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Gentle
Giant Tour History
*** Part Six ***
*** Still Plugging Away ***
(1976
- early 1977)
new information will be in RED
1976
After the success of FREE HAND,
Giant felt poised to continue their commercial ascent. However, things did not go as smoothly as
they would have liked. They kept on
working and touring hard around the world, but they made no new headway and
their rise more or less leveled off. Their star did not dim, but neither did it
glow brighter.
Jan. 8 In this date’s issue of the Swiss
magazine Radio TV, it was announced that twenty episodes of a new music
television program called Music-Scene would air during 1976 over one of
Switzerland’s German stations. One of
the episodes was to feature Gentle Giant but which episode is not known, nor is
anything about the musical content.
Jan. 28 A slightly edited version of the
Stockholm show from Nov. 12 was rebroadcast over Sweden's Radio 3 on an episode
of the Tonkraft program.
Feb. - Mar. The band's eighth album, INTERVIEW,
was recorded at Advision Studios in London. They only had about three weeks to write and
record the whole thing, taking from mid-February to March 12, so the band found
this to be a difficult album to record.
During the mixing process, they did have time to produce a quadraphonic
mix, as well, but that was not released until a 2012 Chrysalis reissue of the
album.
Apr. 23 Various notices in the UK press
originally had the date for the English Chrysalis release of the INTERVIEW
album as being April 30, with one source listing a date of May 2. However, it seems to have been pushed forward
to Apr. 23, possibly to precede the start of the UK tour. This adjusted date did appear in later press
advertisements. The album has always
elicited mixed reactions from fans. Some
have said that, musically, it was very much a pale rehash of FREE HAND. Others, though, find much fresh, satisfying
material on this album.
INTERVIEW UK album
release Apr. 23, 1976
Apr. 24 The group made lip-synched promotional
films for the title song, Interview, plus the songs Give It Back
and I Lost My Head from the INTERVIEW album. Contrary to earlier reports that these were
made in Hannover, Germany, these were actually filmed
at ITN House, a studio belonging to a major British news organization in
London. All three films are now
available on the GG AT THE GG DVD.
Gentle Giant found themselves
back in the U.K. at the very end of April 1976 but they had, by now, become
very disillusioned with the lack of progress they were making there, and it
proved to be their last tour of their native land. From that point on, they decided to
concentrate their live efforts in Europe and North America. Only one incomplete live 1976 recording from
the UK tour has surfaced so far, so it’s impossible to
verify everything that happened on stage at that time. Fortunately, many details of their setlist
during early 1976 have been confirmed through written evidence and fan
accounts, but other details on song order and arrangements are still a matter
of conjecture. They did debut some
material from their new album, but possibly the biggest surprise was the
deletion of Funny Ways, played at possibly every previous concert since
1970. Plain Truth, another
long-time staple of their live shows, was also dropped, though Ray's violin
solo was not.
Films and slides synchronized to the
music continued to be a notable part of Giant’s concerts in 1976. Examples were a pair of hands snapping
fingers as Just the Same began, and a rainbow as pictured on the INTERVIEW
album sleeve as the title song Interview was played.
TYPICAL SETLIST (Spring 1976)
Intro/Just the Same - The evening began with a
portion of the album version of the song Talybont from FREE HAND. This segued into yet another prerecorded
instrumental intro which appears on UNDER CONSTRUCTION, with the title Intro
76.
Proclamation/Valedictory - Proclamation was
played in a slightly different arrangement that concluded with the tail end of Valedictory.
Interview - This one began with a
pre-recorded section of the "interviewer" recording, similar to what was used on the new album. The voice was that of Sounds writer
Phil Sutcliffe.
On Reflection
The Runaway/Experience - The “breaking glass” tape
continued to be used as an intro.
So Sincere
Excerpts from Octopus - Starting in 1976, Yankee
Doodle was no longer played on recorders as part of this. It would not return until 1980.
Give It Back - This tribute to reggae
music was reportedly put into the set specifically to replace Funny Ways,
of which the band had grown tired. Like Funny
Ways, the live arrangement of this song included a solo on vibraphone by
Kerry.
Timing - the new home for Ray's
violin solo
Free Hand
Peel the Paint/I Lost My Head - It’s
not been confirmed, but there’s a possibility that the entire I Lost My Head
may have been performed as the encore in the UK in late April and May. However, at least by the Italian dates in
late May, the encore was this mini-medley which included only the second half
of I Lost My Head.
Chrysalis promotional window sticker with UK tour dates Spring 1976
At some point during
this UK tour, Gary Green’s beloved Les Paul guitar suffered a tragic
mishap. During So Sincere, while
entering the stage to start singing, Derek tripped over a cable and knocked
over the Les Paul, breaking the head off.
In shock, Gary managed to finish the concert using his Telecaster. In one interview, he mistakenly stated this
happened in 1975, but it actually occurred in
1976. Gary had just recently gotten
married right before the tour and his new bride Judy was in the audience the
night the guitar was damaged. It’s not known in which specific city this happened, but
photos from the May 13 Sheffield gig show it must have happened prior to
that. On subsequent nights, Gary was
able to borrow another Les Paul from Bernie Marsden, formerly of Wild
Turkey. He may have also had to rent a
guitar part of the time to finish the tour.
Apr. 29 Derby, England King's Hall
CANCELED. This was,
at one time, intended as the first gig of the UK tour with Solution scheduled
to open. However, the gig was canceled
for unknown reasons.
Apr. 30 Cambridge,
England Corn Exchange
Solution opened the show. April 30 is indeed the date on which this
Cambridge gig took place, even though several eyewitnesses swore it took place
after the May 1 Southend-on-Sea gig.
April 30 was a Friday and that is the only day of the week the Corn
Exchange hosted concerts. The rest of
the week, it served as a roller-skating rink.
A partial tape of this concert has surfaced, the only known tape from an
early 1976 show. Although it doesn’t answer every question about the band’s typical 1976
setlist, this tape does contain a couple unusual musical elements. The band played Experience as a
stand-alone song instead of as part of a mini-medley. Immediately following this, the “breaking
glass” pre-recorded tape was played as an intro to So Sincere, an
unusual twist that appears on no other tapes.
Being the first live show of the year, it’s
quite possible that these ideas were abandoned early on, but it’s impossible to
say for sure. All shows later in the
year seemed to follow the typical setlist format listed above. Some 8mm film footage from Cambridge also
existed at one point, but its present whereabouts are unknown.
Cambridge flyer and ad
Apr. 30, 1976
May 1 Southend-on-Sea,
England Kursaal Ballroom
Solution opened the show. GG was originally scheduled to play at a
University in Leicester, England on this date, but that show was canceled. The Kursaal
Ballroom, actually part of a larger amusement complex,
was originally built for ballroom dancing and had a sprung floor, which would
bounce and give along with the movements of the audience. This gave the crowd the feeling of being on a
choppy sea, but also caused concern for the road crew, as the PA system would
wobble along with the crowd. Also on
this night, the band had numerous technical problems, with the PA and monitors
cutting in and out at times. The band
was seen mouthing directions and making hand gestures to the crew in an attempt to work through these problems. At one point, while replacing an instrument
of his own, Derek accidentally knocked two of Gary’s guitars off a wooden
pegboard from which they hung. As
roadies assessed the damage, the band had a quick huddle on stage then went
straight into their five-man drum bash.
Gary appeared quite angry and actually broke
his drumsticks during the bash.
Additionally, it’s believed that the song Proclamation,
generally included in their set at this time, was not performed at this
particular concert.
Southend-on-Sea ad and poster May 1, 1976
May 2 London,
England Drury
Lane - Theatre Royal
Gary and Ray were spotted in the
balcony watching the opening act Solution.
A Record Mirror review gave the impression that at one point in
the middle of GG’s set, Kerry played a keyboard interlude of some sort while
the rest of the band left the stage.
During the concert, the band jokingly alluded to a Sounds article
in which John Weathers had apparently been elevated to the status of a ”sex symbol”.
Attendance reports for this show have been inconsistent, ranging from
being quite packed down to only a third full.
London - Drury Lane review May
2, 1976
May ? INTERVIEW
was released in America by Capitol in the month of May, possibly on either May
4 or May 10.
May 5 Norwich,
England University of East Anglia
Solution opened the show. This date was not always included in the
band’s promotional materials for this tour.
May 5 RAI Italian television broadcast a
brief filmed interview with Gentle Giant.
In the early evening, they often aired programs specifically geared
towards younger audiences, featuring family fare, cartoons
and some popular music performers of the day.
One recurring program often aired at this time was entitled Incontri con la Musica Nuova and on May 5,
that program included the interview. In
it, all five band members, with the help of an Italian translator, discussed
the British musical situation and the relationship between British and Italian
audiences. It is unknown when or where
this interview was filmed, though John Weathers can be heard stating that he
had been in the band for "three years." This would imply that the interview was
filmed sometime during the first half of 1975.
May 6 Coventry,
England Warwick University - Rootes Hall
Solution opened the show. Rootes Hall was a residence hall which also
served as a social center on campus, containing a restaurant, bar, billiard
room, etc. Upstairs was a carpeted space
called the Workroom which was used for events such as the giving of student
exams. It was also used as a concert
venue with the stage only six inches off the floor and the audience sitting on
the carpet. The room was apparently too
small for the band to use its array of back projected slides. A review in Melody Maker was unkind to
Giant, criticizing the fact that the audience had to sit through a number of taped segues for long periods of time with
nothing to look at. Attendance was poor at this gig, numbering only around 250,
and the University lost money. In fact,
all three of the University’s 1976 summer term concerts, Giant, Canned Heat and
folk singer Pete Atkins, failed to break even.
Coventry ad May 6,
1976
May 7 Birmingham,
England Town Hall
Solution opened the show. One report has the acoustics being rather
poor in this venue. After the opening
band finished, Roy Wood of the band Wizzard snuck
into the Hall to watch. Kerry confided
to an audience member after the show that Roy was indeed a fan of the band.
Birmingham ad May 7, 1976
May 8 Malvern,
England Winter Gardens
This was a multi-purpose venue rather
than an actual concert hall. Therefore, the
audience stood for the entire performance, there being virtually no
chairs. Because of this, the crowd was
quite noisy. Solution opened the show. A press report published later in the tour
revealed that the band was very unhappy with this gig. Apparently, frustrations had been building
for a while, particularly concerning their lack of commercial headway in
England and their feeling that the INTERVIEW album was somewhat of a
musical rehash. Then they found
themselves in this venue which they felt was beneath where they should be at
this point in their career. The concert
was plagued by difficulties, including a rowdy audience, as they struggled to
get through what Kerry described as “the worst gig of our lives”. The band did not
return for an encore and afterward, quite an argument ensued backstage. Visitors in the dressing room were asked to
leave as the band members sifted through the problems and vented their
frustrations among themselves. They actually considered breaking up but, fortunately, that did
not happen.
Malvern flyers and advance sale ticket May 8, 1976
May 10 Oxford,
England New
Theatre
Solution opened this show, which was definitely not full.
May 12 Manchester,
England Free Trade Hall
Solution opened the show. BBC personality Stuart Maconie was at this
concert and claims that Derek introduced the band as Led Zeppelin. Sadly, Ray’s violin solo was cut short due to
some electrical glitch. A roadie actually brought Ray a screwdriver on stage, but to no
avail. Attendance was poor, a fan at the
show recalling there being numerous empty seats. This venue is today an upscale hotel. Earlier, a gig in Manchester’s Palace Theatre
had been advertised for the previous night, May 11, but it apparently was
switched to this date and venue instead.
Although a concert at the Palace did not take place, a photograph of the
venue was used on the cover of the band's 1977 live album, PLAYING THE FOOL.
