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Gentle Giant
Tour History
***
Part Three ***
*** Going On After Phil ***
(early 1973 - mid 1974)
new information
will be in RED
Immediately after the Italian tour of early 1973, Phil Shulman
left Gentle Giant, due to some serious personal differences and his concern
over the strain that life on the road was putting on his family. He was also considerably older than the
others. The group decided to continue as
a five-piece outfit. Their first tour as
a five-piece was also their second North American tour. It seems to have run between March and May of
1973, although there are indications that it may have been originally planned
to have started as early as Feb. 8 or 9.
If so, Phil's departure may have been responsible for the delay.
Shortly before leaving the band, Phil stated in the press that
they had had some offers from promoters to do some headlining in
TYPICAL SETLIST (Spring - Mid 1973)
Prologue
Alucard - may have been played more often earlier
in the tour
Funny Ways
Knots
The Advent of Panurge - The recorder quartet began to include a
rendition of Yankee Doodle, an addition which was commonplace during
many future tours.
Nothing at
All
Plain Truth - This may have only appeared in the band's
longer headlining gigs and more often later in the tour.
Mister Class
and Quality?/Peel the Paint - This THREE FRIENDS mini-medley
may also have only appeared in the band's longer gigs and earlier in the tour.
Even though they had to rearrange
their songs for one less member, their shows were still musically satisfying
and generally well-accepted. Besides Knots
and The Advent of Panurge, it seems no other OCTOPUS songs were
played.
Feb. 11 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 aired on TV and 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. The content of
Giant’s contribution is not clear. It
could have been something filmed specifically for the program, or it could have
been some of the footage filmed in Italy in June 1972. 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
whose set was marred by violence between the audience and some members of the
Hell’s Angels motorcycle gang. 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.
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
Even though some advertising for this
triple bill was unclear, it’s now confirmed that Focus
opened the show, GG played second, and Mark-Almond headlined. One local review complained about boring
violin and drum solos ruining Giant’s otherwise fine set.
Cleveland ads Mar. 11, 1973
Mar. 11 Giant appeared
on another episode of the Tube Trip television show, this time sharing air time with other featured acts Mama Lion and
Ship. What GG’s segment entailed is not
clear, but it was probably the same performance as featured on the earlier Feb.
11 episode. This March episode was first
aired 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.
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 Grin, Foghat and Edgar Winter in the gym
at
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 the band did indeed end up in
Waterloo. In fact, 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. Although it’s not known with certainty, GG’s
segment was probably the same as had appeared on the earlier episodes on Feb.
11 and Mar. 11.
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
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 was 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 TV station WTCG and simulcast on WZGC-FM
radio. The episode also featured Osibisa and the band Julia.
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.
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 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 can be seen below, after leaving Italy,
details are very sketchy as to exact dates, cities and venues of a number of
the concerts.
Early evidence suggests that Tir Na Nog
was supposed to play support at the Italian shows, but the progressive band
Acqua Fragile took over the support slot.
Around this time period, Acqua Fragile opened for a number of the
British progressive groups but, according to their bass player, they considered
Giant to be the finest, most talented band they had the pleasure to
support. It seemed to be common policy
in Italy that two sets per day were played when performing in smaller theaters,
while the larger halls hosted just one set.
Italian tour with Acqua
Fragile Oct. 1973
Oct. ? Padova, Italy
UNCONFIRMED. According to
a detailed fan report, a concert may have been added in Padova on this tour,
possibly on a weekday. Although not
advertised in published tour schedules, the fan claims it was held in a local
theatre, since demolished, before an audience that was a bit colder in response
toward the newer material than they were toward OCTOPUS and earlier
material. This gig was supposedly even
recorded by a different audience member, but the tape is presumed lost. Unfortunately, no further evidence has turned
up to confirm this gig. A member of
regular tour openers Acqua Fragile is certain that, if Giant did play in
Padova, his band did not participate.
Oct. ? 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 on this date in a
theater that was small and cramped.
Acqua Fragile opened both shows.
A fan recalls the late show being as much as four hours late. In a 1975 interview, Derek boasted about the
fact that Giant had once been able to play a date in Sicily, implying it to be
a rare occurrence. Actually, the band
played at least twice in Sicily, the two known dates being this one and the
next night in Palermo.
Oct. 10 Palermo, Italy Teatro Biondo
There were again two shows with Acqua
Fragile opening both. There had been
some evidence that the band actually played in Frankfurt, Germany on this date,
but these two Palermo shows have since been confirmed. 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. The band member claims the venue
was full, while the original fan report oddly had a tiny audience of only 20-30
people. This seems incredibly unlikely,
so it can be assumed the fan may have witnessed a rehearsal or a soundcheck, or
he is mixing up two totally different concerts.
Originally, some tour advertisements had GG scheduled to play the
Palazzo dello Sport in Novara on this date. However, Novara is also another city where
municipal authorities were not keen on allowing rock concerts, so the date
there must have been canceled.
Additionally, Record Mirror advertised a Basel, Switzerland gig
on Oct. 22, but it seems that took place the following night, as listed below.
Oct. 23 Basel, Switzerland Festsaal
Mustermesse
The band did intend to play a concert
in Switzerland on this date and one fan report has it occurring at this Basel
venue. The report states that GG
headlined with an unknown local keyboard/synthesizer player opening. Amazingly, however, Record Mirror
advertised Oct. 23 as the scheduled date for GG’s very first concert behind the
iron curtain, in Belgrade, Yugoslavia.
This certainly did not take place, nor did a couple dates in Russia the
group was trying to book for late October.
Record
Mirror listing for erroneous
Belgrade gig Oct. 23, 1973
Oct. 24 Switzerland
UNCONFIRMED. City and
venue are unknown.
