quebec City shows. A humorous moment happened on one of the
tapes when, towards the beginning of Knots, Kerry's keyboard broke down,
forcing one of the band members to whistle the missing part. However, it is not clear which tape is which,
so it's unknown which night this happened.
Also, neither tape is complete, although GG headlined the shows. Necessite was the
opening act both nights. John has said
that, when first taking the stage in Quebec City, he had no idea the group was
as popular as it was there. Upon hearing
the applause, he turned around to see if the crowd was clapping for someone
behind him. Le Soleil gave the
band a nice review but was critical of the conditions in the venue.
Mar. 23 Quebec City,
Quebec Palais Montcalm
As
stated above, a partial tape of this gig exists and Necessite
opened the show. It’s known that at
least one of the two Quebec City shows was sold out, but which one is not
known.
Quebec
City Mar. 1973
Mar. 24 Montreal,
Quebec Centre
Sportif de l'Universite de Montreal
Necessite was again the opening act. Local press reports differ as to attendance,
ranging from a full house of around 5,000 down to only 2,000. There has been considerable speculation and
debate concerning fan memories of this particular gig. Several in attendance swear that a real-life
giant was used to introduce GG at this show, with more attendees coming forth
to support this claim all the time.
Other fans adamantly deny such an odd thing ever happened. Fortunately, promoter Alain Simard has
recently confirmed what actually happened.
There was indeed a bearded Gentle Giant look-alike who came on stage to
introduce the band. His name was Jean Sarault, a gentleman who sometimes worked with openers Necessite, a group managed by Simard. Although not technically a giant, he was tall
and weighed close to 300 pounds. He was
dressed in medieval clothing borrowed from the 1973 theatrical production of The
Castle of Light which was produced by Simard and used Necessite’s
music. During his introduction, Sarault had a dove perched on his finger, again borrowed
from Necessite who were known to occasionally use a
live dove during their set. This unusual
introduction was a one time event, as members of GG
have repeatedly denied such a gimmick was a regular part of their
concerts. A review of this show in the Montreal
Herald mentioned nothing unusual.
This same review did, however, give GG a scathing review, calling their
music “pure trash” and offering up the high quality of the sound system as the
only positive aspect of the performance.
A complete tape exists of Giant's set on this night, the only known
complete tape from the band's Canadian headlining gigs from March 1973. During his vibraphone solo in Funny Ways,
Kerry quotes a bit of the folk song, Joshua Fought the Battle of Jericho. This was a general admission concert with no
assigned seating and, prior to the show, venue employees had to board up the
window near the front entrance with
plywood so as to stop fans from breaking through the glass. Paper flyers were handed out at the doors
and, once inside the hall, huge numbers of impatient fans made paper airplanes
out of these flyers while waiting for the show to begin.
Montreal poster Mar. 24, 1973
Mar. 25 Sherbrooke, Quebec Centre
Culturel - Grande Salle
Necessite was once again the opening act.
Mar. 26 In Ottawa, Canada, Carleton
University’s CKCU-FM radio station broadcast a pre-recorded half hour interview
with members of Gentle Giant. Chances
are it was recorded when the band visited that city on March 21.
Ottawa - ad for college radio
interview program Mar. 26. 1973
Mar. 29 Toronto,
Ontario Massey
Hall
Headliners
Wishbone Ash had sound problems on this, the opening day of their North
American tour. Two bands opened the show
with Vinegar Joe playing first, followed by GG.
Of the three bands, Giant was the only one to receive a favorable
write-up in a Toronto Star review bearing the headline "Patience of
Audience Tested at Rock Show."
Attendance at this sold out four hour show was at least 1,600. Toronto was another city that Ray thought had
a very open, adventurous musical heritage.
Early on, it was advertised that GG would be opening for Edgar Winter at
the Masonic Auditorium in Detroit on this evening, the first of two consecutive
Detroit gigs for Winter, but Giant did not play.
Toronto
- ad and backstage photo Mar. 29, 1973
Mar. 30 Detroit,
Michigan Masonic
Auditorium
Although
GG did not appear in Detroit with Edgar Winter on the previous night, they did
open for Winter on this night.
Mar. 31 Waterloo,
Ontario Waterloo
Lutheran University
Posters
and newspaper ads show that two sets were planned originally on this date,
starting at 7:00 and 10:00 P.M. However,
although not confirmed, it seems likely that only one performance took
place. It was held in the University's
gym which had a proper stage set up on one end and could hold around
1,200. The
concert was general admission and was sold out. Giant opened for Wishbone Ash and was
preceded by Vinegar Joe. Billboard
stated the band was scheduled to play in Buffalo, New York on this night, while
another early published ad had GG opening for Quicksilver at New York City’s
Academy of Music on this very same night, but Giant did indeed end up in
Waterloo instead. In fact, Giant
received a standing ovation from the crowd, rare indeed for an opening
act. The audience seemed particularly
enthralled by Ray’s violin solo, during which he plucked quite hard on his
strings, no doubt a bit of planned theatrics.
One report had him actually breaking all four strings, one at a time,
although this seems very unlikely and is disputed by another fan report. Although Giant did well this evening,
Wishbone Ash had to endure equipment difficulties at the beginning of their
set. To top it off, after the show, the
crowd had to drive home in freezing rain.
Unfortunately, University officials were quite unhappy with the mess
left behind by the crowd and by their general behavior which, on this night,
required a police presence to restore order at one point. The large percentage of younger, rowdy high
school students was blamed for this overall poor behavior.
Waterloo
poster Mar. 31, 1973
??? Buffalo,
New York New Century
Theatre
UNCONFIRMED. Although erroneously listed in Billboard
as taking place on March 31, sources indicate the band may have played in
Buffalo somewhere around this time period.
These sources also recall no one else being on the bill. They did play in nearby Niagara Falls on Mar.
19, but there were others on that bill, so this may be a totally different
show.
Apr. 3 Fort Wayne, Indiana Lantern
another
gig which may have been added at the last minute. A tape exists of this show at which
Fort
Wayne ad Apr. 3, 1973
Apr. 5 Macomb,
Illinois Western
Illinois University
opened
for Humble Pie before a near capacity crowd.
The student newspaper Western Courier gave both acts high marks,
stating that GG provided the listening portion of the evening while Humble Pie
provided the boogying portion.
Apr. 6 Knoxville,
Tennessee Civic Coliseum
Humble
Pie, after backing out of a gig in Bloomington, Illinois, booked this gig in
Knoxville instead with Foghat playing support and
Giant opening the evening.
Knoxville ad Apr. 6, 1973
Apr. 7 Roanoke,
Virginia Roanoke
Civic Center
opened
for Foghat and headliners Humble Pie. Giant’s name did not appear in all the
pre-concert advertising, nor was it on the tickets, so some in the audience
loudly voiced their disappointment at having an unexpected band delay the
appearance of the other bands. One fan
seems to recall another date in Roanoke around 1973 or 1974 when Giant opened
for southern rockers, the Marshall Tucker Band but this is not confirmed. Likewise, there is also an unsubstantiated
report that Giant played a gig in the mid-1970’s opening for Jo Jo Gunne, somewhere in the
Roanoke or Salem, Virginia area, but this too is unconfirmed.
Roanoke
ad - all three bands listed Apr. 7,
1973
Apr. 8 Hampton, Virginia Hampton Roads Coliseum
Followed
Foghat and preceded Humble Pie. The audience drawn to this show for the other
two boogie/hard rock acts was understandably perplexed when Giant started their
set. However, they reportedly came
around and, by the end, they were quite appreciative. In its review, the Newport News Daily
Press mentioned nothing about the music, but pointed out that 30 people
were arrested for marijuana possession.