Manchester ad May
12, 1976
May 13 Sheffield,
England City Hall
During Interview, the title song
to the new album, Derek's microphone failed, so the song ended up being mostly
an instrumental. One fan recalls them
possibly playing Empty City, although this is unconfirmed. The City Hall was barely half full on this
evening, pointing out once again the trouble Giant had gaining
any real commercial success in the UK.
Solution opened the show but, curiously, posters from the event listed
folk singer Richard Digance as the opener. The same thing was true the following night
in Newcastle, as can be seen in the listing below. Digance may have
been planning to fill in on these occasions, but Solution ended up opening both
gigs after all, as originally scheduled.
Sheffield - poster with wrong opener and Gary with borrowed guitar May 13, 1976
May 14 Newcastle,
England City Hall
Solution opened
this show. However,
advertisements in the Newcastle Evening Chronicle demonstrate that exact
details were slow in coming together.
The earliest ad had the concert scheduled for May 11 and simply stated
that the bill would be “Gentle Giant + Guests”.
The following week’s ad carried the correct date but had the opener
listed as folk singer Richard Digance, similar to what happened the previous night in
Sheffield. Finally, closer to showtime,
ads had both the correct date and correct opener. One audience member was quite
impressed by the striped bass strap Ray was wearing at this gig which matched
the colors on the INTERVIEW album cover.
Series of Newcastle ads
May 14, 1976
May 15 Edinburgh,
Scotland Usher Hall
Solution opened the show. Ticket sales were again poor so, as the show
began, free tickets were being distributed to passers-by outside the venue in an attempt to lure more people inside. Still, attendance is thought to have been
under 1,000 in a 2,000-seat hall.
Edinburgh ticket
May 15, 1976
May 17 Southampton,
England Gaumont Theatre
At this 1,500 seat
theatre, Solution was scheduled to open again, but did not. Instead, the New Zealand band Split Enz
opened the show, this being their very first UK gig. In fact, they were introduced from the stage
as having “just gotten off the boat.”
After a slow start, this support act ended up being very well received
and was granted an encore by the crowd, even though they had a problem with
persistent feedback from the piano microphone.
Nevertheless, Giant was impressed with the Split Enz set and
subsequently lent a hand in helping them secure their UK record deal with
Chrysalis Records. In fact, personnel
from the record label were present to see the openers, meaning the gig served
as an impromptu audition.
After the UK tour, the
group headed into continental Europe for 2-3 weeks of dates in Holland, France and Italy. Prior
to this leg of touring, all the members humorously agreed to wear white suits
every day backstage, around town and wherever they went. The goal was to never have them cleaned and
to see whose suit was dirtiest by the end of the tour. For this purpose, John bought a white denim
suit but, as it turned out, he was the only one to do so. He wore it each day nonetheless and it did
indeed go through some tough times and ended up quite filthy. In fact, when the European tour was over, he
had trouble finding a dry cleaner who agreed to clean it.
Photos from these European concerts
show that Gary was still using a borrowed Les Paul guitar, all the way through
to the Italian dates.
May 21 Breda,
Holland Turfschip
Dutch band Kayak was the opening
band. They were also one of the support
bands on Giant’s previous visit to this venue on May 5, 1974.
Breda poster May
21, 1976
May 22 Delft,
Holland Stadion
DHC
On a beautiful, sunny day, GG
participated in this open-air event advertised as the "Oor
Festival" or as “Popfestival 76”. This all-day concert was billed as including
between nine and eleven hours of music.
It took place in a large venue capable of holding more than 10,000,
although the turnout was lower than expected with an estimated attendance of
4,000-5,000. Others sharing the stage
with Giant included 10cc, Eric Burdon, Alquin, an English comedy rock band
called Alberto y los Trios Paranoias, and Nils
Lofgren who was added as a special guest at the last minute. Giant played
second to last with 10cc closing the festival.
One fan reports there were some technical
problems with GG's sound this night.
Press reviews for GG’s performance were mixed, with one newspaper
singling them out as the highlight of the festival, while another believed that
the subtleties of the band’s music were lost in an outdoor stadium, being
better suited to an indoor venue. One
other review bemoaned the fact that while Giant and some other acts were good
enough to deserve an encore, they were denied that right due to time
constraints.
Delft ad and poster
May 22, 1976
May
? Paris France
UNCONFIRMED. The group played several shows in France but it’s known the exact itinerary there was unsettled for a
while, with a couple dates switched around.
One fan reports that a Spring 1976 show was held in Paris but an exact
date has not been located. Likewise, the
venue is not certain, but it may have been Pavillon de Paris. This concert is not confirmed as of yet, although the band did play Paris at the tail end
of their INTERVIEW tour on Oct. 5, 1976.
May 25 Lille,
France Le
Palais Rameau
A fan joked that this show was played
"in a glass house", since the building had lots of windows. The venue was said to be full and the sound
at the show was described as "church-like".
Lille May 25, 1976
May 26 Lyon,
France Bourse
du Travail
originally scheduled for May 28 but
moved ahead two days
May 27 Grenoble,
France La Patinoire de Grenoble
This concert, the only one the band
ever staged in Grenoble, was held in the smaller of two skating rinks used for
that city’s hosting of the 1968 Winter Olympics. This particular rink,
with a seating capacity of 3,000 to 4,000 spectators, had no official name,
being simply known in the area as La Patinoire de
Grenoble, translated as “the Skating Rink of Grenoble”. 2,000 to 3,000 fans enjoyed the concert,
although it was raining outside that evening.
One fan in attendance seems to think there may have been no support act.
May 29 Bordeaux,
France Theatre de Alhambra
The May 1976 issue
of Best Magazine announced this gig as May 28, but other sources and an
existing ticket stub prove the date was May 29.
Bordeaux ticket
May 29, 1976
John Weathers fondly recalls driving with the crew from
Bordeaux, France to the next show in Torino, Italy. He describes it as a “marvelous experience”
as they drove all across France and along the Riviera,
arriving in Torino on the morning of the gig there. He especially remembers watching the sun come
up over the Alps. The band had a total
of seven dates lined up in Italy.
However, unlike what happened in the Spring of 1974, when the band's
time there was cut short due to riots and unrest, most of these concerts went
on as planned. As usual, most
of the Italian dates were held in their respective city’s sports facilities, commonly
known as Palazzo dello Sport or Palasport. However, these are generic names translating
simply as Sports Palace. Some of the
venues technically had other more specific names but the generic names were usually
used in advertising, as can be seen below.
Italian tour ads May - June 1976
May 31 Torino,
Italy Palazzo
dello Sport
Attendance was reported as 5,000. There is a rumor that a tape of this concert
may exist.
Torino ad May 31, 1976
June 1 Brescia,
Italy Palazzo
dello Sport
The official name of this particular venue seems to have been Palazzo E.I.B.
June 2 Milan, Italy Palalido
CANCELED. While
municipal authorities in other Italian cities were often slow to grant
permission for the staging of rock concerts, Milan was even more reluctant than
most.
June 2 As had happened on May 5, RAI Italian
television again broadcast a segment on Gentle Giant during their Incontri con la Musica Nuova program, during
an early evening time slot geared towards younger audiences. Whereas on May 5, only an interview was
included in the broadcast, this episode was devoted entirely to Giant and was
given the title of Baroque n’ Roll.
It contained not only the earlier shown interview but live music as
well, specifically a performance of Excerpts from Octopus filmed at the
Mar. 16, 1974 London concert. The
episode was broadcast in black and white in Italy, even though footage of the
exact same live London performance was shown in color at other times in England
and Germany. This entire Baroque n’
Roll episode now appears on the official GIANT ON THE BOX DVD.
Italian “Baroque and Roll” TV listing June 2, 1976
June 3 Cantu’, Italy Palazzo dello
Sport
June 4 Reggio
Emilia, Italy Palazzo dello Sport
The pre-recorded snippet of Talybont was definitely played to start the evening in Reggio Emilia.
Reggio Emilia ticket June 4,
1976
June 5 Rimini,
Italy L’Altro Mondo
An existing tape of this concert
documents an enthusiastic crowd watching the band play an equally enthusiastic
show, even though it was quite hot in the venue. Ray got into another of his shouting matches
with the audience during his Timing violin solo, while John playfully
interacted with the audience frequently, even leading them in a short chant
before bringing the band into the song Free Hand. On this night, John was introduced as
“Giovanni Catastrophe” while Derek introduced himself as his old friend Elton
John. Elton had briefly played with
Simon Dupree back in 1967 while still going by his given name of Reginald
Dwight. A band called Bingo opening for
Giant at this gig, as confirmed by two separate members of that group. One of these members of Bingo recalls the
members of GG being very complimentary to them on the quality of their opening
set. He was also quite impressed at the
sophistication of GG’s equipment and stage setup. He particularly points to the fact that the
Leslie speaker for Kerry’s Hammond Organ was actually set
up offstage with three microphones, so as to produce a cleaner sound at the
mixing desk. Giant’s frequent use of
this audio trick was also confirmed by roadie Dave Zammit who was operating the
PA mixer at the time.
June 6 An interview with the band appeared on
Scotland’s Radio Clyde on a program called Stick It in Your Ear, hosted
by Brian Ford. This was a fairly
experimental, cutting edge program in which portions
of the interview were mixed in with snippets of the band’s music. Since it was not a live broadcast, the actual
date of the interview remains unknown.
Others appearing on this episode were Billy Swann and Bruce Johnston.
“Stick It in Your Ear” radio broadcast
June 6, 1976
June 7 Rome,
Italy Palazzo dello
Sport
The band graciously donated their profits
from this concert to relief efforts for recent earthquake victims in the Friuli
region of northeast Italy. Even though
the hall was allegedly packed and the acoustics were poor, L’Unita
remarked that the audience was well-behaved and the concert was relatively
uneventful, an unusual occurrence in the volatile Italian concert scene at the
time.
Rome ticket June
7, 1976
The Bicentennial summer of 1976
found the band on tour in North America, a tour which, judging from early
promotional material, underwent a number of date and
venue adjustments before being finalized.
Although they did headline some gigs, they still had to play a support
role part of the time. During some huge
stadium dates with Yes, they sometimes had to appear third or fourth on the
bill. How well GG was accepted by the
crowds at these stadium dates is in question.
A number of reports have surfaced saying that
there was much indifference and even booing at some of these shows. It is difficult to ascertain the truth in
this matter but with the huge numbers in attendance, it is indeed possible,
even likely, that segments of the audience did not appreciate Giant. It must also be remembered that Peter
Frampton, who shared some of these bills, was riding a massive wave of
commercial popularity at this time. It
is reasonable to assume that large numbers of fans were not present to hear the
progressive rock of Yes or Gentle Giant.
These legions of Frampton fans may have had different musical tastes and
this could explain the indifference found in areas around the venues. Logically, one could also assume that the
progressive Yes/GG fans probably behaved similarly during Frampton’s set.
On a happier note, Gary Green
finally had his own Les Paul guitar back in service when the group reached
North America.
JEM Import Company flyer with North American tour dates Summer 1976
TYPICAL SETLIST (Mid 1976)
Intro/Just the Same - The portion of the album
version of the song Talybont from FREE HAND, followed by the Intro
76 prerecorded tape, was always played first, before the concert began.
Proclamation/Valedictory
On Reflection
Interview
The Runaway/Experience
So Sincere
Excerpts from Octopus
Give It Back - played sporadically
until late July, when it was dropped for good, never to return
Timing
Free Hand - During the first few
weeks of the North American tour, many shows ended with this song, with no
encore following.
