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Gentle Giant
Tour History
***
Part Five ***
***
The Peak of Success ***
(mid - late 1975)
new information will be in RED
??? The
American release date for FREE HAND on Capitol is not yet pinned
down. Dates of July 21 and July 28 have been
mooted but this is far from confirmed.
In England, it was the first GG album released by Chrysalis and,
according to notices in the British press, it was “rush released” in that
country in late August. This calls the
US release, a full month earlier, into question. The first portion of August seems more likely
for the American release and it definitely was appearing in US record stores by
the first half of August.
Aug. 10 ZDF-TV
in Germany broadcast the Belgian film recorded in early January on its Sonntagkonzert program. It is safe to assume it was also broadcast on
RTB, Belgium’s French speaking television network, who assisted in the original
production of the film. Additionally, it’s
known to have broadcast on VARA, the Dutch TV network, on the same day and
possibly in other European countries as well.
Rebroadcasts are known to have been aired from time to time in other
parts of Europe, possibly including Dutch rebroadcasts in December and perhaps
again the following year, as well as French and Belgian broadcasts in
1976. This concert performance was
filmed with high quality 35mm film. The
sound engineer had planned on using an 8 track machine
for the audio but, after seeing all the instruments the band planned to use,
ended up acquiring a brand new 16 track machine specifically for the
occasion. He was not happy, however,
with the final mix done by an inexperienced gentleman in Munich, Germany as he
felt the drums, in particular, were not adequately presented. This entire performance has been officially
released, in both audio and video form, on the GIANT ON THE BOX DVD,
while the song Proclamation has also been included in the 35th
anniversary CD reissue of THE POWER AND THE GLORY. Coincidentally, this same song from the same
performance also appears as an enhanced bonus video track on the 35th
anniversary CD reissue of PLAYING THE FOOL.
ZDF-TV “Sonntagkonzert”
broadcast notice Aug. 10, 1975
The band originally had hoped to start their next
North American tour in June, but that was pushed back some. In
August, the group put on only a short series of concerts in eastern Canada and
the northeastern United States. However.
they did manage to do a number of interviews at this time, so this short swing
into North America may have been partly promotional in nature. As for the few concerts that have been
confirmed, the band headlined some of the shows and played as an opening act at
others. A number of changes were also
made in their live setlist, including the addition of three songs from the new
album and the deletion of Gary Green's guitar solo. A full scale North American tour didn’t
finally start until the beginning of October.
TYPICAL SETLIST (Mid - Late 1975)
Intro/Cogs in Cogs - A new prerecorded original instrumental
was now used as the intro. This new
recording can be found on UNDER CONSTRUCTION, mistakenly titled Intro
74.
Proclamation/Funny Ways
The Runaway/Experience - The prerecorded
bridge section was no longer used to connect these two songs.
On Reflection
Excerpts from Octopus -
This popular medley was rearranged, making it a bit longer. It now began with a full band arrangement of The
Boys in the Band, complete with the "coin toss" recording, before
going into the other material. The
acoustic guitar duet was rewritten and included themes from the songs Raconteur,
Troubadour and Acquiring the Taste.
So Sincere
Plain Truth - In this time period,
most or all of the vocals were omitted.
The song still spun off into Ray's violin solo.
Free Hand
Just the Same - The outro used after this song was a tape loop
fashioned from the song's saxophone riff.
It would gradually fade out.
Backstage pass used on FREE HAND tour mid to late 1975
Aug. 16 Boston,
Massachusetts Boston Garden
This
was an open seating gig, the last of the so-called “dance concerts” held at
this venue. A tape exists of the show,
at which Giant played first, before Peter Frampton and headliners Steppenwolf. Giant’s set had poor attendance with crowd
estimates ranging from 250 to 1,000. A
review in Billboard was kinder to Giant than it was to Steppenwolf,
although it mentions that both acts had sound problems and it oddly did not
mention Frampton at all. This review
also stated that GG’s set was rather short and that they were “not allowed an
encore”. Before Excerpts from Octopus,
a member of Giant's crew made a mistake by playing, instead of the "coin
toss" tape, a snippet of the pre-recorded tape loop used as an outro to
the song Just the Same. A very
unusual arrangement of Plain Truth was played on this evening. It consisted only of a brief instrumental
portion of the song used as an intro to Free Hand, with the guitar
taking over some of the melody line from the violin. There was a large contingent in the audience
from the local chapter of the Hell’s Angels, the notorious motorcycle gang that
was somewhat associated with Steppenwolf.
One false report had these bikers running security and riding their
bikes through the crowd in order to introduce the headliners from the
stage. Although an entertaining notion,
this did not actually happen. It is
true, however, that a political group called the Coalition Against Macho-Sexist
Music picketed and distributed pamphlets outside the venue, claiming
Steppenwolf’s songs promoted sexist views against women.
Aug. 17 Toronto,
Ontario Varsity
Stadium
POSTPONED. A show was scheduled here on this
date, but it was canceled and rescheduled for Sep. 1. The reasons for this change have not been
confirmed, but it may have had something to do with trouble at a Crosby,
Stills, Nash and Young concert held earlier in the summer at this same venue.
Aug. 18 Trois-Rivieres, Quebec Stade
de Trois-Rivieres
The
stage was set up on two flatbed trucks on second base at the local baseball
stadium and the band began quite late.