A recording of GG’s half hour set is rumored to exist.
Hampton
ad - Foghat not listed Apr. 8, 1973
Apr. 8 Giant appeared on yet another
episode of the Tube Trip television program in St. Louis and Kansas
City, Missouri, simulcast over local radio in both cities. The Kansas City broadcast came first, in the
early morning hours, while in St. Louis, it was shown later in the
evening. Also appearing on this episode
were Black Oak Arkansas, White Bird and Peter Allen.
St. Louis - ad for third Tube Trip
TV broadcast Apr. 8, 1973
Apr. 10 Mt.
Pleasant, Michigan Central
Michigan University - Finch Fieldhouse
It’s
been confirmed by three fans at the show, a University official, an existing
poster, a pre-concert newspaper ad and a published review that GG opened for
the J. Geils Band here on April 10 in front of an
audience of 4,000. However, this
audience’s reaction to Giant is not as easy to pin down. One fan claims much of the crowd ignored
Giant’s set, only coming around at the end, while a published review of the
show states that the crowd was quite appreciative and gave GG a standing
ovation. It turned out to be quite a
dramatic evening. Just as the concert
was beginning, a fire broke out in a locker room and Finch Fieldhouse, an old
basketball facility, had to be completely evacuated. Unfortunately, the crowd’s reentry was
somewhat chaotic making it easy for those without tickets to walk in with the
throng, leaving some paid ticketholders without seats.
Mt.
Pleasant poster Apr. 10, 1973
Apr. 11 Johnstown,
Pennsylvania Cambria County War
Memorial
GG
opened for Humble Pie. Foghat was again supposed to precede Humble Pie, but they
bowed out and did not appear. Giant was
either an unadvertised first act on the bill, or a last minute substitute. Either way, many in the crowd were not aware
Giant was on the bill and, expecting Foghat, were
slow to accept them. However, the
recorder quartet in The Advent of Panurge is said to have brought the
audience around. The War Memorial was
basically a minor league hockey facility seating about 5,000, though there’s no
information on the size of the crowd this night. The initial confusion came from the fact that
other sources pointed to GG opening for the J. Geils
Band on this date at the Masonic Auditorium in Detroit. However, that does not seem to be the case,
although it may have been planned at one point.
Of course, GG had already played Detroit on March 30.
Apr. 12 Akron, Ohio Civic Theater
UNCONFIRMED. Although
a gig in Akron opening for Procol Harum
certainly seems the most reasonable assumption at this time, questions
remain. Press clippings have surfaced
which advertised Giant in three different concerts in three different cities,
all on the same night. One fan
recollection and multiple ads and articles in several newspapers indicated they
were to indeed open for Procol Harum
at the Akron Civic Theatre, while another newspaper indicated early on that
this same bill was to play at the National Guard Armory in Rockford,
Illinois. Meanwhile, in Oklahoma City,
the Apr. 12 issue of The Oklahoman printed an article claiming GG would
be opening this very evening for Yes at the State Fair Arena. This is the only story that can be
definitively discounted. Yes did play in
Oklahoma City but the openers were the band Trapeze. There is even one online story which hints
that Giant opened for Procol Harum
on Apr. 12 at the Kinetic Playground in Chicago, as they did the following
night of Apr. 13. This rumor is
extremely unlikely. Further compounding
the confusion, a reliable online Procol website lists
no concert at all on Apr. 12.
Clarification on this whole matter is still needed.
Akron
- conflicting press materials Apr. 12,
1973
Apr. 13 Chicago,
Illinois Kinetic
Playground
Only
about 200 people were in the crowd on this night to see Giant play in support
of Procol Harum. GG supposedly put on a problem-free show, but
Procol's set was bogged down by a myriad of technical
problems. One person in attendance seems
to recall Giant playing a new song that they introduced as "not being on
an album yet." He says they then
played Proclamation. This claim
makes little sense as song is not believed to have been played regularly on
stage for another nineteen months. Ray
later recalled this concert with great fondness.
Chicago Apr. 13, 1973
Apr. 14 Cincinnati,
Ohio Cincinnati
Gardens
UNCONFIRMED. Billboard printed a number
of erroneous tour dates for this GG tour, including one early mention that they
were to play at the Holheinz Pavilion in Houston, Texas
on this night. However, multiple ads in
a number of other newspapers, right up to the day of the concert, placed the
group in Cincinnati, where they were to open for Edgar Winter and, in the
headliner slot, Humble Pie. Nonetheless,
a local review implied that only Edgar Winter and Humble Pie played, with
Winter taking the stage first. Unless
other corroborating information is found, GG’s appearance must remain
unconfirmed.
ad
for unconfirmed Cincinnati appearance
Apr. 14, 1973
Apr. 15 Baltimore,
Maryland Civic Center
Ads originally announced Spooky Tooth as the band scheduled to
play first on this evening, followed by Edgar Winter and headliners Humble
Pie. However, it has been confirmed by
both a fan recollection and a review in Loyola University’s Greyhound
student newspaper that GG played as a substitute for Spooky Tooth, a band known
to have backed out of other Humble Pie gigs around this time. This review proclaimed GG as the best act of
the evening, while acknowledging they were mismatched with the other two
traditional rock and roll acts.
Apr. 18 Warren, Ohio Packard Music Hall
This
is the first known date of a mini-tour that Giant did in the Midwest playing
support for King Crimson. On this
particular occasion, a local Warren band named MF Rattlesnake performed first,
before Giant and Crimson. Gary's
schedule lists a show in Cleveland, Ohio on this date but it may simply refer
to this gig, since Warren is near to Cleveland.
The band's airline itinerary saw them flying into Cleveland on Apr. 16,
but staying right in
Warren
ad Apr. 18, 1973
Apr. 20 San
Francisco, California Winterland
GIANT DID NOT PLAY. Giant
was scheduled to play second on this bill, after Colin Blunstone
and before Commander Cody and The Lost Planet Airmen and headliners
Sha-Na-Na. However, promoter Bill Graham
announced that “transportation difficulties” necessitated them dropping out of
this and the following night’s Winterland shows.
Apr. 21 San
Francisco, California Winterland
GIANT DID NOT PLAY. Giant’s
participation in this gig was also canceled, like the night before, because of
transportation difficulties. The order
of the bill was again supposed to be Colin Blunstone,
Gentle Giant, Commander Cody and the Lost Planet Airmen and headliners
Sha-Na-Na. Gary's schedule lists the
band as originally intending to play San Francisco on Apr. 19, but this may
have been changed. There is an
unconfirmed report that Giant was replaced on the bill by Steeleye Span on this
evening.
Apr. 22 Kansas City,
Missouri Cowtown Ballroom
another
night opening for King Crimson, with jazz saxophonist Charles Lloyd taking the
stage first. It’s been hypothesized that
Lloyd’s guitar player may have been having problems on this night. According to an audience report, this
guitarist, after a solo, “sat on his amp, put his head in his hands and cried
like a baby.” The Cowtown Ballroom was a
small, intimate venue which only held about 800 people. There were no seats, just an old hardwood
floor from when the place was previously a roller skating rink. Still, the hall had excellent acoustics. As was the case at the Mar. 15
Kansas
City Apr. 22, 1973
Giant’s
original plans at the beginning of the year had April 22 being the last date of
their North American tour, but they did manage to cobble out additional dates
and were able to extend the tour into May.