Peel the Paint/I Lost My Head - This mini-medley was
played as an encore at some shows during the first weeks of the tour, but more
consistently by late July, after Give It Back was dropped.
June 17 Upper
Darby, Pennsylvania Tower Theater
Starcastle
was the opening act. Giant managed to
draw around 2,700 fans to this show which was no small feat, considering that
Yes was playing to around 100,000 in nearby Jersey City on the same night. Some early printed tour material had this gig
incorrectly listed as being on June 19.
The Tower was a venue with excellent acoustics in which Giant appeared
several times during their career. At
this particular show, Gary made an error during Excerpts From
Octopus, causing the band to stop and start the piece over. It’s also been said
that at one of those Tower Theater gigs, John Weathers appeared wearing only a
huge diaper.
Upper Darby ad and press notice June 17, 1976
June 18 New
York, New York Central Park - Wollman Rink
This was a general admission concert at
an outdoor venue and was nearly sold out.
It was part of Central Park's annual “Shaeffer Music Festival”, a series of summer concerts sponsored by Shaeffer
Beer. Prior to the show, John Weathers
was seen running down the line of people waiting to get in, eliciting much
applause. Starcastle
was the opening act and started their set about 25 minutes late. There are conflicting reports as to how
enthusiastically they were received but the New York Times reviewer believed
Starcastle was as well accepted by the audience as
was Giant and had more rhythmic drive to their music than did the
headliners. The intermission before
Giant came out lasted an additional 55 minutes, making for a long evening
overall. A tape of Giant’s full set
exists. On this night, Derek introduced
himself as Barry Manilow. One spectator
in attendance recalls a humorous moment as the band members slammed into each
other as they rushed to switch instruments during one of the songs. Reportedly, the PA system was a bit
underpowered for this particular venue and there were
several equipment problems during the show.
For instance, there was a small glitch with the “coin spin” tape used to
introduce Excerpts from Octopus.
In the encore slot was the Peel the Paint/I Lost My Head
mini-medley, not a common occurrence this early in the North American
tour. Although it ended up not being
needed, ticket purchasers were informed that June 20 was set aside as a rain
date.
New York - “Shaeffer Music Festival” June 18, 1976
June 19 Ellicott
City, Maryland Hollywood
Palace
It's been said
that this venue, just outside Baltimore, was really far from being a
"palace", but was actually just a bar. The place had tables for around 150 patrons
and a dance floor in front of the stage.
Although not yet definitive, a couple sources indicate the poorly
received opening act was a pop band, possibly the Pez Band, a group that often
served as a house band for other events at the venue. However, several fan reports have Giant
playing alone on this particular night. Apparently, the person in charge of the
spotlight was having an off night, as Derek at times had to point at the person
soloing who needed to be lit. Another
fan simply recalls the band as being extremely loud in the small space.
Ellicott City ad June 19, 1976
June 22 Springfield,
Massachusetts Civic Center
Here, Giant played second on a triple
bill, following Derringer and preceding Todd Rundgren's Utopia. Derringer, which was Rick Derringer's group
at the time, was only added to the bill about a week before the show. Rick lived nearby and was well known in the
area, so he may have been brought on board to bolster lackluster ticket
sales. Even so, the hall was far from
full, with the Springfield Union citing a “modest crowd of 1,866” out of
a possible 4,600. After Derringer's set,
a black curtain was pulled back, revealing GG's stage setup. When the band began, things went very well
but, when they began playing some of their softer material, certain portions of
the crowd became a bit restless and the occasional call for
”rock and roll” could be heard.
Some band members appeared annoyed at this, particularly Kerry. By the end, the audience was again responding
well, but Giant's set was still relatively short. Then, the Utopia set was plagued with
electrical problems towards the start, resulting in a lengthy delay. A local newspaper had earlier advertised that
Derringer was to open for Giant at the Civic Center in Providence, Rhode Island
on June 22, but that’s not what happened.
Springfield ad
June 22, 1976
June 24 Moncton, New Brunswick Moncton Coliseum
Giant next scheduled several shows in
Canada with Starcastle as the opening act. The first of these was
originally slated for Chichoutimi, Quebec on the
previous night of June 23, but that one was canceled. Early reports also had the band scheduled to
play in Trois Rivieres, Quebec on this evening of June 24, but that was
obviously changed as this Canadian mini-tour actually did
start in Moncton. However,
getting to this particular gig proved very difficult
for Giant. Due to a Canadian air traffic
controller strike, the band was unable to take the commercial flight they had
originally booked. They ended up driving
for two days to get to Moncton after the Springfield gig listed above. After the show, their promotor arranged for a
private charter flight to take them to Quebec City for the next night’s
gig. Of course, this entire situation
incurred additional expense for the band and may have continued to be a problem
for the other dates on this Canadian leg of the tour. This particular gig
was a general admission concert held in a hockey arena. Conflicting
attendance estimates have circulated, but a more official source places the
number at 1,200. Floor seating appeared
full while not as many sat in the higher seats. A couple fans remember that during the
quadraphonic violin solo, Ray repeatedly pointed with his bow at the various
locations within the hall where the next echoes would appear. On this night, a rumor circulated that an
associate of the band, perhaps a roadie, died shortly before the gig. This supposedly necessitated the band
performing with only half of their normal stage set-up at the show. When asked about this more recently, Gary
expressed doubt that the band would perform with much equipment missing. He also recalls nobody connected to the band
passing away.
Poster for Canadian gigs with Starcastle June 1976
June 25 Quebec
City, Quebec Colisee
Starcastle
was the opening act. Attendance was only
3,500 out of a potential 12,000. GG was
late arriving at the hall and did not have time for a proper soundcheck. At the start of their set, they had some
audio issues that took a couple songs to sort out.
Quebec City ad
June 25, 1976
June 26 Ottawa,
Ontario Lansdown
Park - Civic Centre Arena
Starcastle
was the opening act and was given a decent reception. Although possibly not full, it was
nonetheless a very good sized crowd of about
5,000. One local newspaper reviewer was
unkind to GG, using the headline “Gentle Giant: Boredom on a Colossal Scale”, while another was a bit more gracious, describing the
band’s performance as “Tricky but Rewarding”.
Ottawa ad June 26,
1976
June 26 The VARA TV Network in the Netherlands broadcast a 50-minute
Gentle Giant concert, more than likely a rebroadcast of the German ZDF-TV Sonntagskonzert program first aired on Aug. 10,
1975. VARA had already rebroadcast the
program once in December of 1975.
June 27 Toronto,
Ontario Massey
Hall
Starcastle
was the opening act. The venue was
sold-out in advance, with a total ticket sale of 2,712. The audience was quite loud, lively and enthusiastic at this show. Ray picked up on the enthusiasm of the crowd
and was quite playful during his violin solo, provoking them into an extensive
back and forth shouting match. One happy
fan kept yelling out to Gary, “are you an onion?” The exact meaning of this question isn’t clear, but it did elicit giggles from him. Some of the more rambunctious members of the
crowd did get a bit carried away though, with one fan repeatedly gobbling like
a turkey during quiet sections, annoying those around him. Another yelled out a derogatory insult just
before the start of So Sincere and was roundly chastised by most of the
audience before the song could begin. It
was apparently quite hot in the venue, causing Derek to remove his shirt for
the final encore. A tape of this concert
is known to exist.
Toronto June 27,
1976
June 28 Montreal,
Quebec Place des Nations
This was a general admission concert
held in an outdoor open-air venue that one published review described as sold
out, with between 10,000 and 12,000 in attendance. Although not needed, a rain date was planned
for the next night. Starcastle
was the opening act. According to a
newspaper report published the next day, things got off to a rocky start. Just prior to the show, about 300
gatecrashers tried to violently force their way in. Bottles were thrown, while police wielded
batons and used patrol dogs to restore order.
There were several injuries as well as arrests. Fortunately, things quieted down and for the
rest of the evening, the band enjoyed a rapturous reception by the enthusiastic
audience. However, that was not the end
of the unrest as, while the band was performing, tragedy struck outside the
venue. The theft of a leather jacket led
to the stabbing death of one young man and the injury of another. The band only found out about this afterwards
but, although the police established the crime’s occurrence in
close proximity to the concert was purely coincidental, the band was
nonetheless quite distressed by the event.
During a radio interview Derek did the next day on the city’s CHOM radio
station, this unpleasant subject never came up.
A tape of Starcastle’s set has surfaced, but
not Giant’s, although it is rumored to exist.
Oddly, Los Angeles was at one time advertised as being the planned
location of this concert.
Montreal June 28,
1976
June 30 London,
Ontario London
Arena
the last 1976 show for which Starcastle was the opening act. Starcastle has
claimed to have very much enjoyed their concerts with Giant.
London, Ontario ticket
June 30, 1976
July 1 Binghamton,
New York Broome County
Veterans Memorial Arena
opened for Todd Rundgren’s Utopia. They were well enough received to be called
back for an encore. Attendance was
reported to be around 2,500 which meant the venue was less than half full. A printed Todd Rundgren tour itinerary shows
that Nils Lofgren was at one time also on the bill, but he did not appear.
July 2 Rochester,
New York Masonic Temple -
Auditorium Theatre
This show was a theater gig at which
Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow headlined before about 1,500 people. Thin Lizzy was originally planned as
Rainbow's opening act during June and July.
However, due to illness, Thin Lizzy pulled out of the entire tour,
causing Rainbow to sign various alternate support acts as they went along. On this night, Giant played in the middle of
a triple bill, after Angel and before Rainbow.
They were also well enough received to return to the stage for an encore
or two. Their audience ovation continued
even after the house lights finally went up.
In a published interview in 1980, Ray recalled this concert fondly,
proudly claiming GG upstaged Rainbow.
Rochester backstage pass
July 2, 1976
July 3 Hempstead,
New York Calderone Concert
Hall
This show was broadcast live on New
York City's WLIR radio as part of that station's Bicentennial celebration. It appears to be the longest broadcast the
band ever did. At one point between
songs, Derek joked that he would "make peace" with the Americans for
"dipping the tea in the water" and "kicking Britain out of
Boston". Following the usual encore
of Peel the Paint/I Lost My Head, the band again returned to the stage
and, as midnight approached, played In the Midnight Hour as a surprise second
encore, during which Gary had a little trouble playing his part. This was followed by yet another surprise, a
version of Happy Birthday, dedicated as a July 4 birthday tribute to the
USA. Fan recollections originally
conflicted regarding whether Happy Birthday was actually
performed on this night, but it’s been confirmed by a partial audience
recording that recently surfaced comprising just the three final encores, none
of which were part of the radio broadcast.
Early evidence indicated that the Mick Ronson Band opened this show with
an unannounced set, mainly based on recollections from Ronson’s drummer. However, that has proved to be incorrect, as
Ronson’s performance actually took place at the Feb.
28, 1977 Calderone show. In fact,
although it is still uncertain, a number of people at
this 1976 show have sworn that they saw no support act at all. Over the years, more and more music from this
radio broadcast started to appear on official releases. Most, but not all, of the broadcast, was
first released by Glass House on the IN’TERVIEW IN CONCERT CD in 2000
but that release is of notably inferior sound quality. Next, two songs were released on 35th
anniversary CD reissues. Just the
Same is included on the FREE HAND reissue, while the song Interview
appears on the INTERVIEW reissue.
In 2011, the Alucard reissue of OCTOPUS included Excerpts from
Octopus from this gig as a bonus track.
At last, an excellent quality source of the entire live broadcast was
released by the band themselves in 2014 on the LIVE AT THE BICENTENNIAL
CD. In 2022, this same excellent
recording was again released, on vinyl only, as part of the FRONT ROW CENTER
boxset. Not surprisingly, LIVE AT THE
BICENTENNIAL and FRONT ROW CENTER both edited out spoken bits from
the radio announcer but, for some reason, they also edited out the section
where Derek introduces himself to the crowd as Donny Osmond.