New Musical Express eventually published an updated German itinerary,
now placing the band in that country between October 25 and October 31. It is not certain this exact schedule was
followed either, as not all of the dates are known. It also seems very few were with Procol
Harum, as originally intended. The same
newspaper article stated the band was now to be in Belgium between Nov. 1 and
Nov. 4, but nothing at all is known about these planned concerts.
Oct. 26 Berlin, Germany Deutschland Halle
Folk guitarist Leo Kottke went first,
then Giant, both opening for Procol Harum.
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 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
Originally, the band had set their mind on yet another try at an
American tour after the initial European dates, starting in mid-April somewhere
in Florida and running for four weeks.
This was to be their third attempt but, again, it did not work out. Instead, after playing in Germany, GG
scheduled a significant number of dates in France. This French tour was mentioned in New
Musical Express and advertised in more detail in the French music press at
the time. It is the only known time the
band ever planned an extensive stay in that country but, unfortunately, the
entire tour was canceled. The entire
original French tour itinerary can be found below. Giant never earned extensive press coverage
in France and did not have the same impact there early on that they enjoyed in
some other European nations.
Somewhere around this time, they also intended another swing
into Italy to play some dates there. However,
there was much political upheaval and rioting in Italy at the time. Rock concerts by non-Italian bands were not
common, Gentle Giant being one of the few bands able to play there with any
regularity. Some municipal authorities
in that country viewed Gentle Giant as performers of “serious music”, not
simply as a rock band. Still, the group
was forced to abandon their Spring 1974 plans there. It’s possible they went ahead with a small
number of concerts, but they very well may have canceled all appearances. One fan seems to remember an April show in
Rome, but it is not confirmed. A rumor
of GG being filmed in April for Italian television is also unconfirmed.
Ad
for canceled French tour Apr. 1974
Apr. 17 Nantes, France Salle Paul-Fort
CANCELED. On this evening, the French band Magma
was brought in as a replacement for Giant.
String Driven Thing had been scheduled to open, but it’s unknown if they
remained on the bill.
Apr. 18 Le Mans, France
CANCELED. String Driven Thing had been scheduled
to open.
Apr. 19 Toulouse, France Palais des Sports
CANCELED. String Driven Thing had been scheduled
to open.
Apr. 20 Menton, France
CANCELED. String Driven Thing had been scheduled
to open.
Apr. 21 Marseille, France Salle St-Georges
CANCELED. String Driven Thing had been scheduled
to open.
Apr. 22 Rodez, France
CANCELED. String Driven Thing had been scheduled
to open.
Apr. 23 Lyon, France Salle Rameau
CANCELED. String Driven Thing had been scheduled
to open.
Apr. 24 Grenoble, France Grenoble Theatre
CANCELED. String Driven Thing had been scheduled
to open.
Apr. 26 Clermont-Ferrand, France
CANCELED. String Driven Thing had been scheduled
to open.
Apr. 26 The German TV network Bayrischer Rundfunk broadcast some footage from Giant's
spring 1974 tour on a program called Szene
74, the footage being from the band's London gig of Mar. 16. A small portion of this has been included in
the official DVD, GIANT ON THE BOX.
Seen on the DVD is the guitar and drums ending portion of the song In
a Glass House. Film of Renaissance
was shown on the same broadcast, the theme of which was “Youth and Sexuality”.
Ad
for “Szene 74” German TV broadcast Apr. 26, 1974
Apr. 27 Uckange, France
CANCELED. String Driven Thing had been scheduled
to open.
Apr. 29 Colmar, France
CANCELED. String Driven Thing had been scheduled
to open.
Apr. 30 Lille, France
CANCELED. String Driven Thing had been scheduled
to open.
May 5 Breda, Holland Turfschip
GG headlined this one day festival, sharing
the stage with several other acts, including Kayak and Dizzy Man’s Band. A fan recalls the band jumping off the ground
just before the opening lights came on, giving the impression of the band
"falling from the sky" to start the show. It's unknown whether this was a regularly
used gimmick. Another fan in the crowd
recorded Giant’s set, but the tape is now believed to be lost. Kerry admits to having fond memories of the
times the band played in Holland through the years.
Breda ad May 5, 1974
May ? Articles
in Sounds and New Musical Express stated that the band was to do
six college gigs in England in early May.
No details are known.
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 The band
recorded So Sincere, Aspirations, Playing the Game, and The
Face, all songs from their new album, at their ninth BBC studio session in
June 11 Toledo, Ohio Agora Ballroom
CANCELED. This is the only specific date that has
been identified so far from the aborted May - June U.S. tour, as evidenced by a
newspaper advertisement.
Toledo
- ad for canceled gig June 11, 1974
June ? After the
recording sessions for THE POWER AND THE GLORY were completed, WWA
requested the band record a single to coincide with the album’s release. The band was not keen on the idea but 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 from May
29 was broadcast on Sounds of the Seventies, hosted by Bob Harris, as
were sessions by Ducks De Luxe and 10cc.
Sounds and New Musical Express both published articles in their
Aug. 3 issues stating that GG were planning to make some sort of promotional
film around September in support of their upcoming new album, THE POWER AND
THE GLORY. This probably referred to
the concert film the band eventually made in Brussels in January 1975. Although plans were delayed, that concert
film did help introduce THE POWER AND THE GLORY to a wider European
audience but by the time it finally aired on Aug. 10, 1975, the band were already
in the process of releasing the next album, FREE HAND.
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.
Later still, this date of October 4 popped up in the press, making the
June date unreliable. However, even if
the “official” release date was pushed back to October, British copies of the
album had certainly appeared in the marketplace, unofficially, as early as late
June. Derek himself has recalled that a
large number of copies leaked into the shops prematurely.
Go on to
Part Four
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