About 2,500 were in attendance on a fairly cold night, making the place
about half full. Local Quebec-area band
Pollen was one of the opening acts. Triumvirat was also listed on the tickets and posters, but
did not play. Prog/folk singer Raoul
Duguay, himself a Quebec-area musician, did play, apparently as a substitute
act.
Trois-Rivieres poster
Aug. 18, 1975
Aug. 21 Quebec City, Quebec Colisee
Pollen
was the opening act at this Quebec City hockey arena and were well received.
Quebec
City ad and ticket Aug. 21, 1975
Aug. 22 Chrysalis
definitely rush released FREE HAND in England in late August, probably
on Aug. 22. It went on to become the
most commercially successful album Gentle Giant ever made, with songs that were
musically challenging, yet accessible.
The album sold very well in most parts of the world and the band began
to think their future would be very bright indeed.
Aug. 23 Hempstead,
New York Calderone Concert
Hall
This
is the band's first performance at this Long Island venue, an old refurbished
movie theater, but they returned there several times more in later years. Ray remembers a very odd bill with Giant
actually playing with heavy metal favorites Kiss. This is almost correct. Both bands did play there on Aug. 23 but in
two completely separate gigs. Kiss
played at 8:00 P.M. while Giant was scheduled to perform at 11:30 P.M. It ended up taking longer than expected to
tear down Kiss' equipment, so Giant's show started quite late, actually closer
to 1:30 A.M. A tape of GG's performance
does exist, however.
Hempstead
- late show after Kiss concert Aug.
23, 1975
Aug. 25 Northampton,
Pennsylvania Roxy Theater
One
report has P.F. and the Flyers as the opening act, but another report has Giant
performing alone. In an interview held
on Aug. 22, Derek stated that this show was planned for two days later, namely
Aug. 24. That may have been the original
plan but, more recently, printed documentation indicates the concert actually
took place on Aug. 25.
Aug. ? Rochester, New York
UNCONFIRMED. In a different interview held at the
time, Derek indicated there may have been a gig scheduled in Rochester, but it
seems he was probably mistaken. No
contemporary Rochester press coverage has come to light to confirm such a
concert.
Aug. 30 Montreal, Quebec Autostade
This
was an outdoor gig that Giant headlined but it was plagued by bad luck. It was actually scheduled for Aug. 29 but
that was a rainy day, so the concert was moved to the planned rain date of the
following night. Unfortunately, it was
also cold and rainy on Aug. 30. More
significantly, most of
Montreal
ad and backstage pass Aug. 30, 1975
Sep. 1 Toronto,
Ontario Maple Leaf
Gardens
This
was the rescheduled concert from Aug. 17, and was a festival seating gig. Existing backstage passes and posters from
this rescheduled date indicate it was supposed to take place as an outdoor gig
at Varsity Stadium, but it was changed right on the day of the concert to
nearby Maple Leaf Gardens, allegedly because of inclement weather. However, there may have been other
reasons. Festival seating had recently
caused problems at Varsity Stadium, so the original plan called for only 25,000
tickets to be made available, a number intended to make the audience more
“comfortable”. Total sales must have
been well below that, as
Toronto
flyer Sep. 1, 1975
Sep. 10 San Diego,
California Golden Hall
CANCELED. They were set to share a bill with Procol Harum, with Procol probably headlining, but the show was canceled. Press reports listed three southern
California shows involving these two bands being scrapped, allegedly because of
the “English tax situation”. Included
were a Sept. 11 Procol show in Santa Monica and the
Sept. 12 Los Angeles Gentle Giant show listed below. The promoter for all three shows claimed
neither band would return to the United States until 1976, but both did end up
returning within a month. GG played San
Diego on Nov. 2.
Sep. 12 Los Angeles,
California Shrine Auditorium
CANCELED. As explained above, Giant was set to
headline a show here, but it was postponed, supposedly because of the “English
tax situation”. The band subsequently didn’t
arrive in Los Angeles until November 1.
The scheduled Sept. 12 opening act is not known.
Sep. 16 On
this date, in London, the band recorded their eleventh BBC studio session,
consisting of Just the Same, Free Hand and On Reflection,
all songs from the newly-recorded FREE HAND album. It was recorded at Maida Vale Studio 4 and
broadcast on Oct. 13. After this, the
band took a break from recording sessions for the BBC, as Chrysalis no longer
considered the BBC helpful in the band's promotion. This entire session appears on the OUT OF
THE WOODS and TOTALLY
OUT OF THE WOODS albums.
In the fall of 1975, Giant began another round of
full-scale worldwide touring to support their new album. Their stage set was, by now, even more
visually elaborate, utilizing slide presentations synchronized to the music. The group seemed to be operating at the peak
of their commercial and creative abilities.
As a whole, the band was a force with which to be reckoned. Their live shows were tight, brilliantly
arranged and performed, and usually very well received. However, in North America, they still at
times found themselves serving as an opening act, most notably for the Strawbs and Rick Wakeman.
Sep. 21 London,
England New Victoria Theatre
This
was supposedly a very long concert and has also been described as a
"comeback gig", since the band had not played England in quite a
while. The sound in the hall, packed
with about 2,000 fans, was reported in the press to be less than ideal. Nevertheless, the group's excitement at being
back in their homeland was apparent to the audience, a fact which did not stop
Derek from complaining a bit onstage about the band’s poor reputation in
England up to that point. Michael Moore
played in support of Giant, as he would on many occasions during the band's
full English tour coming up in December.