Hempstead ads July 3, 1976
July 5 Elyria,
Ohio The Joker
A tape of this show exists. Early ads listed Ethos as the opening act, but
by the beginning of July, the opener was listed as a British band called Upp who were produced by Jeff Beck and were on their first
American tour. The Joker was a
low-ceilinged, low-stage cavernous space nestled among the off ramps of a
freeway exchange. Earlier on, it had
been a K-Mart Department Store.
Elyria ads -
original and updated bill July 5, 1977
July 6 Columbus,
Ohio Agora
Ballroom
This gig was originally advertised as
being held at the Ohio Theater but was eventually changed to the much smaller
Agora Ballroom, a venue where GG had played twice before. This was probably due to insufficient ticket
sales. In fact, it’s
said that there were as few as 50 people in the crowd for this show, including
those who spent the evening at the bar in the back. The opener was Felix Pappalardi
with his band Creation. Creation was actually a Japanese rock band that Pappalardi
met while in that country. He then
brought them back to America to record with him and serve as his live backup
band.
Columbus – original and final venues July 6, 1976
July 7 Chicago,
Illinois Riviera Theatre
At this general admission show, Felix Pappalardi and his band Creation again opened the show for
GG and, according to a press report, they were booed off the stage when they
mistakenly returned for an encore. The
Riviera is an old refurbished 1930's movie theater on Chicago's north side,
seating around 1,800. Giant's set was
recorded by Chicago radio station WXRT, eventually being edited and broadcast
on January 16,1977.
Chicago ad July 7, 1976
July 8 Detroit, Michigan Ford Auditorium
UNCONFIRMED. There is a
report that this gig may possibly have been canceled due to poor ticket
sales. GG was again set to be supported
by Felix Pappalardi and his band Creation, as well as
by a band called Natural Gas.
Ad for unconfirmed Detroit concert July 8, 1976
July 9 Terre
Haute, Indiana Indiana State University - Hullman Center
This was an event billed as a “Summer
Jam” and was a general admission show.
Giant followed Starz and Wet Willie, all opening for headliner Ted
Nugent before 4,200 fans.
Terre Haute ad
July 11 Dallas,
Texas Electric
Ballroom
The Abilene Reporter-News noted
that the audience for this show paid no admission. That was because this was one in a series of
free Sunday night concerts sponsored by Dallas radio station KZEW. Even though many in the crowd were unfamiliar
with Giant’s music, most were very impressed.
At one point while the band was playing the Knots portion of Excerpts
from Octopus, a large portion of the crowd suddenly rushed forward in
delight towards the stage. This slightly
startled the band, but they kept going with no problems. There were said to be two opening acts at
this gig. The first is unknown, but the
second was called Uncle Rainbow who were also well-received and were called back
for an encore. Even though they were
basically a pop band, they surprised the audience with an encore of Weather
Report's Man In the Green Shirt. A curious fan report
has the young West Coast band Van Halen booked originally to appear on this
evening, before they were signed or terribly well-known. Supposedly, they had to cancel which led to
Giant taking over the booking. This is,
of course, unverified, although Dallas was not included in the band’s original
tour publicity.
July 13 Austin,
Texas Armadillo
World Headquarters
The band has claimed that Austin was
one of their favorite places to play and immediately after this show, Kerry, Ray and Gary told a fan that they thought this was one of
their better played gigs. The audience
was very receptive. The opening act was
a band appropriately called Texas.
Austin ad July 13,
1976
July 14 Starting on this date, Giant and
British musician John Miles were featured on American radio on an episode of
the BBC Rock Hour, with added narration by BBC presenter Brian
Matthew. Miles’ set aired first. This syndicated program generally presented
live concert material originally recorded by the BBC to American audiences
although, on occasion, they included interviews and even album tracks. This particular episode
was unusual in that Giant’s set was actually recorded in America and although
they were indeed a British band, the recording was not originally made by the
BBC. It was actually a
shortened, edited version of the Hempstead, New York performance originally
broadcast from Ultrasonic Studios on WLIR Radio on Oct. 7, 1975. Included were Intro/Cogs in Cogs, So
Sincere, Free Hand and Just the Same. As was normally the case with programs like
this, individual stations were free to air the recordings at any time during a
prescribed time period, with this episode reportedly
first broadcast on Wednesday, July 14.
However, many stations found it easier to air it on the weekend. As an example, the broadcast advertised below
actually took place on Sunday, July 18.
“BBC Rock Hour” radio broadcast July 14 1976
July 16 Santa
Barbara, California Arlington Theatre
A tape exists of this gig at which
Giant played alone, with no support act.
There was a brief power failure during the concert, but GG quickly
recovered. There had been some dispute
over this show’s venue, but it definitely was the
Arlington Theatre, an architecturally dazzling venue which held about 2,000
people. Unfortunately, the concert had a
poor attendance of only 800, possibly because southern California fans were
gearing up the following night’s stadium gig in nearby Anaheim. The band also suffered from poor sound on
this evening, but the crowd did give them a warm reception. Prior to the show, one of the ushers
remembers watching some of the band’s soundcheck from the wings and says they
ran through covers of a few classic rock songs, including some Beatles
material. There’s
also one unconfirmed report that, at the end of the show, the band came out for
an encore of In the Midnight Hour but this does not appear on the live
recording.
Santa Barbara ad
July 16, 1976
July 17 Anaheim,
California Anaheim Stadium
The stage was set up in center field of
this baseball stadium. Fans filled the grandstand
plus the entire infield was filled with more fans sitting on blankets. Some estimates had as many as 70,000 in
attendance, but figures printed in Billboard indicate that 55,000
tickets were sold. In fact, this general
admission show was sold out ten days in advance. Even American President Gerald Ford’s son
Steve was in attendance, as was Danny Bonaduce of the Partridge Family. Giant played first, with a couple reports
having them beginning quite a bit before the scheduled 4:00 start time, even as
early as 3:00. They were followed by
Gary Wright, Peter Frampton and headliners Yes. Interestingly, weight-lifters, high wire
performers and skydivers were used to entertain the crowd between the different
musical sets. A reviewer for the Anaheim
Bulletin had nice things to say about all four of the musical acts but, of
the between-set entertainers, only enjoyed the skydivers. Kerry thought the experience of being part of
such a large event, easily one of the band’s biggest gigs ever, was incredible. On the other hand, Ray seems to recall not
enjoying the show very much and Gary says he was a bit intimidated by the huge
crowd, even though the group’s early start time supposedly had them playing
while many seats remained empty. Derek
joked with the crowd, starting off by announcing, "if you know us, we're Gentle Giant, if you don't, then we're Pink
Floyd” and at
another point telling the crowd to “pretend we’re Led Zeppelin”. Considering it was
very hot during Giant’s set, the crowd was reportedly well-behaved, with the exception of a few people who booed and even threw
things at the band. One report has the
drum bash during So Sincere being very well accepted by the
audience. On the other hand, Giant was
the only act not called back for an encore.
Parts of Frampton's set this night were filmed, but there’s
no evidence that Giant’s set was. This
was the first of several large stadium shows in which Giant participated in
July of 1976.
Anaheim July 17,
1976
July 18 San
Diego, California Balboa Stadium
opened for Gary Wright, Peter Frampton
and Yes on a hot, sunny day. Being first
on the bill, GG hit the stage around 3:00 P.M. and the entire concert went on
for a full seven hours. During the
approximately two hours’ worth of intermissions between acts, the crowd was
again treated to a pastiche of circus acts, including skywriters and a
skydiving exhibition by a team of 12 parachutists. Not only was the 35,000-seat venue sold out,
but the press reported that an additional 4,500 fans were milling about. Police had a difficult time keeping order, as
there were many reports of vandalism, as well as more than 90 arrests and
multiple injuries, including three policemen.
An existing tape of this gig shows that they included no INTERVIEW
material, instead relying on their more familiar songs from previous
albums. This is one of the shows for
which different fan reactions have been reported. Some say GG endured their share of heavy
booing during their set, while others disagree.
The band did have problems with feedback and an uncooperative PA system
that certainly did not help. Whatever
the case, the band themselves perceived their reception as being unfavorable, a
point that Derek commented on the next time they played San Diego on Mar. 30,
1977. A local television station aired a
news report the next day, concentrating on the rioting and vandalism, but it
also included a couple brief clips of Giant playing a bit of Knots from Excerpts
from Octopus. A film of a portion of
Gary Wright’s set is also known to exist but, oddly, no film of headliners Yes
has surfaced.
San Diego backstage pass and GG under Yes’ massive rig July 18, 1976
July 19 Fresno,
California Selland Arena
Yes was not on
this bill, so Giant opened just for Peter Frampton. One person in attendance claims Giant was
booed quite a bit by some of the Frampton fans at this show, as well. Over 7,000 fans were in the crowd for this
sold-out show, which was reported to be the earliest Fresno major rock concert
advance sellout up to that time.
July 20 Daly
City, California Cow Palace
opened for Yes again to a packed house
of 14,500, the show being sold out in advance.
Giant came out for a somewhat obligatory encore at this show, which
would normally imply a very positive reaction from the crowd. However, two fan reports have the band being
booed yet again. This could partially be
explained by the fact that crowds at the Cow Palace traditionally could be
heard “mooing” at many concerts, in honor of the venue’s odd name and history
of hosting national rodeo events.
Unfortunately, on this night, it appears there truly was some discontent
in the crowd, a fact pointed out in an absolutely horrific,
scathing review published in the Stanford Daily. Phrases like “fell flat on its face”, “worst synthesizer music”, “bizarre songs”, “overly
contrived”, “unimaginative”, “inaudible” and “repetitive” run through what has
to be one of the worst GG concert reviews to surface so far. Of course, the reviewer’s credibility must be
called into question, seeing as how he also stated that Phil Shulman played
bass at the show. It is known that the
sound for the band was sub-par this night, with their overall volume coming in
considerably quieter than what Yes produced.
There were equipment problems, as well.
It took a roadie quite a while to get Ray’s bass working properly as the
band began their set. At another point
in the show, John went to play the vibraphone, only to find the instrument's
microphones were dead. He held his
sticks up in frustration. There’s even a report of the mouthpiece coming loose on
Kerry’s recorder at one point, causing a roadie to run out and assist, while
the rest of the band cycled through their parts until he could join in. Derek told the audience that the band felt
crowded on stage, indicating this may have contributed to their problems, but
the reviewer even took offense at this.
Apparently, the audience felt quite crowded, as well. This was a festival seating gig and a fan in
the front row recounts how the pressure from the crowd behind him became so
intense during Giant’s set that the wooden barrier in front of the stage
collapsed at one point, spilling him and several others under the stage. When Giant finished playing, promoter Bill
Graham had to come out and ask the audience to move back a bit so carpenters
could repair the barrier. As it turned
out, Yes had its own share of troubles on stage. Bassist Chris Squire had considerable
problems with his instrument, causing him to actually throw
it backstage in anger at one point. It's believed that Yes was originally planning on playing in
nearby Oakland, California on this particular night and there was discussion of
Giant playing at a different venue altogether, but that is not how things
transpired. The bands did share the bill,
although Giant was the only opening act, unlike most of their other dates with
Yes. There is a rumor that Yes’ set may
have been filmed but, once more, there are no indications that GG’s set was.