However, as can be seen below, some of the newly added dates have proven
harder to confirm than those earlier in the tour. Some information comes from schedules
published in Melody Maker, Rolling Stone and Billboard,
but these magazines were often not in complete agreement. Most of the dates after the Canadian leg of
the tour come from a printed schedule in Gary Green's possession but there seem
to have been some changes made to that schedule as well. Not all of the following extended tour
information should be viewed as definitive.
Apr. 23 Wichita,
Kansas Henry
Levitt Arena
opened
for King Crimson. An ad in Billboard
listed the venue as the Century II Arena, but most sources say the show was
held at the Henry Levitt Arena.
Apr. 24 Oklahoma
City, Oklahoma State Fairgrounds
- International Building
again
opened for King Crimson. Ads in Billboard
and Rolling Stone listed a show planned on this date at the Red Dog Inn
in Lawrence, Kansas, but it was changed eventually to Oklahoma City. The gig was definitely not sold out.
Oklahoma
City ad Apr. 24, 1973
Apr. 25 Salt Lake
City, Utah Terrace
Ballroom
Giant
opened for the J. Geils Band.
Apr. 26 Portland,
Oregon Paramount
Theatre
opened
for Sha-Na-Na.
Portland
ad Apr. 26, 1973
Apr. 27 Seattle,
Washington Paramount
Northwest Theatre
again
opened for Sha-Na-Na. Supposedly,
portions of the crowd were pretty receptive towards Giant, while others were
quite rude, yelling out for Sha-Na-Na during some of the songs. Being an opening act, GG played no encore on
this night, ending with Plain Truth, even though many in attendance gave
them a standing ovation after the song.
One person at the show has said that many Giant fans left before
Sha-Na-Na even took the stage, but another recalls the theatre remaining quite
full during the headliners’ set.
Apr. 28 Long Beach,
California Long Beach Arena
CANCELED. A show at the Long Beach Arena was
advertised at the time, but no corroboration has been found and Gary claims it
did not take place. There was also a
rumor that the group played in Ontario, California on Apr. 28, but that stems
from a misreading of the plane schedule which had them actually flying into the
city of Ontario on Apr. 28 before checking into their hotel in
Apr. 29 San
Bernardino, California Swing
Auditorium
The
group headlined this show.
??? San
Antonio, Texas Municipal
Auditorium
UNCONFIRMED. It is not clear if this show ever took
place. Billboard originally
advertised the date as April 13, but it’s certain they played
May 1 Dallas,
Texas Majestic
Theater
Steeleye
Span, a band that professed great admiration for Gentle Giant, was the opening
act at this old style movie theater.
John was not feeling well on this night, suffering from a bad case of
sunburn on the top of his head. The
stage lights caused him great discomfort, so the band had to shorten their set
a bit. He is said to have played well,
nonetheless. Attendance at this show was
startlingly low, with a couple fans reporting no more than 200 people there and
possibly quite a bit less. An earlier
date of March 15 at the Memorial Auditorium in Dallas had at one time been
advertised.
Dallas poster and ad May 1, 1973
May 2 Springfield,
Missouri Shrine Mosque
opened
for Black Oak Arkansas. During BOA’s set,
someone began flicking the house lights on and off. A large fight broke out with audience members
and even road crew involved. Fire
Marshals had to be brought in to clear the aisles and restore order before the
concert could continue.
May 3 Little Rock,
Arkansas Barton Coliseum
opened
for the Strawbs and headliners Ten Years After. Actor Billy Bob Thornton, a big rock music
fan at the time, was at this show. At
least five gunshots were heard outside a nearby building during the show. Fortunately, the concert was not disrupted,
but a large contingent of State and City Police remained in the area until all
had left. GG were reportedly not
terribly popular in Little Rock and it appears they never played there again
after this.
May 4 Austin,
Texas Armadillo
World Headquarters
Steeleye
Span opened. There is also a report that
a Los Angeles show may have been originally planned for May 4.
Austin
poster May 4, 1973
May 5 San
Francisco, California Winterland
UNCONFIRMED. Steely Dan, Humble Pie and Slade all
played the Winterland here this evening. GG is said to have also been on the bill, but
there is no corroborating evidence.
May 6 Houston,
Texas Santa Rosa
Theater
Steeleye
Span was the opening band.
Mid
1973 was a difficult time for Gentle Giant as they struggled to make their
first album without Phil Shulman. His
creative contribution to the earlier albums was immense but the band's musical
style did continue to evolve even after his leaving. John Weathers began to contribute more of
what would become his trademark straight ahead drumming style. This made for a more concise, solid sound.
June ? Berlin,
Germany Waldbuhne
Giant
was booked to participate in this, the first of Germany’s 1973 "Summer
Rock Festivals". This was a three
day-day rock event split between the cities of Berlin and Frankfurt that also
included, among others performers, the Strawbs,
Family, Ekseption, Beck-Bogart-Appice,
and Uriah Heep.
Attendance in Berlin was a disappointing 6,500, much lower than the size
of the crowd in Frankfurt. The portion
in Berlin was on June 9 and June 10, although it's not known which day Giant
was scheduled to perform. There was some
doubt as to whether Giant actually played as scheduled in Berlin, but a review
in the European Stars and Stripes newspaper does mention them as having
appeared in both Berlin and Frankfurt.
Unfortunately, several eyewitness accounts have surfaced which cast
doubt on whether Giant appeared at all.
Berlin
- first “Summer Rock Festival” June
1973
June ? Frankfurt,
Germany Radstadion
UNCONFIRMED. another stop on Germany's first "Summer
Rock Festival" with the same basic lineup as at the Berlin show. The festival stopped in Frankfurt on June 10
and June 11, overlapping the Berlin show.
Again, it's not known on which night GG was scheduled to play. Even though the European Stars and Stripes
newspaper reported that GG did perform, there have been a couple believable
reports that they actually did not, so this Frankfurt appearance cannot be
definitively confirmed. Whatever the
case, a much better crowd, totaling 24,000, showed up in Frankfurt, than went
to Berlin. The German press reported as
many as 10,000 attendees lined up for up to three hours before the festivities
even began. In both cities, organizers
tried to cut eliminate wasted down time by showing Marx Brothers films between
each act. At the end of the final
evening in Frankfurt, a large fireworks display celebrated the conclusion of
the Festival.
Frankfurt
- unconfirmed appearance at first “Summer Rock Festival” June 1973
July 21 Frankfurt,
Germany Radstadion
This
was Germany's second 1973 "Summer Rock Festival" held on the weekend
of July 21 and 22. Unlike the first such
Festival held the month before, this one was only staged in Frankfurt, possibly
due to the low attendance figures in Berlin back in June. Giant again participated, along with such
bands as the Faces, Rory Gallagher and the Spencer Davis Group, with evidence
indicating GG’s set took place on the first day, July 21. The promoters for this event unwisely
advertised some acts as participating before contracts were finalized, so the
program was a bit chaotic. At one time,
Paul McCartney and Wings were being advertised as the main headliner, closing
the festival on July 22, but that did not happen. Black Sabbath and Canned Heat also backed
out, while Sly and the Family Stone only played one song. On the other hand, Chuck Berry made a
surprise appearance, even though he was not actually on the scheduled
bill. The U.S. Armed Forces, with a
heavy presence in Germany at the time, is said to have been very unhappy with
all the rock festivals held in that country, as they believed they drew too
many soldiers away from their regular duties.
