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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. Unfortunately, the split was
acrimonious and led to a years-long rift between Phil
and his brothers. Still, after some
soul-searching, 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 ran
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 On this
date, Giant made its very first confirmed appearance on American television on the
St. Louis, Missouri late-night music program Tube Trip. It’s possible their filmed contribution to
the program had already been aired on an earlier episode in 1972, but that is
not certain, while this Feb. 11, 1973 episode has been
verified. Tube Trip was inspired
by earlier free-form rock programs, particularly Detroit Tube Works
which had been shown in 1970 and 1971 in Detroit, Michigan. When that show ended, its reruns were
syndicated and shown in several other Midwest cities, including St. Louis,
until the middle of 1972. At that time,
KDNL-TV, an independent St. Louis television station tried out its own
similarly formatted show, using the simpler name of Tube Trip,
broadcasting only sporadically in 1972.
It was also simulcast over St. Louis radio on KSHE-FM. A more regular schedule of broadcasts began
at the start of 1973, by which time it was also being simulcast on WDAF-TV and KUDL-FM
radio in Kansas City, Missouri, where it replaced a short-lived, poorly produced
late-night music program called Underground. Technically, this Feb. 11 episode was shown
first in Kansas City in the early morning hours, with the actual St Louis
broadcast occurring later that night.
None of the show’s episodes still exist today, but it’s thought the
program typically included a free-form mix of big name acts and local talent, films of live performances,
album tracks, interviews and electronic imagery. Giant’s own contribution, probably filmed in late
September 1972, seems to have been a live performance of one unknown song
filmed in a TV studio in St. Louis, specifically for this program. On this Feb. 11 episode,
the other acts featured were Osibisa and a band named Julia. Giant’s segment also appeared on two more
episodes in the Spring of 1973, where it was combined with different acts. The original broadcasts concluded in May but
in that month, a number of the episodes were
syndicated to a television and radio station in Atlanta, Georgia. There, the episodes ran until August at which
time the Tube Trip program came to an end.
St.
Louis - ad for first confirmed Tube Trip TV broadcast and opening
titles Feb. 11, 1973
Feb. 23 Devizes, England Corn Exchange
There is mounting evidence that GG
participated in this show, where they opened for Thin Lizzy. The concert was marred by violence between
the audience and some members of the Hell’s Angels motorcycle gang and, although
Derek tried to calm things down from the stage, there wasn’t much he could
do. One fan in the 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
in this area of England for Thin Lizzy in what he described as a “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. This was the group’s very first concert as a
five-piece band, following the departure of Phil Shulman, and it makes sense
that they would want a warmup gig or two before starting their upcoming full
North American tour. Gary 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
At this second post-Phil Shulman show, the
change in line-up was explained from the stage by Phil having 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 was
probably on Mar. 4, although it could have been on Feb. 25. They rehearsed for several hours in the
theatre on the afternoon of the gig in order to work
out further bugs in their new stage show.
This show could be viewed as a second warmup gig. 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. Two fans recall tickets
being quite inexpensive, one stating they only went on sale the day before,
while a close associate of the band remembers this being a totally free
concert. There are also conflicting
reports as to whether the theatre was full.
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 headlined this show,
preceded by Edgar Winter. Giant played
first and began their set a bit before the scheduled 8:00 P.M. start time,
probably because the anticipated length of the triple
bill. The concert was sold out with
10,000 or more fans in attendance. Winter
appeared with Giant several times in the first part of 1973, and Phil professed
great admiration for him. Interestingly,
Derek stated in a press report at the time that he did not share his brother’s
respect for Winter.
Mar. 9 Chicago, Illinois Kinetic Playground
This date illustrates how concert bills
were frequently changed and shifted around in this time
period. 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 date of Mar. 4, the Chicago Tribune advertised a bill of
Jo Jo Gunne with opening act Malo at that city’s Kinetic Playground. However, beginning on Mar. 8, this Chicago
paper printed a brief announcement that Jo Jo Gunne and Malo had canceled their
appearance and were being replaced by a brand-new bill of Tranquility, Gentle
Giant and Wildflower. For whatever
reason, GG had backed out of the Nashville show and did end
up in Chicago at the last minute, although the exact order of the three bands
is not clear. It’s since been confirmed
that Edgar Winter did indeed play in Nashville on this evening, but with the
New Rhythm and Blues Quartet in support.
Early
Nashville and later Chicago press notices
Mar. 9, 1973
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. Another
reviewer confirmed that the group started with Prologue during which
Kerry’s electric piano actually fell onto the ground,
but he fortunately managed to carry on.