Daly City - horrible Stanford Daily review July 20, 1976
July 22 Vancouver,
British Columbia Pacific Coliseum
opened for Yes. A tape of this gig exists and, once more, one
fan remembers GG being booed, although another report has this behavior not
being rampant, with most people enjoying Giant’s set. According to one fan at the show, Yes singer Jon Anderson was also impressed with GG’s set,
commenting from the stage that they were a tough act to follow. The local press agreed with this in their
review, stating Giant was “well received”. Ray commented to this reviewer that, although
the band preferred smaller audiences, they were currently trying larger places
such as this one to “see what happens”. This particular venue
was a 15,000-seat hockey arena but Giant had a very cramped space on stage in
which to perform. Attendance was
officially reported as 11, 901.
Vancouver poster and ad
July 22, 1976
July 23 Seattle,
Washington Seattle Center Coliseum
opened for Yes before 15,000 fans at
this sold-out show. While in town for
one of the band’s Seattle gigs, John and Gary actually did some shark fishing
from their second floor hotel window. They caught one and kept it in the bathtub
for a time. This odd behavior mirrors
that which was first immortalized on an earlier Frank Zappa recording in which
he refers to fishing out the window of Seattle’s Edgewater Inn, possibly the
same hotel Giant occupied while in town.
According to John, GG’s fishing expedition took place either on this
date, or when they next were in Seattle on Mar. 26, 1977.
Seattle July 23, 1976
July 24 Portland,
Oregon Memorial Coliseum
opened for Yes. A couple different print sources placed the
official attendance at 7,871 but the local Oregonian newspaper reported
a “sellout of 11,000”.
July 25 Spokane,
Washington Spokane Coliseum
Around 6,500 people saw Giant open for
Yes. Two Spokane newspapers printed
reviews the following day, but neither mentioned Giant. One did comment, however, on how hot and uncomfortable
it was in the Coliseum.
July 28 Denver,
Colorado Auditorium Arena
opened for Yes. A member of Yes’ road crew claimed
disappointedly that only 3,000 tickets were sold in this large arena. However, that would be very unlikely at this
point in Yes' career. A fan in the
audience remembers the crowd being much bigger than that, although the arena
may not have been sold out. On this
night, there have been no reports of GG being booed. In fact, although Giant did not perform an
encore, their reception by the crowd was reportedly strong enough to merit
one.
Sep. 3 On this date, the RTB TV network in
Belgium rebroadcast the German ZDF Sonntagskonzert program
originally shown on Aug. 10, 1975. The live performance was actually
filmed right in Belgium.
A fall 1976 European tour was
next. In an interview published in July,
Derek said the group hoped to take the unusual step of working into this tour a
concert in Poland and another in Israel, but these plans never came to
fruition. This was not the first failed
attempt at performing in Poland, the group having tried to schedule a mini-tour
there in June 1972. Ultimately, the tour
outlined below went ahead with very few setlist changes from the summer
tour. However, Give It Back was
deleted and, as it turned out, all songs from the INTERVIEW album
disappeared from concerts by the next year.
TYPICAL SETLIST (Fall 1976)
Intro/Just the Same - Some of the European
shows may have begun with a shortened Intro 76 in which the portion of Talybont
was again left out.
Proclamation/Valedictory
On Reflection/Interview
The Runaway/Experience
So Sincere
Excerpts from Octopus
Funny Ways - This crowd favorite was
put back into the set.
Timing
Free Hand
Peel the Paint/I Lost My Head
The Italian band Banco was
brought on board and was scheduled to open at many, if not all, of the shows on
this European tour. So far, it’s been verified that they had to cancel a few appearances
early on, but did open at all the German shows and at least two others.
During this European tour, Giant recorded four of their
concerts with the intention of sifting through the tapes and compiling a live
album. Music from these four concerts
made up the 1977 PLAYING THE FOOL live album. Originally, all four of these concert
recordings were complete but, through the years, portions were erased. All remaining source material was compiled
and included in the UNBURIED TREASURE boxset in 2019.
Sep. 16 Oslo,
Norway Chateau Neuf
One report has a full house of around
1,200 fans attending this concert, while the Dagbladet newspaper states
around 800. Banco was scheduled to open,
but it’s unknown if they did.
Oslo Sep. 16, 1976
Sep. 17 Gothenburg,
Sweden Konserthuset
A tape of this concert exists. Banco had again intended to open this show,
but it is known they had to cancel. The
newspaper reviews after the concert were lukewarm, at best, although one paper
did note that the hall was “packed”.
Sep. 18 Stockholm,
Sweden Konserthuset
Again, Banco was the scheduled opener
but, again, they canceled.
Stockholm ticket Sep. 18, 1976
Sep. 19 Lund,
Sweden Olympen
held before approximately 700 fans in a
concert facility managed by the University of Lund but not located directly on
campus. Posters of the event listed
Banco as the intended opener but, again, they canceled. A tape of the entire concert was released in
2002 by Glass House with the title of ARTISTICALLY CRYME. This recording shows that the band seemed to
take their time on the songs, making this a longer than usual performance. Peel the Paint/I Lost My Head from this
gig can also be found on the MEMORIES OF OLD DAYS compilation.
Lund Sep. 19, 1976
Sep. 20 Kiel,
Germany Audimax
Banco opened the show. One fan remembers seeing the band at some
point at Ball Pompos, a different venue in Kiel,
though there is no proof of this.
German tour dates Sep. 1976
Sep. 21 Hamburg, Germany Musikhalle
Banco again opened the show. According to a review in Hamburger Abendblatt, about 1,400 fans were in attendance, making
the show not quite sold out. The
reviewer also claimed the playing was technically precise but lacked feeling,
causing a less than enthusiastic response at times from the fans. A member of the audience has also pointed out
that the group’s PA system was noisy and uncooperative at this gig, with the
quadrophonic system used during Ray’s violin solo not functioning properly.
Hamburg ad Sep. 21, 1976
Sep. 22 Berlin, Germany Philharmonie
CANCELED. The band
was scheduled to appear at this gig with Banco, but they encountered problems
getting equipment across the border between West and East Germany. The members of Giant did manage to arrive in
Berlin and were even interviewed for a local music newspaper, but they were
unable to perform. The venue hastily
arranged a classical orchestra concert in the band’s place.
Sep. 23 Dusseldorf,
Germany Philipshalle
Banco opened the show. This was one of the four concerts from the
fall of 1976 that Giant recorded for a potential live album, the other three
being the Munich, Paris and Brussels gigs. When the PLAYING THE FOOL album was
released, it included Intro/Just the Same, Proclamation and On
Reflection from Dusseldorf, but other material from this concert has also
seen official release more recently. The
songs Interview and Timing, as well as Intro 76 from this
show, appeared on the UNDER CONSTRUCTION
album. The mini-medley of The
Runaway/Experience from this show appears on the 2000 CD reissue of IN A
GLASS HOUSE. This same mini-medley
is also included on the 2005 35th anniversary CD reissue of the same album,
where it's erroneously labeled as being just the song Experience. Still, more of this night’s music remained
unreleased until 2019 when the UNBURIED TREASURE boxset contained, in
remixed and remastered form, all of the surviving
material from the Dusseldorf show, which is nearly complete.
Dusseldorf ticket
Sep. 23, 1976
Sep. 24 Mannheim,
Germany Rosengarten Musensaal
Banco opened the show. A newspaper review described the hall as
“densely packed”, while being more favorable of
Banco’s performance than of Giant’s.
Mannheim poster
Sep. 24, 1976
Sep. 25 Munich,
Germany Circus Krone Building
Banco opened the show. According to the terms of their contract,
Banco was not allowed to play encores on this tour. However, the audience was quite vocal at this
show in their support for the openers, so Giant reversed their decision and
allowed an encore on this evening and on subsequent evenings, as needed. This was another one of the four concerts
recorded by the band for the PLAYING THE FOOL album, though only Funny
Ways from this show appeared on that album.
A little under an hour’s worth of this gig remains intact on tape and
that has now been remixed, remastered and included in
the UNBURIED TREASURE boxset. The Circus Krone
Building, as the name implies, was home to one of the largest circus
organizations in Europe, although they often hosted rock concerts and other
entertainment events.
Munich flyer Sep.
25, 1976
Sep. 27 Ulm,
Germany Donauhalle
CANCELED. The band
originally planned to play here with Banco but it was canceled at the very last
minute. Electrical issues in the venue
were given as the reason, but a notice in the Sudwest
Presse questioned whether sluggish ticket sales were a contributing factor.
Sep. 28 Offenbach,
Germany Stadthalle
Banco opened the show and was well
received, playing one or two encores.
During the show, Kerry greeted the fans by saying "hello
Frankfurt", followed by howls of disapproval from the audience. Offenbach is very near to Frankfurt but is
not actually part of that larger city.
There is some evidence that the band may have also planned to record
this gig, but it didn't happen. Coincidentally, though, just as Derek was
introducing the medley of The Runaway/Experience, someone in the crowd
yelled out a loud "yeah!" sounding very similar to what appears at
the same spot on the PLAYING THE FOOL album.
Offenbach Sep. 28,
1976
Sep. 30 Zurich,
Switzerland Volkshaus
This is another gig that some evidence
indicates the band may have originally intended to record, though it didn't happen.
However, a tape made by an audience member does exist. It may have been unusually hot on stage that
night, as Derek remarked that it felt "like a sauna bath" and joked
that the band may have to start removing their clothes, which he said might
"scare the girls".
Zurich flyer Sep.
30, 1976
Oct. 1 Neuchatel,
Switzerland Temple du Bas
A tape of this show also exists. Banco opened the show, which was reportedly
only the second major rock concert to be held in Neuchatel. Temple du Bas was a beautiful old church that
had just recently been renovated. As a
rider in their contract, the band had listed certain electrical safety features
be installed. The promoter told them
during soundcheck that the building had brand new wiring, due to the
renovation, and the band’s concerns were unfounded. However, that evening, when he walked into
the dressing room, the promoter saw the roadies dressed in the band members'
stage clothes. The roadies told him
that, because of unsafe wiring, the group would not play and the roadies would
take their places. The promoter was
horrified, at which time the roadies admitted it was all a bit of English
humor. In actuality, the members of
Giant were quite touched by the lavishly catered affair the promotor and his
friends had provided them in their dressing room. Derek was even moved enough to thank them
publicly from the stage during the concert.
Apparently, the band played loudly enough this night to be easily heard
outside in the street, where some fans stayed and enjoyed the music, no doubt also enjoying the annual wine festival going on at
the time. Multiple press reports
were favorable to Giant’s set, with one singling out Ray’s violin solo in particular.
This reviewer was enamored by Ray’s trick of finishing by placing his
instrument on the floor and walking off while the violin notes continued to
sound.
Neuchatel flyer and roadies setting up the stage Oct. 1, 1976
Oct. 3 Vaduz,
Liechtenstein
the only known time the group ever
played in this tiny European nation. The
date may have actually been Oct. 2.
Oct. 5 Paris,
France Pavillon de Paris
Banco opened the show. This was another of the four concerts
recorded for use on the PLAYING THE FOOL album. Excerpts from Octopus, The
Runaway/Experience, So Sincere and Peel the Paint/I Lost My Head
on that album came from this concert. In 2015, an Alucard reissue of OCTOPUS had a bonus
track of Excerpts from Octopus taken from this concert which included a
bit of Derek’s spoken introduction, never previously released. The entire existing source tape has was finally remixed and remastered for inclusion in the UNBURIED
TREASURE boxset. It contains not
quite the complete show, but is well over an hour in length. John recalls a nerve-wracking moment that played out in
Paris while he and Gary were doing some after dinner sightseeing along the
banks of the Seine. They noticed a
student riot taking place on the river’s opposite shore when suddenly, a
portion of the rioters split from the group and ran across the bridge towards
them. As the students ran by, baton
wielding police in close pursuit, John and Gary held their ground but yelled out,
“Anglais! Anglais!” The police
apparently understood and left them alone, continuing to chase after the
rioters. Relieved, John and Gary quickly
returned to their hotel. This could have
taken place at the band’s Nov. 29, 1975 Paris gig, but this one seems more
likely, as they had a day off for sightseeing before moving on to Brussels.