At one point early on, this show was erroneously reported in the music
press as being scheduled for Victoria Palace, later corrected to New Victoria
Hall. However, tickets for the show
properly listed the venue as New Victoria Theatre.
London
- marquee and ticket Sep. 21, 1975
Sep. 23 Rotterdam,
Holland De Doelen
This
was in a venue described as having excellent acoustics. The concert was late beginning, but the crowd
of 1,500 - 2,000 fans was quiet and respectful.
It’s been stated that members of the band Kayak were among these
attendees. An advertisement in the Dutch
music magazine Oor mentioned the addition of a
support act but did not name the act.
Several fans in attendance actually recall there being no opener at
all. One critic in attendance absolutely
hated the performance and gave it a scathing negative review in the Dutch
press.
Rotterdam
ads Sep. 23, 1975
Sep. 24 Frankfurt,
Germany Jahrhunderthalle
A
tape exists of this gig. After the
encore, the crowd continued to applaud wildly.
Derek eventually came back out and thanked them but the band did not
play again. Some evidence suggested the
possibility that the venue was changed at the last minute to Festhalle Messgelande, but the
fan who originally taped the performance confirms it was indeed held at Jahrhunderthalle.
There may not have been an opening act at this show.
Frankfurt
ad and ticket Sep. 24, 1975
Sep. 28 A
small amount of music recorded in
“King Biscuit” radio broadcast
notice Sep. 28, 1975
Oct. 1 Hilversum
3, Dutch Public Radio, broadcast a special on Gentle Giant during the “Theo Stokkink Show”. Ray
is heard during the broadcast thanking the Dutch people for giving the band
such a “great time last week”, referring back to the Sept. 23 Rotterdam
concert.
“Theo Stokkink
Show” Dutch radio special Oct. 1, 1975
Oct. 1 Largo,
Maryland Capitol
Center
Once
again, Giant opened for old friends Jethro Tull in
front of a good 15,000 fans. A few
reports through the years have hinted at the possibility of additional pairings
of Tull and Giant around this same time period,
though that is not confirmed at all.
There is also a rumor, based on an old, mislabeled bootleg record, that
Giant played the Hollywood Palace in nearby Ellicott City, Maryland around this
time but that is unlikely. At this Largo
show, although most of the crowd was kind to Giant, there was apparently a
small portion of the crowd who were quite vocal in their displeasure with
having to sit through the opening set. A
partial tape of Tull’s set exists and there is a
rumor that Giant’s set may also have been recorded but, if so, it has not
surfaced.
Largo
ad Oct. 1, 1975
Oct. 3 White Plains, New York White
Plains Music Hall
Giant
was the first act to perform at this brand new concert
venue, along with Gary Wright as their support act, and attendance is said to
have been very poor. During the clavinet
introduction to Experience, Kerry is reported to have found his
instrument to be out of tune. Using a
tuning wrench, he quickly opened the lid and tuned it, then went on as if
nothing had happened. A tape exists,
allegedly recorded at this concert, although questions have arisen as to
whether this tape may actually have been made at a different show. On the recording, the intro tape leading into
Cogs in Cogs at the beginning of the show didn't work, nor did the
"breaking glass" tape normally used to lead into The Runaway. However, at least three fans in attendance
recall both tapes working fine at the actual concert. Additionally, the recording includes the
instrumental Plain Truth intro before Ray's violin solo, but one of
these same fans remembers Ray jokingly trying to start to play without his
instrument, then retrieving it and beginning his solo without the rest of the
band. Regardless of the tape’s origin,
the complete performance was released on the Glass House ENDLESS LIFE CD
in 2002. On Reflection and Proclamation
from it have also been included in the 2013 compilation album MEMORIES OF
OLD DAYS.
White
Plains Oct. 3, 1975
Oct. 4 Boston, Massachusetts Orpheum
Theater
Opening
this show was a blues act from the Boston area, the James Montgomery Band. Harmonica player James Cotton supposedly sat
in on a few songs with the opening band.
A tape of Giant's performance exists.
The crowd was so supportive on this night, that they continued to yell
and cheer for quite a while after the show was over, even after the house
lights had been turned up and half the band’s gear had been torn down. A woman with a British accent, possibly
someone associated with the band, finally had to take the stage and politely
ask the audience to go home.
Boston
ad and backstage pass Oct. 4, 1975
Oct. 5 Buffalo, New York New Century Theatre
Brian
Augur's Oblivion Express went first, followed by Gary Wright, both opening for
Giant. One fan in the front row recalls
Wright having a lot of glitter in his hair, lit by bright white lights. After frequently shaking his head during his
set, the front row ended up covered in glitter.
Then, during GG’s set, one lucky fan was rewarded with a vibraphone
mallet that Kerry threw into the crowd after his Funny Ways solo. This was reportedly a long gig, ending after 1:00 A.M. One fan claims it ran long because it
was late getting started, but this is not clear.
Buffalo
ad Oct. 5, 1975
Oct. 6 With a night off before their Hempstead, NY radio
broadcast described below, the band took the opportunity to see a concert of
their own, all five attending a Weather Report show at the famous New York City
nightclub, the Bottom Line. Miles Davis
was also in the audience.