This reviewer also noted the band had to endure some sound balance
problems. Additionally, the crowd was a
bit noisy on this evening, so GG at times reverted back
to the “rock out” style of presentation they used when opening for Black
Sabbath in 1972.
Louisville ad Mar. 10, 1973
Mar. 11 Cleveland, Ohio Music Hall
Giant shared the bill here with Focus
and Mark/Almond. However, even though a large number of ads and articles about the show have been
located, the exact order of the bill is still unclear. Some press clearly stated Focus was to
headline, while other press had Mark/Almond holding that honor, with Focus
playing either first or second. Even a
local review was not definitive, although the reviewer did complain about
boring violin and drum solos ruining Giant’s otherwise fine set. At this point, the only thing certain about
the bill is that Gentle Giant did not headline.
Cleveland press notices with
conflicting headliners Mar. 11, 1973
Mar. 11 Giant appeared
on another episode of the Tube Trip television show, this time sharing air time with other featured acts Mama Lion and Ship. Best evidence is that the same clip was shown as was
featured on the earlier Feb. 11 episode, that being a live rendition of one
song filmed in a TV studio. This March episode was first
shown in Kansas City where it was advertised as taking place on Mar. 10, but it
actually aired after midnight in the early hours of
Mar. 11. The St Louis broadcast followed
in the late evening. It was also
simulcast over the radio in both cities.
Like the earlier episode, this episode is missing.
Kansas
City - ad for second confirmed Tube Trip TV broadcast Mar. 11, 1973
Mar. 13 Wilmington, North Carolina University of North Carolina - Hanover
Hall
opened for Tranquility and headliners
Jo Jo Gunne. Although not mentioned in
all advertising, the venue was Hanover Hall, mainly a
gymnasium and sports facility for the University. In the student newspaper, The Seahawk,
a review was kind to Giant but heaped the most praise on Tranquility.
Wilmington 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 but after the audience had arrived, it was announced that
the full bill would not appear. There
had been some conflicting information, but it now seems certain that Edgar
Winter is the act that did not show up. Upon finding
this out, much of the crowd left, but those who stayed witnessed extended sets
by Giant first, then Jo Jo Gunne as the new headliners. There was a bad snowstorm on this night which
could have accounted for Winter’s cancelation.
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 the Mahavishnu
Orchestra with Giant opening the show.
As fans of the headliners, the members of Giant were very much looking
forward to this gig, but were disappointed in
Mahavishnu's performance. In a 1974
interview, they also revealed that they felt ignored by the Mahivishnu crowd at
this show. 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 Foghat and Edgar Winter in the gym at
Widener College in Chester, Pennsylvania.
However, they canceled out of that show, being replaced by Grin, and
ended up playing at the Felt Forum, instead.
A touch of class was brought into the festivities as a row of white
carnations lined the front row of the orchestra seats. Singer/songwriter James Taylor was in the
crowd and, since it was Mahavishnu violinist Jerry Goodman’s birthday, Taylor
brought a birthday cake on stage during the headliners’ set. There is one vague report, not corroborated
elsewhere, that Giant was slated to open for Mahavishnu one other time, in
Baltimore, Maryland, but canceled their appearance due to illness.
New
York - Felt Forum review Mar. 16, 1973
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. The
venue scheduled a repeat appearance by Winter on Apr. 13, this time with North
Wind in support.
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 and it’s known GG started their set a bit earlier than scheduled. 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. Originally, the bill for this concert was
planned as Focus opening for the Canadian band Lighthouse, but the headliner
canceled. The university then brought in
both Giant and Foghat as replacements, while Focus was moved to the headliner
slot. Unfortunately, tickets were
already printed with the original bill, as evidenced by the example shown here,
provided by A. D. Ligammari II.
Lewiston
ad with hand-written corrections Mar.
19, 1973
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. As a show of how popular GG was
becoming in Quebec Province, Pop-Rock published a reader’s poll in early
1973 and in one month in March, Giant received more votes in the
favorite group category than anyone else.
In that same month, OCTOPUS was voted as best alBum, while Kerry
and Ray were rated highly on their individual instruments, as was the team of
the Shulmans and Kerry as songwriters.
The band also received extensive coverage in a
number of other newspapers and magazines. Interestingly, though, the French language
papers were often more enthusiastic than the English language papers,
particularly in Montreal. Melody
Maker mentioned there were at one time nine 1973 concerts scheduled for
Canada, while a schedule printed in Billboard only listed six. As it turned out, there were seven, as listed
below, five of them in Quebec Province alone.