Paris ticket Oct.
5, 1976
Oct. 7 Brussels,
Belgium Cirque Royal
the last of the four concerts recorded
by the band for use on the PLAYING THE FOOL album. This gig was held in another venue
originally designed to stage circuses, as was the case for the Munich show
listed above. This venue seated 3,500
and. Although exact attendance on this
night is unknown, it was said to be quite crowded. A total keyboard breakdown after just two songs led to
a lengthy delay in the show, during which Ray and Gary played a few impromptu
numbers. One of them was a spontaneous
improvisational version of the 1925 jazz standard Sweet Georgia Brown, a
number the two of them had played on and off for years during soundchecks. It appeared on the live album, retitled Breakdown
in Brussels, interestingly one of only two songs the band ever released that were not
original compositions, the other being The Queen off the first
album. The keyboards were eventually brought
back to half strength so the band could at least finish the show. The song Free Hand from this concert
also appeared on the live album. As was
done with the other three PLAYING THE FOOL gigs, all the intact taped
material from Brussels was remixed, remastered and
included in the UNBURIED TREASURE boxset, but the tape that remains
barely approaches a half hour in length.
The tape only contains the last three songs which means that, sadly, Breakdown
in Brussels and the entire keyboard fiasco from earlier in the evening no
longer exist and do not appear in the boxset.
Brussels ticket Oct. 7, 1976
1977
Jan. ? Rehearsals for the next tour began in
a public room in a pub in Portsmouth, England.
Jan. ? Later in the month, the
band booked time on a soundstage at London’s famed Pinewood Film and Television
Studios, famous for many major productions through the years such as the
long-running James Bond
series. In fact, at the very same time
Giant was in attendance, a Bond
movie was in production on a second soundstage, while the Rolling Stones had
one of their own stage rigs set up on a third.
The exact dates GG was there have not been determined, other than to say
it was a few days during late January.
Their intent was to conclude preparations for their upcoming North
American tour and to settle on a final setlist.
When all was ready, they staged three complete run-throughs of their
show, exactly as they planned to present it.
These were full technical rehearsals, using all their stage crew and all
visuals, lighting effects, taped intros, segues, etc. A handful of representatives of the music
press were also invited in to document the proceedings. According to an account of these rehearsals
published in March in Sounds, the few music reporters who attended sat
way in the back, far from the stage, and were mostly indifferent towards the
proceedings. This embarrassed the band
members, particularly angering Ray.
Although they did not film themselves, the group did make an audio
recording of one of the rehearsals. The
original arrangement of Winning from this rehearsal appears in the SCRAPING THE BARREL boxset with
the title Winning - Lights Rehearsal - Pinewood, while the entire
rehearsal is also included in lower mp3 quality. All of it can be found again in the MEMORIES OF OLD DAYS boxset where
it, oddly, appears in an incorrect, shuffled running order. However, the entire rehearsal has
now been finally released in fully remastered CD quality in the UNBURIED
TREASURE boxset. Some of the numbers
are a bit rough, as would be expected so early in the touring process, but the
band seem to be enjoying themselves.
Derek, in particular, seems very light-hearted
and relaxed, often making jokes during his spoken bits. For instance, he introduces one song as being
from the soundtrack to an Al Jolson movie, while at another point, he says he’s glad to be here “at the Hong Kong Forum”. During the song Memories of Old Days,
he simply hums the melody. This song was new and perhaps he did not have a copy
of the lyrics handy.
Kerry at Pinewood
Studios Jan. 1977
Jan. 16 The July 7, 1976 Chicago gig that was
recorded by WXRT Radio was broadcast by that station in edited form on this
evening. The broadcast was part of the
station's regular Sunday night "Unconcert
Series". The series was sponsored
by 7-Up, the soft drink then being promoted as the "uncola". Normally, concerts were broadcast one or two
months after being recorded, but this Giant broadcast took six months to air,
for unknown reasons.
Chicago - “Unconcert”
radio broadcast listing Jan. 16, 1977
Jan. ? There is information pointing to two
different January dates for when Capitol released their live album PLAYING
THE FOOL in America. Some evidence
indicates it was released on Jan. 18 while a press release advertising their
upcoming North American tour said to expect the album on Jan. 24. The tracks on this live album were recorded
in Dusseldorf, Munich, Paris and Brussels in September and October of
1976. To come up with the title of the
album, they modified the name of a 1975 bootleg of their material called PLAYING
THE FOOLE.
Jan. ? PLAYING THE FOOL saw release
on Chrysalis in England , probably at the end of
January. UK trade papers had listed
original release dates of Jan. 14 and Jan. 22, but the date of Jan. 28 seems
like a very real possibility.
??? At some point in early 1977,
Capitol Records released a promotional record called GIANT EDITS. Released in America, but not in England, it
contained shortened versions of a number of the songs
on PLAYING THE FOOL. These all
fit on one record, while the full live album was a double record.
Feb. ? For its part, the Canadian branch of
Capitol Records also released a promotional record, in that country only,
entitled INSIDE GENTLE GIANT. It’s believed this was released to radio stations in late
February. It was recorded at Thunder
Sound Studios in Toronto and was used to promote both the PLAYING THE FOOL
album and the early 1977 Canadian tour dates.
Exactly when it was recorded is not known, but immediately before the
start of the February tour would be a reasonable bet. The hour long record
included interviews with Derek and Ray, as well as studio and live tracks.
Continuing their long held tradition of heavy touring, the group hit the road
again in North America during February and March in support of their new live
album. At last, the group was able to
headline most of their concerts in North America. However, they did share some dates with
Renaissance, the two bands switching off the closing spot on the bill. Promoter John Scher, in a Rolling Stone
interview, confirmed that the two groups played twelve dates together but,
instead of characterizing this as two bands alternating as headliners, he oddly
described Giant as “opening for eight and co-headlining for four”. Available evidence
does not exactly coincide with these numbers.
Plans may have changed as the tour went along, or Scher may have simply
been mistaken. He explained that he
wanted Renaissance to headline in places where they were already strong and
co-headline in places where they were less well known. It is clear that there
was tension and frustration between these two bands. Scher, in his interview, was somewhat disparaging
toward Giant, claiming they were too demanding in that they expected the same
treatment from the promoter and the venue when they opened as when they
co-headlined. Annie Haslam of
Renaissance, while acknowledging that this tension grew as the tour went along,
also stated that for the most part, the two bands got along fine. This PLAYING THE FOOL tour was unique
in that the band broke tradition and premiered four songs that they intended
for their next studio album, but which had not yet been recorded. There were also a number of
other changes to their stage show.
Besides dropping all material from the INTERVIEW album, Ray's
violin solo was missing, as well. Kerry
said in an interview in a Canadian publication at the time that the band had
intended to play The Face during this tour, with the violin solo
included as part of that song.
Unfortunately, he said that equipment problems of some sort made that
impossible. Actually,
the song was rehearsed at Pinewood Studios in January and appears on the
"run-through" recording made there.
It also may have been played on the first couple nights of the tour but,
if so, it was definitely dropped by the time the group
reached Quebec City.
TYPICAL SETLIST (Feb. - Apr.
1977)
The Runaway/Experience - Beginning the concert,
a prerecorded classical piece was played, specifically the final movement of
Bach's Brandenburg Concerto #4.
Gary says that whenever he heard this piece begin, he knew he had
exactly six minutes to get on stage.
After this piece, the group used the novel idea of playing a tape of themselves
pretending to be tuning their instruments and testing their equipment, followed
by a riff, ever increasing in speed, first on guitar and drums, then fading in
the keyboards, then bass, then voice. As
each instrument or voice was added to the tape, the band member’s face would
appear on a rear projection screen.
Finally, John would count in the opening number.
On Reflection
As Old as You're Young - not yet recorded. This song was played when the band headlined
but not when they served as an opening act.
Just the Same/Playing the Game - On Playing the Game,
Derek played the "shulberry". This was a simple 3-string instrument
invented by one of the band's roadies, either Phil Freeman or Dave Zammit.
Memories of Old Days - not yet recorded. Kerry played a brief keyboard version of the
song Giant as a lead-in. During
the song itself, all five members played one type or another of guitar.
Winning - not yet recorded. The
arrangement of this song was vastly different from what would eventually be
recorded for the group's next studio album.
When performed live, this song featured an electronic drum
machine, the only time the band ever toyed with such a device. This song was not played when they were an
opening act.
For Nobody - not yet recorded. Ray often got to introduce this song on
stage, though not always.
Funny Ways - John got to showcase
his comedic skills as his humorous introduction to this song became a nightly
ritual.
So Sincere - For this tour, the
beginning of this song was played on vibraphone. This song was not played when the band was an
opening act.
Free Hand
Excerpts from Octopus - This song was the new
encore but was not played every night.
It featured a new keyboard bridge section.
Poster for US tour early 1977
On this tour, Giant
attempted the use of abundant special effects, perhaps more ambitious in scope
than they had tried before. In addition
to standard effects, such as smoke and strobe lights, they also made an early
attempt at using projected hologram images.
These were of spinning white balls and were known to appear during On
Reflection and Memories of Old Days. They also continued to use synchronized
slides and films, such as one set of slides of hands playing conga drums. These hands would appear to move faster and
faster and were used during the song Winning. Also, because of the complexity of this particular song, the band played along on stage to an
electronic drum machine which provided additional percussion parts. It's possible they
may have used other pre-recorded backing tracks on stage, as well, during some
parts of the show, though this is unconfirmed.
During Memories of Old Days, a film was also rear projected that
showed a closeup of a rubbery giant head mask.
In this film, made by a friend of Ray's, and now included as a bonus
feature in the SCRAPING THE BARREL boxset, someone wearing the mask
would appear to poke his head through a curtain and look down while pointing
his finger. This film was projected
directly behind John, so as to make it appear that the
mythical Giant was watching the drummer.
The face would also turn and was timed so as to
appear to stare at different band members at specific appropriate times. During the concerts, white accordion shaped
screens were used to hide the amplifiers.
Also, a neon "giant's head", which hung on the
back wall, was planned as part of the stage set for this tour. The intent was to turn it on towards the end
of the show, but it was damaged after just the first or second show and was
sent out for repairs. It did not return
to service until the Chicago gig on Mar. 4.
A roadie for the band has claimed that on the very next night, after the
Mar. 5 Akron gig, the road crew inadvertently damaged the head again, to at
least some degree, in a parking lot mishap.
This roadie says that they were unwilling to own up to what had
happened, so they continued to hang it night after night for the rest of the
tour. If this is true, the damage must
have been minimal because he claims that the band never said anything until the
soundcheck in Los Angeles on Mar. 31. At
that time, Derek supposedly requested the head not be hung on the tour's final
show in Phoenix the next night. It
should be stated that the band members dispute this roadie’s interesting
recollection of events, although Gary does recall a period of
time when only the head's eyes seemed to be functioning.
Feb. 17 Buffalo, New York New Century Theatre
As the band arrived in Buffalo, the
city was still digging out from one of the worst snowstorms of the
century. Since this was to be the first
gig of the tour, they had arranged to use the theatre for rehearsals for the
two days prior to the show. The storm
made this impossible, so they ended up with only a small amount of time on the
day of the concert to get things together.