Frankfurt
- second “Summer Rock festival” July
1973
July ? After the aborted attempt at
recording during the previous December and January, IN A GLASS HOUSE,
Gentle Giant's fifth album, was finally recorded at Advision
Studios in
Aug. 28 At London's Langham Studio 1, the band
did their seventh BBC studio session, broadcast on Sept. 28. The songs recorded were Way of Life, The
Advent of Panurge and The Runaway. This was GG's third BBC session in a row to
include The Advent of Panurge, which would appear yet again in the next
one, as part of Excerpts from Octopus.
This entire session appears on TOTALLY OUT OF THE WOODS,
but not on the earlier OUT OF THE WOODS album.
By
the fall of 1973, the band's live shows began to take on a more visual aspect
with the use of projection screens placed behind the stage. At first, one screen was used but that
evolved, by later tours, into the use of multiple screens. The group's popularity had been steadily
rising for a while and they now found themselves headliners for many of their
concerts in Europe. Before swinging
through Europe, they were also able to headline a
Record Mirror UK tour article Fall 1973
One visual idea they had planned on using at this time
was a film of John Weathers, in Gentle Giant costume, walking slowly through a
village seemingly made of doll houses, this miniature village located in
TYPICAL SETLIST (Fall 1973)
The Runaway - The "breaking glass" tape
loop at the beginning of this song, played amidst flashing strobe lights,
served as an intro to the shows.
Way of Life
Funny Ways
Excerpts from Octopus - This new arrangement
was to become their most famous medley.
It combined portions of Knots and The Advent of Panurge
and also included the recorder quartet, a Kerry Minnear
organ bridge and an acoustic guitar duet.
This duet, played by Gary and Ray, contained a theme taken from the song
The Boys in the Band.
Nothing at All - The percussion section began to include
several toy glockenspiels on which were played a variation of the folk song Shortnin' Bread. These
were played by John, Gary and Kerry.
Plain Truth
In a Glass House - This title song to the new album took
over the encore slot and provided a vehicle for an extended Gary Green guitar
solo. Only the heavier second half of
the tune was performed. At the end, the
"breaking glass" tape loop returned as an outro, gradually fading
out.
By
now, the only songs remaining in their live set from the early days were
Sep. 17 Plymouth, England Guildhall
Wild
Turkey opened the show, with singer/guitarist Rod Crisp also on the bill. A tape exists of this first night of the tour,
which includes the band’s very first performance of Excerpts from Octopus. During this medley, Kerry included a three
and a half minute keyboard solo just before the band segued into The Advent
of Panurge. The solo contained
snippets and variations based on the songs Raconteur, Troubadour, Acquiring
the Taste and even a small bit of A Cry For Everyone. This keyboard solo was apparently dropped
right away, as it appears on no other known GG recording. However, much of this keyboard material was
later infused into the medley’s acoustic guitar duet beginning in late
1975. The entire recording of Excerpts
from Octopus has been included in the SCRAPING THE BARREL boxset,
while the keyboard solo portion is also included as a separate track entitled Keyboard
Concerto.
Plymouth flyer Sep. 17, 1973
Sep. 19 Doncaster,
England Top Rank
Wild
Turkey opened the show.
Sep. 21 IN A GLASS HOUSE was heavily
advertised to be released in England on this date, although some indications
place the actual date one week earlier on Sep. 14. For its English album releases, the band had
by now left Vertigo and had signed with WWA Records, the brand new recording
branch of their management company. In
America, Columbia had dropped the band completely after deeming this new album
to be too uncommercial. For its part,
WWA failed to secure another US label in its place, so IN A GLASS HOUSE
was not released at all in America. This
understandably upset the band and marked the beginning of a deterioration in
relations between Gentle Giant and Worldwide Artiste Management.
Sep. 22 Manchester,
England Stoneground
Wild
Turkey opened the show. Although not always
evident on a tape that exists of this show, a couple fans remember an annoying
buzz or hum coming from the PA throughout the entire show. Derek’s vocals, in particular, were at times
inaudible. During an instrumental
portion of the set, crew members tried in vain to correct the problem.
Manchester
ad Sep. 22, 1973
Sep. 23 Oxford,
England New
Theatre
Wild
Turkey opened the show and was reported to be well received. Rod Crisp appeared on this bill, as
well. A review in Melody Maker
stated the audience had some trouble warming up to material from Giant’s new
album.
Sep. 24 Chatham,
England Central Hall
Wild
Turkey opened the show. At one point
during this show, Derek threw his tambourine into the air, as he often
did. However, on this night, it’s been
reported that it hit Kerry on the way down.
To his credit, Kerry continued to play.
Sep. 26 Southampton,
England Top Rank Suite
Wild
Turkey opened the show.
Sep. 28 Birmingham, England Town
Hall
Wild
Turkey opened the show, with Rod Crisp also sharing the stage.
Birmingham
ticket Sep. 28, 1973
Sep. 28 Giant's
seventh BBC session from Aug. 28 was broadcast on Sounds of the Seventies,
hosted by Pete Drummond. Sessions by
Mike Maran and the group Sassafras were also on the program.
In September, Record
Mirror reported that Kerry Minnear had previously been contracted by the
Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra to compose an original piece for performance at a
music festival in that city in February 1974.
Kerry was said to be hard at work on the piece, a 45 minute orchestral
and choral composition which the band’s management said was to be recorded live
at the festival. However, even if such a
project was discussed at some point, Kerry himself has confirmed that no such
piece was ever written or performed. Sounds published a similar claim a month
later, also false, this time writing that Kerry was scoring several of the
band’s songs for the orchestra.
Record
Mirror article about Kerry
orchestral composition Sep. 1973
Sep. 29 Glasgow,
Scotland City Hall
Wild
Turkey opened the show.
Sep. 30 Edinburgh,
Scotland Caley Picture
House
Electrical
limitations at the venue made it necessary for GG to forgo use of their own
lighting effects, relying instead only on the house lights already in
place. A fan who attended this show
claims the band played for two hours, but this would be unusual and is not
likely. The same fan also claims the
setlist included Think of Me With Kindness, a song not generally thought
to be performed live. Rod Crisp and Wild
Turkey opened the show. Gentle Giant’s
name is included in a list of “notable past performers” on a commemorative
plaque near the front door of this venue.
Edinburgh
poster, ticket and commemorative plaque
Sep. 30, 1973
Oct. 2 Leicester,
England Palais de
Dance
Wild
Turkey opened the show. The Average White
Band, a fairly new group at the time, may have also been on the bill but they
did not play. This gig was organized by
Leicester University as a “Freshers Ball”.
This was an event held to welcome the first-year students but was also
open to the public. Instead of being
held right on campus, it was held at this popular nightclub in town, for some
unknown reason. The Palais de Dance was,
as its name implies, mostly known as a dance hall, but they did host popular
rock bands, as well. According to one
student at the show, the place was “crowded and cramped”, although the exact
attendance is not known.
Oct. 3 Bristol,
England Top Rank
Wild
Turkey opened the show.
Oct. 4 Llanelli, Wales Glen
Ballroom
Wild
Turkey opened the show. This gig was not
on the band's original schedule, which called for them to be in Neath, Wales on
this night and Aylesbury, England on Oct. 5.
Both performances were pushed back one night.