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 “crammed in” crowd of 6,000, to a full house of
5,000, and down to only around 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 Star 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 and press notice Mar. 24, 1973
Mar. 25 Sherbrooke,
Quebec Centre Culturel - Grande Salle
With this gig, Giant earned the
distinction of being the first international rock band to ever perform in
Sherbrooke. Necessite was once again the opening act, in front of more than 1,500
people. Sherbrooke’s La Tribune
reported that, by the end of the concert, one band member clearly appeared
ill. However, the newspaper offered no
details.
Sherbrooke
ad Mar. 25, 1973
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 both the
Toronto Star and the Globe and Mail, an opinion apparently shared
by the audience. In fact, Giant received
standing ovations after the Nothing At All drum
bash, after the Plain Truth violin solo, and after the final song. This third ovation turned to booing when it
became clear the band would not be returning for an encore. 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 ads 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.
Detroit
ad Mar. 30, 1973
Mar. 31 Waterloo, Ontario Waterloo Lutheran
University - Theater Auditorium
Giant opened for Wishbone Ash and was
preceded by Vinegar Joe at this general admission concert. Posters and newspaper ads show that two
complete performances were originally advertised, starting at 7:00 and 10:00
P.M. However, this was the result of
poor planning, as leaving room for all three acts plus setup time in between
was sure to make for a four-hour event, more than the allotted time. There ended up being just one performance,
starting at 10.00. This came as quite a
surprise to those who showed up for the early show but, fortunately, there was room
to fold both audiences in together for the late show. The venue was able to hold about 1,200 and,
after combining the two audiences, resulted in a sellout. Billboard mistakenly stated Giant was
scheduled to play in Buffalo, New York on this night, while other early
published ads had them opening for two sets with Quicksilver at New York City’s
Academy of Music on this very same night, but they were replaced on that bill
by Canned Heat and Joe Walsh’s Barnstorm.
In Waterloo, Giant received a standing ovation and unheeded cries for an
encore. 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 breaking all four strings, one at a time, although
this seems very unlikely and is disputed by another fan report. In a particularly encouraging review, one
local newspaper even stated that Giant’s showmanship could rival that of the
Rolling Stones. 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, at one point, required a police presence to restore order. The large percentage of younger, rowdy high
school students was blamed for this overall poor
behavior.
Waterloo poster Mar. 31, 1973
Apr. 3 Fort
Wayne, Indiana Lantern
another gig which may have been added
at the last minute. Fort Wayne’s very
own progressive rock band, Ethos Ardour, was the opening act. During GG’s final song, Plain Truth,
the power went out four separate times.
At first, the band was not thrown too badly by this with John managing
to keep an exciting beat and Derek even singing some of the instrumental parts. However, after the fourth time, the band began
to leave the stage in frustration, only to be coerced back by their tour
manager. They succeeded in finishing
their set but, although they had been enthusiastically received and they were
prepared to return for an encore or two, they played it safe and chose not
to. One fan report has about 1,100 in
attendance, while a member of Ethos Ardour recalls that the hall, while being
packed on this occasion, only held 800 at the most. A tape exists of Giant’s set.
Fort Wayne ad Apr. 3, 1973
Apr. 5 Macomb, Illinois Western Illinois
University - Western Hall
opened for Humble Pie before a near
capacity crowd. The university’s two
student newspapers had slightly different takes on the concert. The Catalyst used phrases like
“extremely monotonous and uninteresting” and “little organization, imagination,
or intelligence”. In contrast, the Western
Courier gave both acts high marks, stating that GG provided the listening
portion of the evening while Humble Pie provided the boogying portion. The Western Courier also criticized
the university’s concert board for failing to advertise Giant at all, and for
giving in to outrageous, expensive demands from the headliner, causing the
university to make very little money.
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. The Civic Center seated around
10,500 but was only half full on this night.
Many in the crowd were unaware that GG was on the bill, so some audience
members loudly voiced their disappointment at having an unexpected band delay
the appearance of the other bands. A
reviewer for the Roanoke Times was equally dismissive of both GG and
Foghat, referring to them only as “a pair of foppish rock groups”.
Roanoke ad Apr. 7, 1973
Apr. 8 Hampton,
Virginia Hampton Roads Coliseum
GG opened for Foghat and headliners
Humble Pie before about 5,000 fans. Once
again, Giant’s name did not appear in much of the pre-concert advertising, nor
was it on the tickets, so the audience drawn to this show for the other two
boogie/hard rock acts was understandably perplexed when Giant started their
set. One fan reported that the crowd
eventually 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 figure the
newspaper raised to 44 in a later story.
A reviewer in the Virginian-Pilot did write about the music but
was somewhat unimpressed with Giant’s performance, oddly describing one song as
a “poor imitation of distorted Led Zeppelin”.
A recording of GG’s opening song Prologue has surfaced, while the
entire half hour opening set is rumored to exist.