In an interview before showtime, the band admitted to being nervous
about this and, indeed, there were some technical difficulties, but two local
newspaper reviews gave the band good marks.
Considering the weather, it’s worth noting that
one of these reviews claimed there was a capacity crowd on hand. Opening acts were local Buffalo band Rodan,
followed by Mr. Big. Mr. Big was not
well received. Upon being booed after
one of their songs, one of the members of Mr. Big responded by yelling out an
obscenity directed towards Gentle Giant before going into the next song.
Buffalo press notice and ad Feb. 17, 1977
Feb. 18 Cincinnati, Ohio Riverfront Coliseum
Steve Hillage
opened this show followed by GG and, in the headlining slot, the Electric Light
Orchestra. Attendance was reported as a
little over 8,000. Multiple reports
described the crowd as being quite hostile to the openers, especially
Giant. The first problem was that there
was a delay of over an hour after Hillage finished
before Giant even took the stage. In
addition to having poor sound on this night, they had to endure quite a bit of
booing, starting right after their opening number. The audience disapproval peaked during the
xylophone bit of So Sincere, after which Giant had had enough and left
the stage, ending their set after only half an hour. The band was visibly frustrated and Derek, in particular, was not terribly “polite” in his choice of
parting words. Additional reports single
out problems with a teenager seated near the front repeatedly yelling out
“let’s boogie”, and baseball fans in the crowd who
objected to John wearing his traditional Oakland A’s baseball jersey instead of
that of the local Cincinnati Reds.
Regardless, the University of Cincinnati’s News Record gave GG an
overall positive review, even while mistakenly identifying one of their songs
as In Case You Didn’t Know Upon Reflection. This was a festival seating gig. About two and a half years later, the city of
Cincinnati banned all festival seating at concerts after eleven people were
killed at a Who concert at this same venue.
Cincinnati ads
Feb. 18, 1977
Feb. 20 Quebec
City, Quebec Centre Municipal des Congress
The Quebec area band Et Cetera was the
opening act and they were not well received.
A tape exists of this gig.
Attendance was disappointing with a published estimate of less than
2,000.
Quebec City ad Feb. 20, 1977
Feb. 22 Toronto, Ontario Maple Leaf Gardens -
Concert Bowl
A tape exists of this show, for which
Montreal trio Symphonic Slam was the opening act. The venue was basically a large hockey arena,
so for concerts that would never fill the entire venue, they would close off
half of the seats and create what the tickets referred to as the “Concert Bowl”. This was the case
on this evening. It was an attempt to
give the venue more of a formal concert hall atmosphere, although the acoustics
were still a bit iffy. Ticket sales for
this gig were extremely slow and one online Symphonic Slam site reveals that
this band was added to the bill at the last minute specifically as an attempt
to bolster these sales. This worked to a
degree, but Record Week still reported a low final attendance figure of
only 4,300, while praising the fact that such an intricately conceived concert
presentation could be pulled off so masterfully. The Toronto Star was a bit more
generous, placing the figure at about 5,000, but the hall was still only about
half full. Ever the gentleman, Kerry
graciously gave Symphonic Slam’s keyboardist a tour of his own rig beforehand
and allowed him to try it out.
Toronto Feb. 22,
1977
Feb. 23 Montreal,
Quebec Montreal Forum
A tape of this concert is rumored to
exist. There was some concern whether
Giant would be able to play this show, as bad weather in Toronto almost
canceled their flight after the previous night's show. Fortunately, they did arrive, but the show didn’t begin until 9:30 PM, causing the crowd to get
restless. In fact, this gig was singled
out in a later article in Le Petit Journal about drugs, violence and general unrest at Montreal rock concerts. Two police officers were injured on this
evening, one with broken ribs. Et Cetera
again opened and were better received than they were in Quebec City. Newspaper reports were in complete
disagreement on the size of the audience.
One paper simply said “it was full”, with
another giving a more precise estimate of about 15,000. Yet, a third paper gave a surprising report
of only 6,000. At about 4:00 that
afternoon, John found time to stop in at the city’s CHOM radio station for a
quick interview. Early on, one local
paper advertised this show as being set for Feb. 27, but that was false.
Montreal ad Feb.
23, 1977
Feb. 24 Albany, New York Palace Theater
At this show, Giant opened for
Renaissance to a reportedly positive reception.
The venue is estimated to hold 2,500 - 3,000 people and was either full
or close to it.
Feb. 25 Boston,
Massachusetts Orpheum Theater
This was a sellout show with Giant
opening for Renaissance. A tape of the
show exists on which Derek, in his opening comments, seems to express
frustration with GG having to shorten their planned set to about an hour in
length. Nonetheless, a Boston weekly
newspaper, The Real Paper, gave Giant’s set a
tremendous review, the author even calling them “Britain’s best band”. Conversely, though, a local college newspaper
gave a bad review to both openers GG and headliners Renaissance. This review did, however, corroborate the
recollection of one fan in attendance who stated that Giant was far better
received by the crowd than were the headliners.
After GG’s set, the very vocal crowd yelled repeatedly for more, but the
cheering was followed by a period of extended booing when Giant did not
reappear. A long set change delay
followed, after which some members of the audience were quite rude to
Renaissance.
Boston Feb. 25,
1977
Feb. 26 Upper
Darby, Pennsylvania Tower Theater
A tape of this gig exists. The opening act was Ace and a bit over 3,000
tickets were sold, making this a sellout performance. Renaissance is known to have played at the
Palace Theatre in Waterbury, Connecticut on this night and some evidence
indicates GG may have originally intended to open for them there. However, it didn't
happen.
Upper Darby ads
Feb. 26, 1977
Feb. 27 New York, New York Avery Fisher Music Hall
A tape also exists of this near sellout
gig, held shortly after the hall was renovated to improve its acoustics. The show, for which there doesn’t
seem to have been an opening act, was an hour late starting, due to problems
getting the stage set up just right.
During much of this hour, the audience was stuck in the lobby, which led
to a certain amount of frustration. When
the show finally began, Derek introduced the group as “a smelly old rock band”, but this attempt at light-hearted self-deprecation did
not appease everyone. Segments of the crowd
were quite annoyed during the opening song, as the volume was apparently set
too low for some audience members' taste.
Interestingly, one written review made it a point to comment on John’s
“off-color” remarks during his brief comedy routine. Billboard gave a lukewarm review of
the gig, at best, while the Daily News was much harsher, calling the
band a “whacky bunch of characters” and referring to their music as “loony rock”. The opening act
for this concert, if there was one, is not yet known. The pre-show music in the hall was from a
Frank Zappa album. Coincidentally, Zappa
played in New York around the same time and the pre-show music at his concert
was from a Gentle Giant album, Giant being a band he greatly admired.
Ads for New York’s Avery Fisher Hall
Feb. 27, 1977
Feb. 28 Hempstead,
New York Calderone Concert Hall
During Giant's set, the ever-cheerful
John Weathers wore some sort of wig over his balding head before removing it
partway through the concert. A tape
exists of this gig, as well. Ace was the
advertised opening act and two attendees at the show disagree as to whether
they were booed off the stage after just two or three songs. Additionally, it has been confirmed by
overwhelming evidence, including photographic evidence, that the Mick Ronson
Band played an unannounced surprise set, even before Ace took the stage. Ronson’s drummer explains that his band could
not be viewed as an official opening act, instead playing quite early on,
before most of the crowd had even arrived, with their set mainly meant for
record executives in attendance. This
demonstration set was arranged by Tony Visconti who produced Giant’s first two
albums and had had a long working relationship with Ronson. John Weathers remembers, while standing in
the wings preparing to watch Ace’s set, being asked to introduce them. He politely declined, feeling that Ronson may
be offended since he did not do the same for his band.
Hempstead Feb. 28,
1977
Although no corroborating details have surfaced, it’s possible that live segments from this tour may have
been filmed by Belgian TV and shown in that country at some point. A photo said to be from this broadcast
appears in the SCRAPING THE BARREL boxset. In the photo, Derek is holding his shulberry, implying the group would have at least performed
the song Playing the Game.
One rumor is that the bit of live footage was filmed for use in an
ad, possibly promoting the PLAYING THE FOOL album.
Another unrelated rumor has Giant possibly being filmed on
this tour for Canadian television, as well.
No other details are known about that alleged broadcast, either.
Mar. 1 Ellicott City, Maryland Hollywood Palace
A band called Zed was the opening
act. It’s been
estimated that about 300 people were crammed into the club, well over normal
capacity. This date was added to the
original tour itinerary.
Ellicott City Mar.
1, 1977
Mar. 2 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Soldiers and Sailors Hall
CANCELED. The
reason given for this cancelation was “booking problems”. The date does not appear in the band’s
pre-tour press release or their own handwritten notes from the tour, but it was
advertised at the time by both the Giant and Renaissance camps. The plan was to play at Soldiers and Sailors
Hall but problems arose. As little as
one week before showtime, a local newspaper still advertised the show as “site
to be announced”.
Renaissance ended up playing at the Tower Theater in Upper Darby while GG
apparently had a night off.
Pittsburgh cancelation notice
Mar. 2, 1977
Mar. 4 Chicago,
Illinois Riviera Theatre
At this show, Renaissance opened for
Giant. The neon "giant's head"
was triumphantly returned to service for this show.
Chicago ad and ticket
Mar. 4, 1977
Mar. 5 Akron, Ohio Civic Theatre
A tape exists of Giant’s set opening
for Renaissance. Mr. Big, who played
first, was not well-received. The fact
that the show was almost an hour and a half late could have contributed to the
audience's frustration. Mr. Big also had
guitar trouble and is said to have borrowed Gary Green’s Les Paul for the
show. The late start also worked against
headliners Renaissance as their set didn’t begin until
after midnight, at which time much of the crowd was quite exhausted. The Civic Theatre, which was an ornate
theater used for film and live stage productions, had a stage designed to
simulate the look of a castle, with the lowered drawbridge being the stage
itself. The outline of the castle was
backlit on the back wall of the stage.
Additionally, tiny lights in the theater's ceiling gave the impression
of an evening's starlit sky, across which the illusion of clouds could also be
seen moving. One unusual report has
surfaced from this concert. According to
three separate fans, at one point during GG’s performance, someone was noticed
in one of the small side balconies wearing a Giant mask and lit by a
spotlight. One early report was that
this costumed individual was actually John Weathers,
but John himself has refuted that claim.
It may have been a roadie, as one did often dress as the Giant and peak
through the curtains as part of the act.
This roadie may have simply taken advantage of the theatre’s unique
architecture and appeared in a side balcony instead. Then again, the mysterious stranger could
have just been an over-enthusiastic fan.
In attendance in the audience, as acknowledged by John from the stage,
were members of the Granati Brothers, a band from
nearby Pittsburgh that Ray and Derek took under their wing this year, helping
to secure them a record deal and serving in a management and production
capacity. It was after this show that
one of the roadies makes the disputed claim that the neon head was damaged
again, although he says it continued to be hung at almost all
of the gigs that followed.
Akron ads Mar. 5,
1977
Mar. 6 Detroit, Michigan Ford Auditorium
GG opened for Renaissance. Ace was advertised as taking the stage first
but it seems that they did not appear.
There is an existing tape of GG’s performance.
Detroit Mar. 6, 1977
Mar. 8 Indianapolis,
Indiana Indiana Theater
This show with Giant opening for
headliners Renaissance may originally have been scheduled for Mar. 7. Mr. Big was scheduled to begin the evening,
playing before Giant, but according to an attendee at the gig, they did not
appear. Sure enough, a couple newspaper
reviews that have been located do not mention Mr. Big at all. GG was extremely well-received, even though
Gary played the entire show while not feeling well. In fact, after Playing the Game, Derek
tried to introduce the next song but had to stop, due to the continued
applause. The band appeared genuinely
moved by the audience's reaction and did come out for an encore. Then, after Renaissance started their own
set, the members of Giant actually went into the back
of the audience and sat together to watch.