Oct. 5 Neath,
Wales Gwyn
Hall
originally
scheduled for Oct. 4 but changed to make room for the Llanelli
concert. Wild Turkey opened the show.
Oct. 6 Aylesbury,
England Friar's Club
originally
scheduled for Oct. 5 but changed to make room for the re-scheduled Neath
gig. Wild Turkey opened the show.
The band next embarked on a European tour which was
supposed to bring them first to Italy, then to Switzerland, Germany, Austria
and Belgium. Unfortunately, the Italian
dates proved very difficult to schedule as many cities placed restrictions on
their venues being used for musical events they thought to be disruptive, such
as rock concerts. Giant was also supposed
to play seven German and Austrian gigs opening for Procol
Harum between Oct. 19 and Oct. 27, but problems
getting an approved Italian schedule disrupted the band’s plans for those
countries, as well as the plans for Switzerland and Belgium. As can be seen below, after leaving Italy, details
are very sketchy as to exact dates, cities and venues of a number of the
concerts.
Early
evidence suggests that Tir Na Nog
was supposed to play support at the Italian shows, but the progressive band Acqua Fragile took over the support slot. Around this time period, Acqua
Fragile opened for a number of the British progressive groups but, according to
their bass player, they considered Giant to be the finest, most talented band
they had the pleasure to support. It
seemed to be common policy in Italy that two sets per day were played when
performing in smaller theaters, while the larger halls hosted just one set.
Italian tour with Acqua
Fragile Oct. 1973
Oct. ? Padova,
Italy
UNCONFIRMED. According to a detailed fan report, a concert
may have been added in Padova on this tour, possibly on a weekday. Although not advertised in published tour
schedules, the fan claims it was held in a local theatre, since demolished,
before an audience that was a bit colder in response toward the newer material
than they were toward OCTOPUS and earlier material. This gig was supposedly even recorded by a
different audience member, but the tape is presumed lost. Unfortunately, no further evidence has turned
up to confirm this gig. A member of regular
tour openers Acqua Fragile is certain that, if Giant
did play in Padova, his band did not participate.
Oct. 9 Catania,
Italy Teatro Ambasciatori
There
were two shows on this date in a theater that was small and cramped. Acqua Fragile
opened both shows. In a 1975 interview,
Derek boasted about the fact that Giant had once been able to play a date in
Sicily, implying it to be a rare occurrence.
Actually, the band played at least twice in Sicily, the two known dates
being this one and the next night in Palermo.
Oct. 10 Palermo,
Italy Teatro
Biondo
There
were again two shows with Acqua Fragile opening
both. There had been some evidence that
the band actually played in Frankfurt, Germany on this date, but the Palermo
show has since been confirmed.
Oct. 12 Bari, Italy Teatro Petruzzelli
Acqua Fragile opened the show. During the afternoon soundcheck, the opening
band ran through the GG song Giant.
They believed they were alone but were surprised when, at the end, GG
band members started applauding from backstage. The theater was full with 3,500 in attendance.
Bari
- poster on wall Oct. 12, 1973
Oct. 13 Rome, Italy Palazzo dello Sport
Acqua Fragile opened the show. A tape of this concert once existed, but its
whereabouts are now unclear.
Rome Oct. 13, 1973
Oct. 15 Reggio
Emilia, Italy Palazzo dello Sport
Acqua Fragile opened the show. While GG was fighting to put together a
viable Italian tour, Reggio Emilia was the first city to actually grant
approval for them to appear. Other
Italian dates did eventually materialize, as seen here, but attempts to play in
Bologna, Vercelli, Varese, Brescia and Bergamo all fell through.
Oct. 16 Ancona,
Italy Teatro
Metropolitan
two
shows with Acqua Fragile opening both
Oct. 17 Treviso,
Italy Teatro
Garibaldi
There
were two shows and a tape exists of one of them, but it’s not known which. At the recorded show, during the guitar solo
to In a Glass House, Gary threw in a brief theme from Peel the Paint. Acqua Fragile
opened both sets.
Oct. 18 Milan, Italy Palalido
CANCELED. Some tour advertising in the Italian
press included this date, while other ads did not, but this concert seems to
have been canceled. At the time, the
municipal authorities in Milan heavily restricted the staging of “pop music”
concerts at Palalido.
This was possibly because of the rioting that took place at other recent
rock concerts in Milan, including the Gentle Giant gig on Jan. 4, 1973 at this
very venue.
Oct. 19 Torino,
Italy Palazzo
dello Sport
Acqua Fragile opened before an audience of over 5,000. A soundboard recording of this show,
originally owned by a band member, was first released on the 2001 Glass House
CD IN A PALASPORT HOUSE and again, in mp3 form, on the band's SCRAPING
THE BARREL boxset. In 2019, it was
remastered and included, in the best quality yet available, as part of the UNBURIED
TREASURE boxset. A roadie at the
show incorrectly remembers this recording as being made in January 1974, but GG
did not play in Italy at that time.
Torino Oct. 19, 1973
Oct. 20 Genova,
Italy Teatro Alcione
Two
shows were played on this date, in the afternoon and evening, both of them
before sold out capacity crowds of 1,500.
Yet another tape exists, possibly of the afternoon show, this one
showing that Gary again played the Peel the Paint theme during his guitar
solo. Before Plain Truth, Derek
thanks the crowd while giving a polite mention to the city’s two football
clubs, Genoa and Sampdoria. Acqua Fragile opened both shows.
Oct. 21 Travagliato, Italy Supertivoli
A
tape exists of this show, as well. Acqua Fragile opened.
The sound at the venue was said to be poor, as noted by several fans at
the show, one blaming the inadequate sound system. A press review cited the band’s performance
as “magnificent” while complaining about traffic and local government restrictions
adversely affecting the event. One fan
said the venue was small and crowded, making sitting on the floor
uncomfortable.
Oct. 22 Genova,
Italy Teatro Alcione
A
fan report surfaced long ago that Giant had returned to Genova for one more
show after playing two sold out shows there on Oct. 20. The report claimed this third gig was
scheduled by popular demand and took place on a Monday, two days after the
previous gigs. This would place this
last-minute show on Oct. 22 which was indeed a Monday, but it seemed no further
confirmation could be found. Now, at
last, a member of Acqua Fragile has confirmed that
this encore Genova performance on Oct. 22 did actually take place, his band
again opening for Giant. The band member
claims the venue was full, while the original fan report oddly had a tiny
audience of only 20-30 people. This
seems incredibly unlikely, so it can be assumed the fan may have witnessed a
rehearsal or a soundcheck, or he is mixing up two totally different
concerts. Originally, some tour
advertisements had GG scheduled to play the Palazzo dello
Sport in Novara on this date. However,
Novara is also another city where municipal authorities were not keen on
allowing rock concerts, so the date there must have been canceled. Additionally, Record Mirror advertised
a Basel, Switzerland gig on Oct. 22, but it seems that took place the following
night, as listed below.
Oct. 23 Basel,
Switzerland Festsaal Mustermesse
The
band did intend to play a concert in Switzerland on this date and one fan
report has it occurring at this Basel venue.
The report states that GG headlined with an unknown local
keyboard/synthesizer player opening.
Amazingly, however, Record Mirror advertised Oct. 23 as the
scheduled date for GG’s very first concert behind the iron curtain, in
Belgrade, Yugoslavia. This certainly did
not take place, nor did a couple dates in Russia the group was trying to book
for late October.
Oct. 24 Switzerland
UNCONFIRMED. City and venue are unknown.