Oct. 7 In Hempstead, New York at Ultrasonic
Recording Studios, Giant performed in front of a studio audience of less than
100 people. The room was the size of a
small gymnasium with the band set up on one end with no stage and no special
lighting effects. The fans sat on the
floor. The concert was broadcast live as it happened over New York City's WLIR
radio, itself located in Hempstead on Long Island, just outside
of the city proper. Since the Fall of
1971, WLIR, which positioned itself as a progressive rock radio station, had
been broadcasting live concerts every Tuesday night from the nearby Ultrasonic
Studios and this was part of that regular Tuesday series. Generally, acts were given about an hour of
airtime but this performance ran a little long, so WLIR kept them on the air
for an extra 10-15 minutes. Approximately two thirds of the broadcast saw
official release in 2005 on LIVE IN NEW YORK 1975 on the Glass House
label. There has been speculation that a
portion of this concert was also broadcast somewhere on July 14, 1976. The American radio program BBC Rock Hour
has been raised as one possibility, but that seems illogical. A broadcast in England over the BBC seems
more likely, but no proof of any broadcast one way or the other has been found.
Hempstead, New York - brief review of
live radio broadcast Oct. 7, 1975
Oct. 8 Lowell,
Massachusetts University of
Lowell
GIANT DID NOT PLAY. On this night, Giant
was scheduled to open, for the first time, for Rick Wakeman
and they did indeed arrive in town.
However, according to a review in The Connector, the college
newspaper, the ever extravagant Wakeman’s
equipment took up so much space on the stage that Giant had no room for their
own gear and decided not to play. There
may have been more to the story but, whatever the case, Wakeman
played alone to a sparse audience and lost the University over $2,000 in the
process. The Connector stated that,
had Giant performed, the event would’ve lost an additional $1,500. Derek and Kerry did manage to record an
interview for the college radio station which was broadcast on November 18.
Lowell
- Wakeman lost money and Giant was unable to
perform Oct. 8, 1975
Oct. 9 Waterbury, Connecticut Palace
Theater
opened
for Rick Wakeman.
A tape of this concert exists.
Oddly, although the band did play the song Experience at this
gig, they did not play The Runaway which usually led into it. Curiously, Wakeman
and Giant were also confirmed by a local promoter to play on this very same
evening at the Allen P. Kirby Field House at Lafayette College in Easton,
Pennsylvania. However, when the schedule
conflict became apparent, the two acts fulfilled the earlier Waterbury
commitment. The Wakeman
camp did offer Lafayette College a replacement date of Dec. 2, with Manfred
Mann’s Earth Band in support, but that gig also was canceled, mainly due to
poor ticket sales.
Oct. 10 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Spectrum
preceded
by Larry Coryell and the Eleventh House and followed by Rick Wakeman. A tape
exists of this show and was officially released by Glass House on their PROLOGUE
CD. Surprisingly, this was the very
first time the group ever played in Philadelphia, a
fact Derek confirmed from the stage. Two
fans described the concert as being “not well attended”. Another two reports have a good number of
Giant fans leaving before Wakeman’s set. In its review, the Villanova University
newspaper The Villanovan ran the headline “Giant Outshines Wakeman at Spectrum”.
A 1976 Philadelphia Inquirer article referred back to this show,
stating that the boomy acoustics of the large
Spectrum were not favorable for GG’s delicate interplay of instruments. The bill for this show was not firm until
close to the day of the show. GG’s
participation was initially listed as “tentative” while Italian band PFM was at
one point advertised as being involved instead of Larry Coryell.
Philadelphia - backstage pass
Oct. 10, 1975
Oct. 11 New York, New York Academy of Music
White
Lightnin’ was the opening act and had to endure quite
a bit of booing from the audience. There
were some technical difficulties at this show with some of the slides being
shown at wrong times. Two separate
audience tapes of this show are known to exist.
One of them is mostly complete and the other, while incomplete, does
include a few bits and pieces not found on the first tape. During Giant’s time
in the New York City metropolitan area, they took the opportunity to do some
interviews, including one for New York radio station WRNW. During another press interview held on
Oct. 12, band members were complimented on the quality of this particular
Academy performance. When asked for an
explanation, Ray joked that it must have been because Gary was wearing “new
shoelaces”.
New
York’s Academy of Music ad Oct. 11,
1975
Oct. 13 Gentle
Giant's eleventh BBC session, recorded on Sept. 16, was broadcast on the John
Peel Show, hosted by John Peel, of course.
Other musicians with sessions on the program are not known.
Oct. 14 Kalamazoo,
Michigan Old Central High
School - Chenery Auditorium
CANCELED. This gig was canceled one day before
showtime, due to only 250 tickets being sold.
Premier Talent, the talent agency handling this tour for Giant,
apparently did not deliver a signed contract to the show’s promoter until one
week before the show. This simply did
not allow the rightfully angry promoter enough time to advertise
sufficiently. Interestingly, copies of
the Power and the Glory single were meant to be given away to all who
purchased a ticket, but even this promotional gimmick came too late to save the
show. Boxes of singles remained
undistributed. Originally, Gary Wright
was planned as the opening act but at the last minute, Premier Talent
substituted White Lightnin’.
Kalamazoo
- concert canceled at last minute Oct.