Hampton ad 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 in the late
evening. The other featured acts on this
episode were Black Oak Arkansas, White Bird and Peter Allen. GG’s segment was apparently the same as what had already
appeared twice before on the earlier episodes on Feb. 11 and Mar. 11, namely a
live performance of one song, filmed in a TV studio. Like the other episodes, this one is also
missing.
St.
Louis - ad for third confirmed 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 being an unadvertised, last-minute
substitute. Many in the crowd were not aware Giant was added 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. Other sources pointed to GG opening for the J. Geils Band on this date at the
Masonic Auditorium in Detroit, but that did not come to pass. 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. At one point, Billboard
announced that GG would be playing the Municipal Auditorium in San Antonio,
Texas on this night, but they were incorrect.
It was Giant’s second appearance at this Chicago club in just over a
month, having already played there on Mar. 9.
Chicago
press notice
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 Hofheinz
Pavilion in Houston, Texas on this night where, along
with Poco, they would open for Yes. They
did not, as the third act on the bill in Houston ended up being
singer/songwriter Tret Fure. However,
multiple ads in a number of other newspapers, right up
to the day of the concert, placed Giant in Cincinnati, where they were to open
for Edgar Winter and, in the headliner slot, Humble Pie. Unfortunately, evidence seems to conflict as
to whether GG actually appeared. One fan at the concert seems to clearly
recall Giant being present, but a local newspaper review
implied that only Edgar Winter and Humble Pie played, with Winter taking the
stage first. Whatever the case, Amusement
Business magazine listed an official attendance figure of 12,608.
Ad for unconfirmed Cincinnati
show 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 later ad 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.
canceled
San Francisco appearances Apr. 1973
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. The Henry Levitt
Arena was a very large venue located on the campus of the University of Wichita
which seated slightly over 10,000. Normally,
acts like Crimson or Giant would not have been able to play such a large place,
but the promoter had a good working relationship with the Arena so was able to
book this bill there. Still, only about
1,000 tickets were sold. An assistant to
the promoter recalls the sound system being insufficient and Giant not coming
across too well in the large, open space.
Oddly, Billboard listed the show as being held at the more moderately-sized Century II Convention Center, as do some
online King Crimson sources, but it was indeed at the Henry Levitt Arena, as
correctly advertised in the Wichita Eagle.
Wichita
ad Apr. 23, 1973
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.
Seattle
press notice
Apr. 27, 1973
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
CANCELED. The original
advertised bill for this night was the band War supported by Elvin Bishop
although, a few days before the show, Bishop dropped out and was replaced by
two support acts, Gentle Giant and, interestingly, opening the show, a
tongue-in-cheek jazzy soul band organized and led by the comedian Bill
Cosby. The correct full name of Cosby’s
group was Badfoot Brown and the Bunions Bradford Funeral Marching Band,
although all ads and press notices about this concert somehow listed incorrect variations
on that name. Unfortunately, the entire
show was canceled at the last minute after a member of War collapsed on stage
at a gig the night before, due to a recurring problem with hepatitis. 1,500 tickets had been
sold before the show was canceled.
Ad
for canceled San Bernardino show Apr.
29, 1973
To finish up their North American tour, the group played some
dates in Texas. At one of these shows,
the famous American TV actor Sherman Hemsley was brought backstage to meet the
band. He was very complimentary and
brought them a surprising gift, a bag of psychedelic mushrooms. Most of the band politely turned down the
offer.
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.
Attendance at the show was startlingly low, with estimates as low as
32. John Weathers himself has confirmed that hardly any tickets were sold and,
although the band would’ve been within its rights to cancel the concert, they
decided to go ahead with it. Those few who had bought tickets were invited to
come to the front and, by all accounts, were treated to a very energetic
performance. John actually
recalls it as being one of the best shows of the entire tour. 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.
Springfield May 2, 1973
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 again. At the time of this gig, the openers did not
have a drummer in their lineup, but they were considering adding one. For that reason, they asked John Weathers if
he would sit in on their soundcheck.
John agreed and it went well enough that Steeleye Span did indeed add a
drummer after that.
Austin poster May 4, 1973
May 6 Houston, Texas Santa Rosa Theater
Steeleye Span was the opening
band. John was not feeling well on this night,
suffering from a bad case of sunburn on the top of his head as
a result of spending too much time fishing on the beach in nearby
Galveston. The stage lights caused him
great discomfort, so the band had to shorten their set a bit.
Houston
press notice May 6, 1973
The French magazine Pop
2000 ran a notice in its May 1973 issue that Giant was going to be
appearing in France during the month of May.
No other details were provided and no
corroborating evidence of any French concerts, tour, or any other type of
appearance has been found.