New Musical
Express eventually published an
updated German itinerary, now placing the band in that country between October
25 and October 31. It is not certain
this exact schedule was followed either, as not all of the dates are known. It also seems very few were with Procol Harum, as originally
intended. The same newspaper article
stated the band was now to be in Belgium between Nov. 1 and Nov. 4, but nothing
at all is known about these planned concerts.
Oct. 26 Berlin,
Germany Deutschland
Halle
Folk
guitarist Leo Kottke went first, then Giant, both
opening for Procol Harum.
Oct. 27 Hamburg,
Germany Congress
Centrum
Procol Harum headlined this show
also. A local Hamburg musician named
Vince Weber played first, followed by Leo Kottke. Giant was third to play, right before the
headliners. Oddly, some of these acts
were originally scheduled at separate concerts, both on earlier dates, but low
ticket sales led to all the performers being combined into this one bill on
Oct. 27.
Hamburg
ad and ticket Oct. 27, 1973
Oct. ? Dortmund,
Germany Market Hall
The
exact date of this concert is not known although, as stated above, it was
probably sometime between Oct. 25 and Oct. 31.
Giant had no support act for this gig.
The small venue literally served as a marketplace, described by an
attendee as a place “where in the morning, pigs might have been sold”. He said it still smelled that way in the
evening.
Oct. ? Heidelberg,
Germany
UNCONFIRMED. There are indications the group may have played
in Heidelberg during this tour though the exact date is unknown. However, a live tape of this Heidelberg show
is even rumored to exist.
Oct. 29 Frankfurt,
Germany Jahrhunderthalle
Giant
may have played without an opening act at this gig, for which a tape
exists. An earlier report that this gig
was held earlier in the month on Oct. 10 is untrue.
Frankfurt
ticket Oct. 29, 1973
Oct. 30 Munich,
Germany Theater an
der Brienner Strasse
Nov. 16 The
BBC recorded a short live set in Golder's Green,
Dec. 4 At
London's Langham Studio 1, the band did their eighth BBC studio session,
broadcast on Jan. 8, 1974. This entire
session, consisting of Excerpts from Octopus and Way of Life,
appears on the OUT OF THE WOODS and TOTALLY OUT OF THE WOODS
albums.
Dec. 8 The
BBC broadcast the Nov. 16 Hippodrome show on its In Concert radio show,
narrated by Mike Harding. Guitarist Dave
Ellis also performed on the program. It is
interesting to note that, for some unknown reason, a small section of The
Advent of Panurge from Excerpts from Octopus was edited out of this
broadcast and did not appear on the official CD either. However, some of this concert was included in
an episode of the American Rock Around the World radio show, broadcast
on July 20, 1975, and there it does include the missing section of music.
Ad for BBC In Concert radio
broadcast Dec. 8, 1973
Dec. 1973 - Jan. 1974 GG's sixth album, THE POWER AND THE
GLORY, was recorded at
There are
a number of fan recollections of Giant playing with other bands in North
America in late 1973 or early 1974. These
include supposed gigs in
1974
Jan. 8 The band's eighth BBC session from
Dec. 4, 1973 was broadcast on Top Gear hosted by John Peel. It’s not known who else may have had sessions
appearing on this episode.
New
Musical Express and Record Mirror had early on announced a second
try at a tour of America, this time starting in Memphis, Tennessee on Jan. 27
and running for five weeks, but this tour was also canceled, like the one the
previous November and December. In March
of 1974, Gentle Giant did hit the road again, but it was another tour of Great
Britain, supported by String Driven Thing.
Unfortunately, the band continued to feel that they were not always well
accepted in their homeland, compared to the rest of the world, even though
Derek incorrectly claimed a few months later that this UK tour was sold
out. Following this, they scheduled
another swing through Europe with String Driven Thing still in tow as
support.
TYPICAL SETLIST (Spring 1974)
The Runaway/Experience - During this intro
tape, a huge glittery sign spelling out “GIANT” was lowered down above the
stage. These two songs were combined by use
a of a prerecorded keyboard bridge. The
Runaway was shortened, due to Kerry's discomfort with singing in a live
setting.
Prologue - This song made a brief return to the
setlist.
Funny Ways
Excerpts from Octopus
Nothing at All
Plain Truth
In a Glass House
Melody
Maker ad for UK Spring
tour March 1974
Mar. 8 Chatham,
England Central Hall
It
had been advertised that the UK tour was to begin on March 4 but it apparently
was pushed back to March 8. String
Driven Thing opened at this show.
Starting with this tour, a new stage prop was added to the
presentation. Suspended above and behind
the band could be seen the word “GIANT”, hung in large, shimmering
letters. A fan at the concert reports
that at one point, a spotlight was shone on this sign from the back of the
hall, reflecting countless shafts of light into the room. The effect was said to be quite magical. Ray claims to have had his Hagstrom guitar stolen at this venue, though exactly when
is not clear.
Chatham ticket Mar. 8, 1974
Mar. 9 Norwich,
England University
of East Anglia - Main Hall
Giant
played at this University several times and a fan who attended all of them clearly
recalls one from the early 1970’s at which a student film crew of at least two
cameras in different locations was present.
It’s not known whether it was this gig or a different one, nor is it
known if the University actually possesses the film in its archives. In the 1970’s the University had its own
student TV station called Nexus which often filmed portions of musical events
on campus and broadcast them on its “In Concert” program. It is just conjecture at this point but, if
it was a Nexus crew that was spotted at a gig, it’s unlikely that the film
still survives today. Of course, it
cannot be ruled out either. This same
fan was also fortunate enough to be present for another interesting scene at
one of these
Norwich
ad Mar. 9, 1974
In March,
notices began appearing in the British music press about Giant’s involvement
with an upcoming feature film. New
Musical Express was first with a report that Kerry was working on the
musical score for an upcoming Hemdale production
starring Suzannah York, with a planned release later in the year. By August, more reports appeared in both New
Musical Express and Sounds that provided more details. The movie was to be about the adventures of
Robin Hood, with British actors Stanley Baker and Peter Finch among the
stars. Giant was to be involved not only
in the writing, but also in the performing of the music. It is true that Kerry did begin composing
music for this soundtrack, but his involvement with the film was
short-lived. The movie finally came out
as Robin and Marian but it was not released until 1976, it was not
produced by Hemdale, and it did not feature York,
Baker, or Finch. It also did not end up
using any of Kerry’s music. Fortunately,
one of Kerry’s pieces originally written for the film was later refashioned for
Giant and appeared as the song Talybont on
their FREE HAND album in 1975.
Mar. 11 Manchester, England Free
Trade Hall
String
Driven Thing opened.
Manchester
ticket Mar. 11, 1974
Mar. 13 Guildford,
England Civic Hall
String
Driven Thing opened. This was a late
addition to the tour schedule. After
opening the show, the members of String Driven Thing were spotted in the
balcony watching Giant’s set. At the
time, some sort of glittery ball hung over the stage, serving as one of GG’s
stage props After this show, an
acquaintance of Giant’s revealed to an audience member that the band did not
like the ball and used to “kick it around”, hoping to break it.
Mar. 14 Plymouth,
England Guildhall
String
Driven Thing opened. A tape exists from
this show. During Gary’s In a Glass
House guitar solo, he gives a nod to Cream by playing a fragment of Spoonful.
Mar. 15 Swansea,
Wales Guildhall -
Brangwyn Hall
String
Driven Thing opened. Brangwyn Hall is
actually one of the rooms inside the larger Guildhall.