14, 1975
Oct. 16 Chicago, Illinois Auditorium Theater
This
was a poorly attended show with the hall only half full, a fact that Derek
commented on from the stage, thanking those that did attend. Nonetheless, Gary does recall the band
playing fairly well this night. Gary
Wright opened and Giant headlined. In
addition to this date, an unsubstantiated report also has GG opening for Rare
Earth at a relatively small Chicago venue while touring in support of their FREE
HAND album in the second half of 1975.
Two separate Chicago gigs on this tour seems unlikely.
Chicago Oct. 16, 1975
Oct. 17 Detroit, Michigan Cobo Hall
In
a hall that was half filled at best, Giant was preceded by Gary Wright with
Rick Wakeman the headliner. One report has GG being poorly treated by the
Wakeman audience, reinforcing the reservations Kerry
expressed in an interview the previous November about the band’s misfortunes
when playing in Detroit. After Giant
finished their set, there were a few seconds of silence, then a gentleman in
the balcony yelled loudly “that band was weird!” However, a Detroit area college newspaper
review stated that Giant did play an encore while, curiously, Wakeman did not.
It's rumored once more that Giant played River at this gig. Similar rumors concerning this song have
circulated around a few gigs from earlier years, as well, though all remain
unconfirmed.
Detroit
ad Oct. 17, 1975
Oct. 18 Cincinnati, Ohio Riverfront Coliseum
This
was a brand new facility and this was the first major
concert attraction held there. The venue
seats over 17,000 but on this night was arranged in “theater setup” with only
7,500 tickets put on sale. Giant opened
for Rick Wakeman.
Procol Harum was
supposed to appear second on the bill but was unable to, due to their equipment
truck breaking down in West Virginia.
Giant agreed to let Procol use their
equipment, but Wakeman vetoed the idea. Procol may have
also asked to play last to give their equipment time to arrive, but Wakeman was not keen on that idea, either. Whatever the case, this all led to a nasty
scene backstage between Wakeman’s road crew and
members of Procol Harum. After Giant’s set, Procol
band member Keith Reid tried to take the stage and announce to the crowd why they weren’t playing, but Wakeman’s
crew stopped him. In fact, no
announcement at all about Procol was made until the
end of the evening. After the show, the
battle went public as Procol’s Reid and Gary Brooker
took to the airwaves over Cincinnati's WEBN radio to complain about the
situation. Wakeman
himself heard this broadcast and phoned in to rebut against what he called
“lies”. This whole bizarre situation
ended up making headlines in the national rock music press. A local newspaper, in its review of the show,
described GG’s performance as “lackluster”, an assessment shared by at least
some of the crowd who were heard booing during their set. A fan reports that Ray broke a string or two
during his violin solo. However, this is
not apparent on a tape that exists of the show.
Possibly, the fan actually witnessed the unraveling of some of the
horsehair on Ray’s bow. An early ad
listed Peter Frampton as being second on the bill, but that was quickly changed
in later advertising to Procol Harum.
Cincinnati
- ads for original lineup and final lineup
Oct. 18, 1975
Oct. 19 Indiana, Pennsylvania Indiana University of Pennsylvania - Fisher
Auditorium
opened
for Procol Harum before a
near-capacity crowd during the university’s Homecoming Weekend
festivities. It had been previously
assumed that this show was held in Indianapolis, Indiana, possibly at the
Fairgrounds Coliseum. However, the
concert map on the inside cover of Giant's 1977 live album, PLAYING THE FOOL,
shows the band leaving Cincinnati after Oct. 18 and heading east, away from the
state of Indiana. Whereas this album
cover lists all other concerts by city, the Oct. 19 concert east of Cincinnati
is listed as being held in "Indiana", not "
Indiana
ad Oct. 19, 1975
In an
interview on Oct. 12, members of the band said they were considering taping an appearance
for the American television show, Don Kirshner's Rock Concert a week
later, but they had not yet committed to the idea, as they were concerned over
retaining control over the final mix. It
looks like this filming never took place.
Oct. 21 Milwaukee,
Wisconsin Riverside Theatre
It’s
believed that Gary Wright began the proceedings on this occasion, with Giant
playing second and Peter Frampton finishing as headliner. An earlier erroneous report had Giant opening
for Golden Earring and Aerosmith. The
Riverside was an ornate 1920’s movie house that seated in the neighborhood of
4,000 people.
Milwaukee ad Oct. 21, 1975
Oct. 22 St. Louis, Missouri Kiel Opera House
opened
for Rick Wakeman.
During the Excerpts from Octopus medley, the band had some brief
technical difficulties right before breaking into The Advent of Panurge. Derek subsequently missed his vocal entrance,
leaving Kerry to sing the opening line of the song alone. A tape of the gig exists.
St. Louis ad Oct.
22, 1975
Oct. 23 Vancouver, British Columbia Commodore Cabaret Ballroom
Here,
GG was supposed to open for Status Quo but, due to illness, Status Quo canceled
about a week before the scheduled date.
REO Speedwagon was brought in as a last minute replacement as headliners. This dancehall venue held approximately 1,000
people. It had a low stage and was set
up in such a way that the front of the audience could be right up next to the
performers. The crowd at this gig
cheered for quite a while after GG played, hoping they would be rewarded with
an encore, but to no avail. According to
a review in the Vancouver Sun, half the crowd then proceeded to leave
before REO even took the stage. One fan
at the show actually thinks the percentage of people who left after Giant’s set
was as high as 80 percent.