June 9 Many of the episodes of the Tube
Trip television program produced in St. Louis on which Giant had already
appeared at least three times were eventually syndicated to radio and
television in Atlanta, Georgia. On this
date, Atlanta audiences got to see Giant for the first time as the episode
originally shown on Feb. 11 was shown there on station WTCG-TV and simulcast on
WZGC-FM radio. The episode, now missing, also featured Osibisa and
the band Julia. GG’s segment showed the
group performing one unknown song live in a St. Louis TV studio.
Atlanta
- Tube Trip syndicated broadcast
June 9, 1973
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.
In June and
July, Giant was booked to appear at three large German rock festivals. Unfortunately, they ended up canceling their
appearance at all three, for reasons that are not entirely clear. The European Stars and Stripes ran a
somewhat questionable review of the first two festivals, both in June, in which
they listed Giant among the bands that appeared, but this was apparently
nothing more than shoddy journalism.
Multiple eyewitnesses have come forth refuting the claim that Giant made
it to either of these June events.
Additionally, updated info printed for both June festivals was published in a Frankfurt newspaper and Giant was clearly
omitted from both cities. Likewise,
published information shows that the band didn’t make it to the July festival
either.
June 9 Berlin, Germany Waldbuhne
GIANT
DID NOT PLAY. Giant was
booked to participate in this, the first of Germany’s 1973 "Summer Rock
Festivals" but, as indicated above, best evidence indicates they did not
actually appear. This was a three
day-day rock event split between the cities of Berlin and Frankfurt that also
included, among others performers, Family, Ekseption,
Beck-Bogart-Appice, and Uriah Heep.
Attendance in Berlin was disappointing, with estimates as low as 6,500,
much lower than the size of the crowd in Frankfurt. The portion in Berlin was on June 9 and June
10, with GG scheduled for June 9.
Berlin - canceled appearance at first
“Summer Rock Festival”
June 9, 1973
June 10 Frankfurt, Germany Radstadion
GIANT
DID NOT PLAY. 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, with GG scheduled for June 10. A
review in the German Sounds magazine has now confirmed that GG definitely canceled their appearance here, as did the
Strawbs, Kathargo, Wild Turkey and the Edgar Broughton Band. This is unfortunate as a much better crowd
showed up in Frankfurt than did in Berlin, one estimate being as high as 24,000. The German press reported as many as 10,000
attendees lined up for up to three hours before the festivities even
began.
Frankfurt - canceled appearance at
first “Summer Rock Festival”
June 10, 1973
July 21 Frankfurt, Germany Radstadion
GIANT
DID NOT PLAY. 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. GG’s set was set to take place on July 21
but, once again, the German Sounds magazine has confirmed that GG
canceled their appearance, as did Black Sabbath, Canned Heat and Curved
Air. The promoters for this event
unwisely advertised some acts as participating before contracts were finalized,
so the program was a bit chaotic. 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. Attendance on this weekend has been stated as
around 20,000.
Frankfurt - canceled appearance at second
“Summer Rock festival”
July 21, 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
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 Southsea, England. The film, shot by Ray Shulman with the help
of a roadie, was intended to be projected onto smoke from a smoke machine, but
the idea failed and was never used. The
film now appears in the 2004 SCRAPING THE BARREL
boxset.
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. One fan reports this
was a standing-room only crowd.
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.
Oxford
ad Sep. 23, 1973
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’s orchestral
composition Sep. 1973
Sep. 29 Glasgow, Scotland City Hall
A tape exists of GG’s set. Wild Turkey opened the show. On stage, Derek announced that, on this same
evening, the group was competing with superstar Diana Ross who was in town performing at Glasgow’s Apollo Theatre.
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 - includes commemorative
plaque Sep. 30, 1973
Oct. 1 Cleethorpes, England Winter Gardens
Ads in the local newspaper showed GG
scheduled a concert here on this night outside of their current tour with Wild
Turkey. It was billed as a dance
sponsored by the nearby Grimsby College of Technology and the band Strider was
the opening act.
Oct. 2 Leicester,
England Palais de
Dance
Wild Turkey opened the show. The Average White Band, a fairly
new group at the time, was also 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.
Leicester
ad Oct. 2, 1973
Oct. 3 Bristol, England Top Rank
Wild Turkey opened the show.
Bristol
ad Oct. 3, 1973
Oct. 4 Llanelli, Wales - Glen Ballroom
This date was a late addition to the
band’s itinerary, but one attendee clearly recalls the show. Wild Turkey was advertised as opening the
show, but there’s a possibility it may have been someone else.
Determining exactly where the band was in the final days of this
UK tour has proven to be a confusing task.