Mar. 16 London,
England Drury Lane
- Theatre Royal
was
originally scheduled for Mar. 10. String
Driven Thing again opened, this time before a house that was reportedly only a
third full. A professional film crew
filmed a portion of Giant's set on this night.
New Musical Express stated that the film crew was from Germany
and that they were filming as part of a planned TV documentary. Some of this footage was shown on German
television on April 26, 1974 and possibly again on June 28, 1974. A small portion of this film, the ending of In
a Glass House taken from German TV, now appears, in color, on the official
2004 DVD release, GIANT ON THE BOX.
Excerpts from Octopus taken from this film was also broadcast on
Italian TV on June 2, 1976. This Italian
broadcast, shown in black and white, also appears on GIANT ON THE BOX. Additionally, the last few minutes of the
same medley were broadcast, again in color, on the BBC Old Grey Whistle Test
television program on Nov. 26, 1974 and this now appears, in both audio and
video format, on the 2006 GG AT THE GG DVD. New Musical Express also claimed that
"several surprises" were planned for the Mar. 16 concert,
specifically mentioning a 7’4” giant being used to greet concertgoers in the
lobby. To corroborate, Kerry and John
also recall the band inviting one of the tallest men in
London’s
Drury Lane poster Mar. 16, 1974
In
a Sounds interview given and published in March, during this UK tour,
Derek again brought up Kerry’s alleged commission to compose some music for the
Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, as had earlier been reported back in Sep. and
Oct. of 1973. Kerry has confirmed that
no such music was ever composed, but how such a rumor circulated in the first
place is still unclear, as is the fact that the story changed as it went
along. Originally, the live premiere of
an original Kerry piece was to have taken place in February, then it was to be arrangements of a few of the band’s songs, but now Derek claimed it was actually an orchestration of one
piece from ACQUIRING THE TASTE and it was to be performed soon during
the orchestra’s American Midwest tour.
Sounds interview excerpt with Derek Shulman Mar. 1974
Mar. 18 Birmingham, England Town
Hall
String
Driven Thing opened. After the show,
John Weathers noticed smoke in the balcony and the fire department was
summoned. The Birmingham Post the
next day credited him with saving the building, although they mistakenly
identified him as John Knight.
Birmingham
article about fire in venue Mar. 18,
1974
Mar. 19 Watford,
England Town Hall
A
tape exists of this concert for which String Driven Thing opened. The show was sold out
with a crowd of around 1,500 but there were no seats in the hall, so all
in attendance had to stand. The
acoustics were also far from ideal.
Mar. 20 Bedworth, England Civic
Hall
This
concert was not originally on the band’s itinerary but has been confirmed by
multiple sources, including records provided by the Civic Hall itself. The Civic Hall was a small town venue that
rarely staged concerts by name rock bands and this particular event was billed
as a “pop dance” and included String Driven Thing as support. Wryly commenting on the band’s struggles for
acceptance in England, Derek introduced Excerpts From Octopus as a
“massive hit on both sides of the Atlantic, except here in the UK”. The Coventry Evening Telegraph was
impressed but bemoaned the fact that a paltry 250 people even bothered to
attend. A tape of this show once existed
but is now believed lost.
Bedworth
- note in Civic Hall datebook Mar. 20,
1974
Mar. 21 Derby,
England King's
Hall
String
Driven Thing opened.
Mar. 22 Sutton in Ashfield, England Golden
Diamond
This
concert was originally scheduled for Mar. 24, but ads printed closer to the
event listed the date as Mar. 22. String
Driven Thing may not have opened as their own publicized itinerary did not
include this gig.
??? Torquay,
England Pavilion
Theatre
Three
separate fans remember seeing Giant at this venue in the mid 1970’s. None of these eyewitnesses can recall an
exact date, but it seems to have been narrowed down to Spring 1974. Melody Maker had at one time announced
additional tour dates pending between March 20 and March 28, not all of which
are known. Although not certain, this
Torquay concert could very well have taken place in this timeframe. Interestingly, one of the three fans at this
show also seems to recall seeing the band at a second Torquay gig, this time at
the Torquay Town Hall. Not even the year
can be pinned down this time, but he believes a tape of one of the two shows
may exist.
Mar. 28 Portsmouth,
England Guildhall
String
Driven Thing opened. During John’s drum
solo, someone in the back of the hall was talking and yelling too loudly. John stopped and deadpanned to the overly
exuberant fan, ”Excuse me,
old bean, am I interrupting your conversation?”
Mar. 29 Bournemouth,
England Winter Gardens
String
Driven Thing opened.
Bournemouth
ticket Mar. 29, 1974
Apr. 4 Frankfurt,
Germany Jahrhunderthalle
String
Driven Thing opened.
Apr. 5 Munster,
Germany Munsterlandhalle
String
Driven Thing opened. Two distinct
recordings, taped by different people in the crowd, exist of this show. The first recording appears, in its entirety,
on the PROLOGUE CD on the Glass House label. The song In a Glass
House from this first recording has also been released officially as a
bonus track on the 2000 Alucard CD reissue of the IN
A GLASS HOUSE album. A few minutes
of The Runaway, Experience and Funny Ways from the second
recording are included in the GG AT THE GG DVD, where they are
synchronized with several minutes of private 8mm film from this same show,
filmed by yet another member of the audience.
The entire second recording finally saw official release in 2019 with
its inclusion in the UNBURIED TREASURE boxset.
Apr. 6 Stuttgart,
Germany Gustav-Siegle-Haus
On
this evening, Alan Knight, a gentleman who roadied
for GG in the spring of 1974, took over 30 photos of the band, but his camera
was unfortunately stolen. The road crew
had their hands full during the show as the hydraulics controlling GG’s left
loudspeaker stand were not functioning, causing the stand to continually slip
down. String Driven Thing probably
opened but their presence on the bill has not been verified.
Apr. 7 Kehl, Germany Stadthalle
String
Driven Thing opened.
Kehl ticket Apr. 7, 1974
Apr. 8 St. Gallen, Switzerland Kongresshaus
Schutzengarten
String
Driven Thing opened. The German version
of Sounds magazine advertised the venue as Volkshaus
Burgvogtei but that is probably untrue. A tape of this gig exists, as well.
Apr. 9 Munich,
Germany Theater an
der Brienner Strasse
String
Driven Thing opened.
Apr. 10 Hamburg,
Germany Musikhalle
A
ticket stub from this show announced the bill simply as "Gentle Giant and
Guests". However, it has been
confirmed that String Driven Thing did indeed open. Only about 200 fans are reported to have
attended this gig, in a hall built for just over 2,000.
Hamburg Apr. 10, 1974
Originally,
the band had set their mind on yet another try at an American tour after the
initial European dates, starting in mid April
somewhere in Florida and running for four weeks. This was to be their third attempt but,
again, it did not work out. Instead,
after playing in Germany, GG scheduled a significant number of dates in
France. This French tour was mentioned
in New Musical Express and advertised in more detail in the French music
press at the time. It is the only known
time the band ever planned an extensive stay in that country but,
unfortunately, the entire tour was canceled.
The entire original French tour itinerary can be found below. Giant never earned extensive press coverage
in France and did not have the same impact there early on that they enjoyed in
some other European nations.