Oct. 24 Portland, Oregon Paramount Theatre
opened
for the Strawbs.
A tour ad in Billboard originally listed this date as Oct. 26.
Oct. 25 Seattle, Washington Moore Egyptian Theater
Starting
the show was a piano player/folk singer named Bette White, followed by Giant
and the Strawbs as headliners in this quite intimate
theater setting. The house was half full
and many in the audience were apparently there to see Giant, as two thirds of
the crowd were reported to have left by the Strawbs'
third song. Even the Strawbs'
Dave Cousins, when recently recalling this particular gig, commented that Giant
blew his own band away. The Seattle
Daily Times agreed with this assessment, pointing out that Giant seemed
quite pleased at how knowledgeable the crowd was about their music. Cousins has also claimed that Giant was the
only band he ever shared a stage with that intimidated him. Billboard originally listed this show
as taking place on Oct. 24.
Seattle Oct. 25, 1975
Oct. 28 Berkeley, California Community
Theater
This
show took place in front of what the San Francisco Examiner described as
a small crowd of about 1,000, many of them noisy and a bit unruly. This was not helped by the excessive number
of delays throughout the evening, as stage crews worked to fix repeated
technical equipment glitches. As had
happened the previous night in Seattle, folk singer Bette White played first
and GG played a 50 minute set second, both opening for
the Strawbs.
Of the three acts, the review was actually kindest to Bette White, although
it was noted the crowd paid little attention to her. A tape of this gig exists and has been
released on the Glass House ENDLESS LIFE CD while.Free Hand from it appears in the MEMORIES
OF OLD DAYS compilation.
Oct. 30 Phoenix, Arizona Celebrity Theatre
opened
for the Strawbs.
This was an in-the-round theater with a rotating stage. The farthest seats from the stage were only
75 feet away.
Oct. 31 A Canadian
radio station in Regina, Saskatchewan broadcast a phone interview with Gentle
Giant on a late night program called Major
Progression. It is not known if it
was a live interview or if it was pre-recorded.
Nov. 1 Los Angeles, California Shrine
Auditorium
Gary
remembers there being problems with the lights at this show. There is a strong possibility that the Strawbs were again scheduled to headline before
canceling. As it turned out, Giant
headlined while a singer/keyboard player by the name of Tom Snow had the bad
fortune of opening the show and being heavily booed. One report has him
cutting his set short, as a result.
Los
Angeles ad and backstage pass Nov. 1,
1975
Nov. 2 San Diego, California Civic
Theater
There
is much conflicting information as to the correct venue of this concert but it
now seems pretty convincing that it was held at the Civic Theater. All pre-show written information proves that
it was originally planned for a different venue, Golden Hall. This includes newspaper articles, backstage
passes and advertisements, right up to the day of the show. However, it was changed at the very last
moment to the Civic Theater which is actually adjacent to Golden Hall, just
across an open concourse. Throngs of
fans were seen trekking from one venue to the other on the night of the show. There are existing photographs of Giant on
stage that were taken from the Civic’s balcony. Golden Hall had no balcony. Curiously, the only conflicting evidence is a
review in the following week’s Triton Times which did list the venue as
Golden Hall, but this must be some sort of error on the part of the author. GG opened for the Strawbs
at this show. Although Giant reportedly
had no trouble during their set, the Strawbs had a
bus breakdown and had to begin without a proper soundcheck. This caused a number of technical problems
for them during their set. On an
existing tape of this show, Derek tells the audience that this is the last gig
of the band's present North American tour, making the next two dates
suspicious.
San
Diego - Golden Hall listed on ad and backstage pass Nov. 2, 1975
Nov. 3 Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania Spectrum
GIANT DID NOT PLAY. On
this evening, the Sensational Alex Harvey Band opened for Frank Zappa, but one
fan report has GG originally booked as the openers.
Nov. 5 New York, New York Academy of Music
UNCONFIRMED. This is a totally unsubstantiated date
that has been postulated for a long while but has always been
questionable. More recently, a couple
different eyewitnesses have recalled a date at the Academy of Music from around
this time when Giant shared a bill with the Strawbs,
the Pretty Things and Spooky Tooth though, again, no hard evidence has
surfaced.
Nov. 7 Detroit, Michigan Cobo Hall
UNCONFIRMED. It is very unlikely that Giant played
Detroit on this date, although such a gig is listed in the inside gatefold of
the 1977 PLAYING THE FOOL live album.
It certainly did not appear on any advertised tour schedule. Reliable sources actually place Dave Mason
and Little Feat at Cobo Hall on Nov. 7.
??? Dallas,
Texas Electric
Ballroom
UNCONFIRMED. A fan who saw the band at the Oct. 16
Chicago Auditorium gig with Gary Wright specifically recalls seeing them again
at this Dallas venue a few weeks later.
The claim gains further legitimacy when considering a rumor that’s
surfaced that Giant did in fact play that city five times in their career while,
so far, only four have been accounted for.
Although no confirmation of this concert has yet surfaced, the fan does
remember a largely uninterested audience with only about ten rows of
enthusiastic listeners and the rest of the crowd not paying attention or
milling about in back.
Nov. 10 Oslo, Norway Chateau Neuf
Chateau
Neuf was affiliated with the University of Oslo and
run by their student organization. It
housed a moderately sized concert hall seating around 1,200. One report has the hall being full on this
night but the Aftenposten newspaper claimed only about 700 were in
attendance.