The original itinerary had them playing at Gwyn Hall in Neath, Wales on
Oct. 4 and ending the tour at Friar’s
Club in Aylesbury, England on Oct. 5.
However, later ads had the additional date noted above at the Glen
Ballroom in Llanelli, Wales on Oct. 4. This
was supposed to push the Neath and Aylesbury shows back one day to Oct. 5 and
6, respectively, with Wild Turkey still advertised as opening both shows. However, ads have been located which have Giant
supposedly playing a gig by themselves at the Winter Gardens in Cleethorpes,
England, also on Oct. 4. This is a
particularly odd booking, as they were also advertised to
play at the same venue a mere three days earlier on Oct. 1, as shown
above. Clearly, the band’s schedule was
in flux for several days. It is worth
noting that, other than advertisements, no other corroboration of the Neath or
Aylesbury concerts has yet to turn up and, for his own
part, Gary Green believes that Giant never played Friar’s Club in Aylesbury.
Conflicting
advertising at end of UK tour Oct.
1973
The band next
embarked on a European tour which was supposed to fill the month of October and
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. Attempts to play in
Bologna, Vercelli, Varese, Brescia and Bergamo all fell through. 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 of now, no October gigs whatsoever have
been identified for anywhere outside of Italy and Germany.
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.
? Rezzato, Italy
UNCONFIRMED. As
noted above, Brescia was one of the Italian cities where authorities declined
to allow GG to perform on this tour. However,
one fan clearly recalls attending a show with a few friends and Acqua Fragile
opening, in Rezzato which is a bit outside of Brescia. Authorities in this smaller town may have
allowed such a booking, but this gig was not in the announced tour schedule and
remains unconfirmed.
Oct. 9 Catania, Italy Teatro
Ambasciatori
There were two shows in this Sicilian
city in a theater that was small and cramped.
Acqua Fragile opened both shows.
A fan recalls the late show running way behind schedule. It was quite unusual for rock bands to be
allowed to play in Sicily, the birthplace of the Mafia, but Giant were not only
allowed to play here in Catania, but they were welcomed with open arms. The band was a bit surprised that their
manager Patrick Meehan, himself involved in organized crime, asked to accompany
them to Sicily but, when they arrived in Catania, he introduced them to a local
Mafia kingpin who wined and dined them until early
morning. The members of GG had to act
politely and graciously, but the whole event definitely
unnerved them.
Catania
ad Oct. 9, 1973
Oct. 10 Palermo, Italy Teatro Biondo
There were again two shows with Acqua
Fragile opening both. Palermo is again
on the island of Sicily and the band was again
accompanied by their manager Patrick Meehan.
As happened the night before in Catania, they were fed and entertained
after the late show by a Mafia associate of Meehan’s and, once again, they were
very uncomfortable with being treated so lavishly by gangsters. Teatro Biondo seated around 900 and a fan in
attendance estimates 700-800 were at the afternoon show.
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 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. John has
told the story of how, while in Rome for a gig, the band was invited to tour a
theater and recording studio built for the personal use of Italian dictator
Benito Mussolini. The specific year this
took place is not known.
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.
This gig has been confirmed, although an earlier report had raised the
possibility that this gig was canceled.
Oct. 16 Ancona, Italy Teatro Metropolitan
two shows with Acqua Fragile opening
both. A fan at the afternoon show
remembers the venue being not at all full.
This same fan confirms that, during his drum solo, John still employed the
gimmick of blowing air through a plastic tube into one of his drums to change
its pitch, a trick first identified in the band’s April 1972 UK tour.
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. Teatro Garibaldi had a total capacity of only
around 420, but a fan report has the afternoon show “packed”. However, another fan who attended the evening
show believes it was at a different, larger theater, possibly Teatro Comunale. This fan remembers the evening show as being
sold out.
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
Some dates on this Italian tour
included both afternoon and evening sets, while other dates offered only an
evening show. Travagliato was the only city
where just a 4:00 P.M. afternoon show was played, with
no show in the evening. A tape exists of
this packed 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. This 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 is also incorrect.
Oct. 23 Belgrade, Yugoslavia
CANCELED. Record
Mirror had
at one point printed a notice that GG was planning on playing this date behind the
Iron Curtain, as well as possibly two concerts in Russia shortly after. Most certainly, none of this occurred.
Record
Mirror listing for erroneous
Belgrade gig Oct. 23, 1973
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.
This show ran late, as GG didn’t finish their set until 1:00 A.M.
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 poster Oct. 29, 1973
Oct. 30 Munich, Germany Theater an der Brienner Strasse
Munich
ticket Oct. 30, 1973
Apparently, a rumor was circulating at the time that Giant would
be appearing at the Oberrheinhalle in Offenburg, Germany on a
Saturday evening in 1973. One group of
GG fans who had previously seen and enjoyed the group’s visit to that city in January
1972 were so convinced by this rumor that they drove to the venue that night to
see the show. Much to their dismay,
there was no concert, only some sort of annual state rabbit show.