Somewhere
around this time, they also intended another swing into Italy to play some
dates there. However, there was much
political upheaval and rioting in Italy at the time. Rock concerts by non-Italian bands were not
common, Gentle Giant being one of the few bands able to play there with any
regularity. Some municipal authorities
in that country viewed Gentle Giant as performers of “serious music”, not
simply as a rock band. Still, the group
was forced to abandon their Spring 1974 plans there. It’s possible they went ahead with a small
number of concerts, but they very well may have canceled all appearances. One fan seems to remember an April show in
Rome, but it is not confirmed. A rumor
of GG being filmed in April for Italian television is also unconfirmed.
Ad for canceled French
tour Apr. 1974
Apr. 17 Nantes,
France Salle
Paul-Fort
CANCELED. On this
evening, the French band Magma was brought in as a replacement for Giant. String Driven Thing had been scheduled to
open, but it’s unknown if they remained on the bill.
Apr. 18 Le Mans,
France
CANCELED. String
Driven Thing had been scheduled to open.
Apr. 19 Toulouse,
France Palais des
Sports
CANCELED. String
Driven Thing had been scheduled to open.
Apr. 20 Menton, France
CANCELED. String
Driven Thing had been scheduled to open.
Apr. 21 Marseille,
France Salle
St-Georges
CANCELED. String
Driven Thing had been scheduled to open.
Apr. 22 Rodez, France
CANCELED. String
Driven Thing had been scheduled to open.
Apr. 23 Lyon, France Salle Rameau
CANCELED. String
Driven Thing had been scheduled to open.
Apr. 24 Grenoble,
France Grenoble
Theatre
CANCELED. String
Driven Thing had been scheduled to open.
Apr. 26 Clermont-Ferrand,
France
CANCELED. String
Driven Thing had been scheduled to open.
Apr. 26 The
German TV network Bayrischer Rundfunk broadcast some
footage from Giant's spring 1974 tour on a program called Szene
74, the footage being from the band's London gig of Mar. 16. A small portion of this has been included in
the official DVD, GIANT ON THE BOX.
Seen on the DVD is the guitar and drums ending portion of the song In
a Glass House. Film of Renaissance
was shown on the same broadcast, the theme of which was “Youth and Sexuality”.
Ad for “Szene
74” German TV broadcast Apr. 26, 1974
Apr. 27 Uckange,
France
CANCELED. String
Driven Thing had been scheduled to open.
Apr. 29 Colmar,
France
CANCELED. String
Driven Thing had been scheduled to open.
Apr. 30 Lille,
France
CANCELED. String
Driven Thing had been scheduled to open.
May 5 Breda,
Holland Turfschip
GG
headlined this one day festival, sharing the stage with several other acts,
including Kayak and Dizzy Man’s Band. A
fan recalls the band jumping off the ground just before the opening lights came
on, giving the impression of the band "falling from the sky" to start
the show. It's unknown whether this was
a regularly used gimmick. Another fan in
the crowd recorded Giant’s set, but the tape is now believed to be lost. Kerry admits to having fond memories of the
times the band played in Holland through the years.
Breda
ad May 5, 1974
May ? Articles in Sounds and New Musical Express
stated that the band was to do six college gigs in England in early May. No details are known.
Once
again, evidence indicates that the band unsuccessfully attempted, for the
fourth time, to schedule an American tour, this time beginning on either May
14, May 17, or May 18. According to Melody
Maker, it was to last until the end of June, while Sounds reported
that it was to be an eight-week tour. New
Musical Express described it as the group’s “first U.S. headlining
tour”. However, keeping the band's
losing streak going, it was canceled, like all the previous attempts.
May 29 The band recorded So Sincere, Aspirations,
Playing the Game, and The Face, all songs from their new album,
at their ninth BBC studio session in
June 11 Toledo, Ohio Agora Ballroom
CANCELED. This is the only specific date that has been identified so far
from the aborted May - June U.S. tour, as evidenced by a newspaper
advertisement.
Toledo - ad for canceled
gig June 11, 1974
June ? After the recording sessions for THE POWER AND THE GLORY
were completed, WWA requested the band record a single to coincide with the album’s
release. The band was not keen on the
idea but Kerry and Ray each wrote a song for this purpose. In 1975, Ray said, tongue in cheek, that after
recording these two songs, they "released the worst one". It is not known with certainty when they returned
to the studio to record these songs, but June 1974 has been suggested. The song they ultimately selected was Kerry’s
which was titled Power and the Glory.
Despite the similarity in title, the song was only released as a single
and did not appear on the album itself.
Interestingly, remaining audio fragments of Ray’s song can be found on
the SCRAPING THE BARREL boxset, where they are titled FBI 1 and FBI
2.
June
15 Sheffield,
England Sheffield University - Student Union
This was a one-off
concert, between regular tours, although a longer UK tour was at one time
considered for the month of June. The
stage was very small, creating a very intimate setting.
Sheffield article
June 15, 1974
June 28 It's
not certain, but possibly the German TV network Bayrischer
Rundfunk once again broadcast footage from Giant's spring 1974 tour, filmed at
the band's London gig of Mar. 16. This
time, it’s rumored that as much as 45 minutes of music was shown. The network had already broadcast at least
some of this footage on Apr. 26.
July 1 Giant's
ninth BBC session from May 29 was broadcast on Sounds of the Seventies,
hosted by Bob Harris, as were sessions by Ducks De Luxe and 10cc.
Sounds and New Musical Express both published articles in their
Aug. 3 issues stating that GG were planning to make some sort of promotional
film around September in support of their upcoming new album, THE POWER AND
THE GLORY. This probably referred to
the concert film the band eventually made in Brussels in January 1975. Although plans were delayed, that concert
film did help introduce THE POWER AND THE GLORY to a wider European
audience but by the time it finally aired on Aug. 10, 1975, the band were
already in the process of releasing the next album, FREE HAND.
Sep. 6 Penzance, England The
Garden
UNCONFIRMED. A poster exists advertising a Sep. 6 show
in this modestly sized town at the southwestern tip of England. The poster mentions no other act on the
bill. The authenticity of this poster is
still in question, as no other information is known as to concerts the group
may have played during this time period, either in England or elsewhere.
Penzance
- poster for unconfirmed show Sep. 6,
1974
Sep.
22 THE POWER AND THE GLORY
album was released in America sometime in September, with Sep. 22 being a good
possibility. After failing to secure a
label to release their previous album in the US, Giant was now signed to
Capitol Records there. They were still
with WWA in the UK.
Oct. ? The Power and the Glory
single, written by Kerry and probably recorded during the previous
June, was released in England during the first week of
October, apparently around the same time as the new album. An ad in Sounds indicated that the
single came out first, although it may have been just a matter of days. Eventually, Power and the Glory was
also included on the 1975 compilation album, GIANT STEPS, as well as
being added as a bonus track on later CD reissues of their THE POWER AND THE
GLORY album. It ended up being the
group’s only non-LP single, although it was never released as a single in
America.
Ad for Power and the the
Glory UK single release 19741000
Oct.
4 Pinning down exactly when THE
POWER AND THE GLORY album was released in England has proven very
difficult, but this seems to be the most reliable date. Back in February 1974, New Musical Express
announced the album would be out in May, but this certainly did not
happen. Next, a number of UK press
reports pointed to a date of June 21.
Later still, this date of October 4 popped up in the press, making the
June date unreliable. However, even if
the “official” release date was pushed back to October, British copies of the
album had certainly appeared in the marketplace, unofficially, as early as late
June. Derek himself has recalled that a
large number of copies leaked into the shops prematurely.
Go on
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Tour History