Oslo Nov. 10, 1975
Nov. 12 Stockholm, Sweden Karen
Karen,
or Karhuset, as it was sometimes referred to, was not
technically part of Stockholm University but was operated by the faculty of
that University as a Student Union. For
this concert, it was privately rented by one of the University's students who
then booked Giant. On occasions like this,
the hall was renamed “Club Karen”, as it was whenever a concert or dance night
took place. The show, attended by
approximately 2,000 fans, was recorded by Sweden's Radio 3 and then broadcast
in edited form at a later date, possibly a week later. This edited broadcast version had been
heavily bootlegged through the years, but now has been officially released on
the LIVE IN STOCKHOLM ’75 CD, produced from Swedish Radio’s master
tape. A slightly different edit of this
show was also rebroadcast in January of 1976 as part of the Swedish Radio Tonkraft program.
The original producer at Radio 3 attempted to locate any remaining
portions of the concert that were not broadcast and therefore not released, but
was unsuccessful and now believes they no longer exist.
Nov. 13 Copenhagen,
Denmark Hard Rock Cafe
CANCELED.
This concert was scheduled and advertised, but ultimately canceled. Supposedly, the stage at the venue was too
small, so the band pulled out at the last minute. A notice was pinned to the door of the venue
informing the arriving fans of the sudden cancellation. One rumor floating at the time was that, upon
canceling the show, the band drove off to somewhere in Scandinavia. Perhaps another gig was scheduled there for
the next night, but this is pure conjecture.
Copenhagen
- ad for canceled show Nov. 13, 1975
Nov. 14 It
is believed that this was the official release date for the band’s first
compilation album, entitled GIANT STEPS, although there are indications
that some record shops had the album by Nov. 1.
It included songs from the band’s first six studio albums and also
included the song Power and the Glory, previously only available as a
single. Although the fifth and sixth
albums were on WWA in England, the band remained signed to Vertigo in many
countries in continental Europe, and it was Vertigo who released this
compilation in England and at least part of Europe. It was not released in the United States.
German tour ad Nov. 1975
Nov. 15 Hannover, Germany Niedersachsenhalle
Hannover
ticket Nov. 15, 1975
Nov. 16 Berlin, Germany Hochschule
der Kunste
This
concert at West Berlin’s University of the Arts took place in a hall normally
used for more "serious" concerts.
Therefore, the atmosphere was more sophisticated than that of a typical
rock concert. A contributing factor to
this could have been the stage's neat, clean appearance since, at the time, all
of Giant's amplifiers and equipment were hidden behind wooden frames covered in
fabric. These frames also held the
twinkling white lights which flashed during the 5-man drum bash. The University consisted of four separate
colleges, one being for Music, as noted in the tour ad pictured above.
Nov. 17 Dusseldorf, Germany Philipshalle
A
tape of this show exists.
Nov. 18 Hamburg, Germany Musikhalle
There
may have been no support act at this show.
In fact, very few support acts are known from this time period, so Giant
may have frequently played alone. The
band was very well received and attendance was said to be much better on this
night than it was at their previous appearance at Hamburg’s Musikhalle
on Apr. 10, 1974.
Hamburg Nov. 18, 1975
Nov. 18 WLTI-FM, the
college radio station of Lowell University in Lowell, Massachusetts, broadcast
their interview with Derek and Kerry that had been recorded while the band was
in town on October 8.
Lowell
- band member interview broadcast over college radio Nov. 18, 1975
Nov. 20 Gutersloh, Germany Sporthalle
The
hall here was rather small, as was the crowd.
A fan at the show estimates about 300 in attendance.
Nov. 21 Germany
The
tour ad shown above announced this concert as being held at Scheffelhalle
in Singen, in southern Germany. However, an early version of a concert poster
has been located which had the band in Rhein-Main-Halle in Wiesbaden farther
north, outside of Frankfurt. The Singen show seems more likely, but confirmation has yet to
be found.
early poster for possible Wiesbaden
gig Nov. 21, 1975
Nov. 22 Munich, Germany Circus
Krone Building
Backstage
after the show, several band members expressed concern that ticket prices were
too high for this gig. Prices ranged between
14 and 16 DM.
Nov. 23 KMET Radio
in Los Angeles, California broadcast a live Gentle Giant set at 6:00 P.M. on
Sunday, Nov. 23. Cash Box
announced that the set had been recorded a month earlier in “Gotham”, a common
nickname for New York City. The band
could have recorded something specifically for KMET while they were in the New
York area on or around Oct. 11, similar to what they had done on Feb. 13 right
in Los Angeles. Alternatively, the radio
station could have simply arranged to rebroadcast the Oct. 7 studio session
from Hempstead, New York. More specifics
are unknown at this time.
Cash
Box notice about Los Angeles
radio broadcast Nov. 23, 1975
Nov. 24 Basel, Switzerland Festsaal Mustermesse
A
complete tape of this concert exists.
The majority of the show, but not all of it, saw official release when
it was included in the UNBURIED TREASURE boxset.
Nov. 25 Karlsruhe, Germany Stadthalle
A
newspaper review called Giant’s music the “music of the future” but noted the
band was fighting with a persistent humming in their amplification, as well as
the hall’s traditionally “miserable” acoustics.