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. ? Recording began
on GG's sixth album, THE POWER AND THE GLORY at London's Advision
Studios, concluding in January 1974. It's
a concept album about the abuse of political power, an idea which, according to
John, was first proposed by Phil while he was still in the band. Interestingly, it was recorded during
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. Sharing
the program were sessions by Horslips and Colin Blunstone.
Jan. ? A claim has been
made that sometime in January 1974, GG recorded a live-in-the-studio session at
Studio Tempo in Montreal, Canada. They
are said to have shared studio time on that day with a Quebec area band called Contraction
who was there recording their own session intended for
eventual broadcast over CKVL radio on a program called Performance. In 2009, Contraction released their session
officially on a CD entitled Contraction - Live in 1974. In that CD’s liner notes, they described how
they immediately followed Gentle Giant in the studio on the day of
recording. Due to unspecified technical
difficulties during Giant’s session, Contraction was not able
to begin their own session until 1:00 A.M. A great deal of mystery surrounds this entire
incident, as Giant is known to have not toured in North America between May
1973 and October 1974. Of course, it is
possible that the band flew to Canada for purely promotional reasons which
could have included this session. It’s
just as likely that memories in the Contraction camp are faulty, with a totally
different band preceding them in the studio.
An ad in the local Montreal press confirms that Contraction’s session
did appear on CKVL’s Performance program in the early morning hours of
Feb. 1, but no other band is listed in the ad.
Whatever the case, if Giant did record a session in Montreal in January,
its purpose is not known, nor is its present
whereabouts. Much more information is
needed about these events.
Alleged
Montreal studio session Jan. 1974
Feb. 26 The BBC
rebroadcast Giant’s eighth session from Dec. 4, 1973
on John Peel’s Top Gear program.
Additional sessions aired this time were from
Steeleye Span and Christie Hennessy.
Several publications had early on
announced a second try at a tour of America, this time starting in Memphis,
Tennessee on Jan. 27, or possibly Feb. 1, and running for five or six 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 mostly 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 additional
details. These magazines stated that 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. A totally
different theory appeared in a Spring 1976 issue of Trouser Press which
claimed the project was to be an animated film called The New Adventures of
Robin Hood. It’s believed
such an animated film never materialized.
On the other hand, Gary believes the film in question may have been Robin
and Marian which was eventually produced and
filmed in 1975 and released in 1976. In
the end, this film 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. It is true
that Kerry, along with Ray, did begin composing demos for the soundtrack to
whatever this film was to be, but their involvement was short-lived. Fortunately, one of the pieces originally
written for the film was later refashioned for Giant and appeared as the song Talybont
on their FREE HAND album in 1975.
Another unused demo eventually surfaced on UNDER CONSTRUCTION
with the simple title of Robin Hood.
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.
Plymouth
flyer Mar. 14, 1974
Mar. 15 Swansea, Wales Guildhall - Brangwyn Hall
String Driven Thing opened. Brangwyn Hall is actually
one of the rooms inside the larger Guildhall.
Swansea
ad Mar. 15, 1974
Mar. 16 London, England Drury Lane - Theatre Royal
was originally scheduled for Mar.
10. String Driven Thing again opened,
this time before a sold-out crowd, according to the London Evening Standard. 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 - Drury Lane 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 with Derek
about Kerry’s orchestral piece Mar.
1974
Mar. 17 Chelmsford, England Chancellor Hall
UNCONFIRMED. Although
this concert, with String Driven Thing set to open, does not appear on the original
tour schedule, it was advertised in the March 16 issue of Sounds. However, no additional corroboration has yet
come to light and some evidence indicates String
Driven Thing could even have played this gig by themselves.
Mar. 18 Birmingham,
England Town Hall
String Driven Thing opened. After the show, band members noticed smoke in
the rafters about 60 feet above the stage and the fire department was
summoned. John Weathers climbed up to the
location of the flames and got a head start on extinguishing them before the
authorities even arrived. A couple stage hands helped him by securing a fire hose. The local Birmingham papers the next day
applauded John’s bravery, 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 chairs 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 diary listing and ad Mar. 20, 1974
Mar. 21 Derby, England King's Hall
String Driven Thing opened. Although Giant often had trouble reaching
audiences in their homeland, they had no trouble on this evening. In its review, the Derby Evening Telegraph
stated the band “won the undivided attention of an audience that was a
pulsating mass of excited bodies.” The
review also described the hall as “packed”.
Derby
ad Mar. 21, 1974
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.
The group’s activities
between Mar. 23 and Mar. 27 are not known, although Melody Maker had at
one time announced that additional tour dates may have been pending for this
timeframe.
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?”
Portsmouth
ticket Mar. 28, 1974
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. The Munsterlandhalle complex consists of
several facilities and Giant performed in a smaller hall. Historically, the hall had often been used to
house, among other things, agricultural events such as horse shows and
livestock markets. One fan at this show
remarked that on the night of the concert, the hall still smelled a bit like a
stable. 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.
Munster Apr. 5, 1974
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.
Munich
press notice
Apr. 9, 1974
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
As happened so often in the life of this band, the scheduling of
live performances was never simple, with dates and entire tours often being
moved around or scrapped completely.
This was again the case in the Spring of 1974. Originally, the band had set their mind on yet
another try at an American tour, 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 initially penciled in a couple dates in Switzerland, followed
by five dates in France, including a final one at the Olympia in Paris. The fate of the Swiss dates remains unclear,
but the tour of France was expanded to a more significant number of dates
which, oddly, no longer included a stop in Paris. 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 ended up being canceled. Derek had
been having stomach issues and was diagnosed with bleeding ulcers, so he needed
the time to rest. 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. The venue was a relatively small
indoor facility and attendees sat on the floor.
One 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.
Tentative
plan for six UK college gigs May 1974
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 This is the
date that BBC records indicate the band recorded their ninth BBC studio session
but exactly what transpired is unclear.
The session was broadcast on July 1 and although the master tapes are
missing, presumably erased, an off-air recording of the broadcast taped by a
fan has recently surfaced. Included were So Sincere, Aspirations, Playing
the Game, and The Face, all songs from their still unreleased new
album. However, the songs broadcast were
simply the album tracks, as opposed to newly recorded versions of the
songs. So Sincere and Aspirations
appear to be completely unaltered. Playing
the Game was shortened, with a brief edit in the middle, while The Face
includes an alternate vocal take by Derek and some minor mix variations. Possibly, the band provided the BBC with a
couple early unused mixes from their album sessions, or they could have
intentionally made the minor modifications on their own or in an unknown BBC
studio, specifically for broadcast. It is
not possible to know for sure, nor is it possible to determine what part of the
process actually took place on May 29.
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 they wrote three songs for this purpose. In 1975, Ray said,
tongue in cheek, that after recording these three 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 that
was ultimately selected they also titled The Power and the Glory but,
despite using the same name, it was only released as a single and did not
appear on the album itself. One of the
unused songs now appears on the SCRAPING THE BARREL boxset with the name
The Power and the Glory Second Song.
Remaining audio fragments of this and the other unused song can be found
on the same boxset, where they are titled The FBI
File #1 and The FBI File #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 was
broadcast on Sounds of the Seventies, hosted by Bob Harris, as were
sessions by Ducks De Luxe and 10cc. This
is the one, supposedly recorded on May 29, that was not a true BBC studio
session. Rather it included album
versions of four songs from THE POWER AND THE GLORY album with only
minor modifications in a few places.
This broadcast did serve, however, to introduce the UK to new Gentle
Giant music, as the album wouldn’t come out for three more months.
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.
Apparently, the band was scheduled to play some gigs in England
in early September, although very little documentation has been found, so the
exact number of gigs cannot be determined.
Only two have been identified so far, as evidenced below.
Sep. 6 Penzance, England The
Garden
CANCELED. Although an existing poster confirms
that this show was scheduled, a recently surfaced ad announces it was canceled
and re-scheduled for November. It
appears that the Edgar Broughton Band was scheduled in their place. Giant did indeed plan a UK tour for November
of 1974, but a gig in Penzance did not make the final cut. The point is moot as the entire November tour
was pushed back to December before being ultimately canceled for good. The Sep. 6 poster does not identify any other
act that may have been on the bill.
Poster for canceled Penzance gig Sep. 6, 1974
Sep. 8 Torquay, England Pavilion Theatre
Three separate fans remember seeing Giant
at this venue although, until recently, the date could not be determined. Now, advertising has been
located in the Herald Express confirming the date as Sep. 8,
1974. This was a Sunday, the only day of
the week at which the theatre staged rock concerts. A tape of Giant’s set is also rumored to
exist. The show was opened by local
singer/songwriter Drew Millin.
Torquay
ad Sep. 8, 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 non-LP
single The Power and the Glory, probably recorded 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, The 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 The Power and
the Glory UK single release Oct.
1974
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, followed
by a notice in Sounds that it had been delayed until September. Finally, this date of
October 4 popped up in the press. 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 to
Part Four
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