Karlsruhe poster and
ticket Nov. 25, 1975
Nov. 26 Mannheim, Germany Rosengarten Mozartsall
Nov. 27 Zurich, Switzerland Volkshaus
There
is an existing tape of this gig.
Zurich
poster Nov. 27, 1975
Nov. 28 Metz, France Palais des Sports
The
venue for this concert, although very popular for rock concerts at the time,
has not been confirmed.
Nov. 29 Paris, France Olympia
A
portion of this concert was broadcast over AM radio in Paris, but it is
uncertain whether it was broadcast live or at some point after the concert took
place. During the broadcast, a French
announcer translated all of Derek’s English introductions. A gig had been previously advertised at Turfschip in Breda, Holland on this date.
Nov. 30 Brussels, Belgium Ancienne Belgique
Brussels
ticket Nov. 30, 1975
Dec. 1 Amsterdam, Holland Carre Theatre
Mike
McClintock opened for GG at this show.
This venue has been described as an intimate "circus theatre",
with very steep seating. It’s been
reported that there was a loud, irritating buzz in at least one audience
speaker during Ray’s quadrophonic violin solo, possibly caused by bad
grounding. Still, about 2,000 fans
enjoyed this sold out show, but influential Dutch pop
critic Elly de Waard hated it.
Amsterdam Dec. 1, 1975
Dec. 2 Rotterdam,
Holland De Doelen
UNCONFIRMED
Dec. ? A rumor has been
floated that the band was filmed around this time for Dutch VARA TV. Specifically, it’s been suggested this
filming may have taken place on Dec. 2, possibly at the above listed alleged
Rotterdam concert, but this is far from clear.
So far, no evidence to confirm any new filming has surfaced. December could very well have simply been
when VARA rebroadcast the German ZDF-TV Sonntagkonzert
first aired on Aug. 10. On the other
hand, Dutch TV did broadcast some sort of Gentle Giant concert on June 26,
1976. More information is needed.
In
December, Giant finally brought a tour to
UK tour ad Dec. 1975
Dec. 5 Norwich, England University of East Anglia
One
fan who managed to meet the band backstage saw them playing a word game which
Ray told him they sometimes did to alleviate the boredom of being on the
road. For instance, Ray presented the
phrase “an abundance of prehensile extremities lessens the onerous burden”
while his bandmates had to guess the simpler translation of “many hands make
light work”. It’s believed that Michael
Moore was scheduled to open.
Dec. 6 Leeds, England Leeds University - Refectory
Michael
Moore was the opening act. The Refectory
is a well-known music venue right on the University campus, adjacent to the
Student Union.
Leeds ad Dec. 6, 1975
Dec. 7 Hemel Hempstead, England Pavilion
Michael
Moore was the opening act. The Pavilion
was a somewhat small, modern hall and although, by one account, GG was well
received, one fan does remember them as being too loud for such a small
venue. However, a reviewer in Sounds
said the sound quality was excellent.
Incidentally, this review was one of very few reviews the UK press even
bothered to publish about this particular homeland tour.
Hemel
Hempstead ad Dec. 7. 1975
Dec. 8 Birmingham, England Town
Hall
Michael
Moore was the opening act.
Birmingham
poster Dec. 8, 1975
Dec. 9 The
BBC rebroadcast the band’s Sep. 16 session as part of the John Peel Show. No other acts had live sessions included in
this particular program. After playing
GG’s final song, Free Hand, Peel mistakenly introduced the band as
Supertramp, before quickly correcting himself.
Shortly after this, Peel lost interest in many of the progressive bands
of the day. He soon became a champion of
the emerging punk scene.
Dec. 9 Manchester, England Free
Trade Hall
Michael
Moore was the opening act.
Manchester
ticket Dec. 9, 1975
Dec. 11 Bristol, England Colston Hall
Michael
Moore was the opening act. Ticket sales
were not strong, so all who did attend were encouraged to come forward and sit
in the front sections.
Dec. 12 Cambridge, England Corn Exchange
Michael Moore was the opening act.
Cambridge
ad Dec. 12, 1975
Dec. 13 Liverpool, England Liverpool Stadium
The
crowd was large and appreciative.
Michael Moore was the opening act.
Dec. 15 Derby, England King's Hall
This
gig was a late addition to the tour and was originally scheduled for Dec. 18,
but it was moved up to Dec. 15 for unknown reasons. Michael Moore was the opening act.
Derby
poster Dec. 15, 1975
Dec. 16 Newcastle, England City Hall
Michael
Moore was the opening act. This concert
was not terribly well attended.
Dec. 17 Sheffield, England City Hall
Michael
Moore was the opening act.
Dec. 19 Portsmouth, England Guildhall
Michael
Moore was the opening act.
Portsmouth Dec. 19, 1975
Dec. 22 Plymouth,
England Guildhall
Michael
Moore was the opening act. Melody
Maker reported that, on this date, the group played again in their hometown
of Portsmouth, just three days after already playing there. However, they most likely appeared on Dec. 22
in Plymouth, the Melody Maker report probably being just a
misprint. A flyer exists advertising the
Plymouth engagement, describing it as a “Christmas Concert”.
Plymouth
flyer Dec. 22, 1975
Dec. ? Chatham, England Central Hall
UNCONFIRMED. There is some evidence that Giant played
a gig in Chatham during this tour, again possibly with Michael Moore.
Go on
to Part Six
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Tour History