Attendance was reported to be 1,127 out of about 2,000.
Indianapolis ad
Mar. 8, 1977
Mar. 11 Atlanta, Georgia Fox Theater
Here, Giant played first on the bill
before Sea Level and headliners Renaissance, therefore playing what’s been reported as a shorter set than usual. It's been rumored
that the Mike Green Band played at the show, as well, though this does not
appear to be true. Published ads show
that GG was scheduled originally to appear in Atlanta on both Mar. 10 and 11
but only this Mar. 11 show took place.
Georgia Tech’s student newspaper, The Technique, gave a glowing
review to Renaissance and a decent review to Sea Level. However, they did not like Giant at all,
describing their stage presence as “somewhere between Carol Burnett and Idi
Amin.”
Atlanta Mar. 11,
1977
Mar. 12 Tampa, Florida University of South Florida
held in the basketball gym as part of a University double
concert weekend. This Saturday concert
was followed on Sunday night by Billy Joel performing on the very same stage. GG opened for Renaissance, although
reportedly quite a few people had left by the time Renaissance reached the end
of their set. As openers, Giant was well
received, a standing ovation bringing them back out for an encore. Derek did seem a bit perplexed as one young
lady in the audience kept yelling for him to remove his pants. He politely declined, to the audience’s roar
of approval, but the girl persisted, requesting the same of John during his
monologue. An off-color response from
John ended the interruptions. Poor
ticket sales for previously sponsored concerts had, by this time, put the
University under financial strain. They
canceled other upcoming performances but, fortunately, this one and the Billy Joel concert went ahead as planned. The GG/Renaissance
show was sold out with a standing room only crowd of around 2,200. The numbers were helped a bit because
the university ran a promotion in which the first 400 students purchasing
tickets were each given two more tickets for free. The St. Petersburg Times gave decent
reviews for each band, but bemoaned the fact that the acoustics in the boomy gymnasium were awful, equating them to the insides of
a “gigantic garbage can”.
Tampa ad Mar. 12, 1977
Mar. 13 Miami, Florida Gusman
Cultural Center
Giant opened for Renaissance in a
beautiful, ornate facility with the ceiling painted to resemble an outdoor
starry sky. Nevertheless, in a Miami
News interview, Ray boldly vented his frustration about the gig, claiming
Renaissance were “afraid” of Gentle Giant.
He claimed the headliners refused to let GG play an encore at Gusman,
even though the audience was screaming for one.
He was also upset that, whenever Giant played support, they were not
allowed to use their projectors, movie screens and props, having instead to
water down their show. He claimed Giant
were “incredibly mad at the way we’re being treated”. After this concert, the band enjoyed a few
days off during which they apparently soaked up too much Florida sun.
Miami ad Mar. 13, 1977
Mar. 18 Austin, Texas Armadillo World Headquarters
During Giant’s set, a band member announced
from the stage that they always enjoyed playing this particular
Austin venue, but it’s been reported that the crowd this night was not
as receptive as they had been at GG's previous Austin gig on July 13,
1976. At one point, John Weathers had to
chastise the audience and one spectator remembers the band struggling to
"keep their cool" in front of a rather rowdy audience. One contributing factor may have been the
poor sound. A review in Walrus!
magazine noted a continuous hum from the PA, with the speakers often “popping
and sputtering”.
Another contributing factor was that many in front were standing on
their chairs, causing those further back to yell and make a fuss. Some members of the band were allegedly unsettled
by this, misinterpreting the noise as booing.
On the other hand, another fan at the show characterizes the evening
differently, believing that Giant did win over the crowd by the end. The Austin Daily Texan also gave a
very positive review, particularly singling out the song For Nobody as being well received by the packed crowd. The Wommack Brothers, a local Austin
jazz-rock group, opened this show and suitably impressed Giant. GG’s management requested tapes and materials
from the Wommacks with the intention of helping to
publicize them, particularly in England, where they felt there was a need for
their kind of music.
Austin poster and ad
Mar. 18, 1977
Mar. 19 Dallas, Texas Electric Ballroom
This was a late show and, although not
confirmed, it may have been another in a series of free concerts sponsored by
Dallas radio station KZEW, similar to what happened at
the July 11 gig at the same club. Prism,
a Texas band not to be confused with the Canadian band of the same name, was
the opening act at this packed concert. Interestingly,
progressive supergroup Genesis also played a Dallas venue on this same night
and their own attendance was disappointing.
Prism has officially released their set from this night on CD and
members of Prism have described having Giant watch their set from the wings as
one of the highlights of their career.
Their drummer had a cymbal which he made from a metal disc originally
used to scoop golf balls from the bottom of ponds. John Weathers heard this cymbal and liked it
very much, so Prism’s drummer gave it to him after the show. It can later be heard on the song Winning
on GG’s 1977 MISSING PIECE album.
The venue was basically a cavernous barn with corrugated tin roof and
siding, with a stage at one end and a 100-foot bar running the length of the
room. It seated around 1,800 and was
similar in design to the much larger Sportatorium
which was located across the street. The
SMU Daily Campus, in its review, said GG’s sound was horrible and also stated the band was quite cramped on the small
stage. This same review was also riddled
with factual errors, such as describing how John Weathers strummed an acoustic
guitar during the song Funny Voice from the ACQUIRING THE TASTE
album, none of which was accurate. Ray
remembers a gig at a club in Texas where a spectator in the back attempted to
steal a rear speaker during his violin solo until apprehended by the tour
manager. It may very well have been this
show, as one fan does recall a scuffle taking place in the rear of the
club. A tape exists of a brief portion
of GG's soundcheck before this concert, showing them running through For
Nobody a couple of times. These two
takes were included on the LIVE IN SANTA MONICA 1975 release on the
Glass House label. It’s
possible that Prism may have opened for GG on more than one occasion, but
details as to where and when these other shared bills may have been are not
known.
Dallas ad Mar. 19, 1977
Mar. 20 Tulsa, Oklahoma The Wharf
There are a number of
unconfirmed theories about this gig circulating, but not many hard facts. One tantalizing rumor is that the gig was
simulcast over Tulsa’s KMOD Radio, although that remains unconfirmed and a
recording of that show has not been found.
However, the band did take the time to do an interview with KMOD while
in town. It may not have helped much as
one estimate puts only about 150 people in the audience. It’s possible that
this gig may have been originally planned for a larger venue but was moved to
this small club at the last minute.
Additionally, although credible evidence indicates there was probably no
opening act, one fan seems to recall a southern rock band from Texas called
Point Blank opening.
Mar. 25 Portland, Oregon Paramount Theater
CANCELED. Printed
evidence and a couple fan recollections show that this gig, for which Starcastle was slated to open, was canceled. One newspaper report indicated this was due
to poor ticket sales. That makes this
the second time a GG show in Portland was canceled for this same reason, the
first being on Oct. 24, 1975.
Portland ad - canceled show Mar. 25, 1977
Mar. 26 Seattle, Washington Paramount Northwest Theater
Starcastle did
open for Giant at this festival seating concert, although the Seattle Daily
Times claimed the two bands “co-headlined”. That same newspaper gave both groups a poor
review, while noting that the theater was less than half full. John’s monologue was reportedly a bit more
off-color than usual at this gig.
Seattle review Mar. 26, 1977
Mar. 28 San Jose, California San Jose Center for the
Performing Arts
A country-rock band named Stallion went
first. This opening band actually had a tumbleweed blow across the stage at one point
in their set. Hometown heroes Pablo
Cruise were supposed to headline but, for some reason,
they and Giant switched places and Giant went last. It’s been
conjectured that this may have been due to the much larger array of instruments
GG used on stage, thereby necessitating a more complicated setup. Another story circulating at the time was
that Pablo Cruise had a late booking somewhere else and needed to leave early
to get there on time. Because many in
attendance came to see Pablo Cruise, expecting them to headline, the crowd
thinned out dramatically before GG's closing set even began, leaving the GG
fans who remained, perhaps 20% of the original crowd, scrambling to find seats
closer to the stage. Where one may
expect an eager crowd to clap their hands in anticipation of the start of a
show, some of these diehard Giant fans began snapping their fingers in a rhythm
reminiscent of the opening of Just the Same while waiting for their band
to take the stage. Pablo Cruise was
originally supposed to play in San Jose ten days earlier, without Giant, but
the show was canceled. This was a
rescheduled gig, this time with the addition of Giant, which would explain why
San Jose was not on GG’s original tour schedule. Official attendance at this gig was listed at
about 1,750.
San Jose ad Mar. 28, 1977
Mar. 30 San
Diego, California Golden Hall
Renaissance opened for Giant before
1,300 fans in a hall built for 4,000.
During the show, Derek commented on the poor reception the band received
at its previous San Diego appearance on July 18, 1976. An existing tape of this gig shows that as an
encore, they played The Advent of Panurge by itself, instead of playing
the entire Excerpts from Octopus, as was usually done on this tour. John also shortened his humorous introduction
to Funny Ways. Both
of these events could be attributed to time constraints. The crowd wasn’t even admitted into the building until 15 minutes
after the scheduled start time, the show actually getting under way 50 minutes
late. Intermission between the two acts
stretched to a full hour. Additionally,
a buzzing, hissing speaker caused problems throughout the entire concert,
growing louder as the evening wore on.
San Diego Mar. 30, 1977
Mar. 31 Los
Angeles, California Shrine Auditorium
A tape that exists of this concert
shows that they played In the Midnight Hour as a surprise second
encore. This occurred, even though the house
lights had already come on, after the crowd of 4,046 fans would not stop
cheering. Although it may have happened
on other occasions, this is only the second time this song has been verified to
have been played, the first being in Hempstead, New York on July 3, 1976. Gary has fond memories of this show at which
Giant headlined. The show was opened by
the Scottish singer-songwriter duo Gallagher and Lyle with Renaissance playing
second. Renaissance suffered from sound
and equipment problems but, for the most part, the Giant fans were patient and
polite during their set. In fact, the Los
Angeles Times gave Renaissance a better review than they did Giant. Additionally, Variety gave GG only a
lukewarm write up. The vocals were at
times inaudible during Giant’s set, as well, but the News-Pilot reported
that their overall energy overcame any problems they had. One fan in attendance recalls Kerry's
vibraphone solo in Funny Ways being particularly well received by the
audience on this night. It was during
this evening’s soundcheck that a roadie claims the band finally confronted the
road crew concerning some damage to the neon head supposedly sustained back in
Akron on Mar. 5. As stated above, this
entire chain of events concerning the head has not been corroborated. The band themselves feel the roadie’s
recollections are not totally accurate.
Los Angeles ad
Mar. 31, 1977
Apr. 1 Phoenix, Arizona Celebrity Theater
In front of an estimated 500 people, far less than half
of the theater’s full capacity, Giant opened for Renaissance who, reportedly,
were much better received. When Giant
started their set, the audience was rather cool, giving them only subdued,
polite applause, unlike the enthusiastic applause they gave Renaissance. One young fan in the audience proudly wore
his own homemade Gentle Giant teeshirt to the show,
with white iron-on letters on a black shirt.
Derek noticed this well dressed, enthusiastic young man near the front
of the crowd and invited him backstage afterwards, where the band treated him
quite graciously. The Celebrity had a
rotating, in-the-round stage. During John’s
Funny Ways intro, he started
walking in circles around the microphone, mimicking the rotation of the
stage. Some silent 8mm film footage of
Giant's set is rumored to exist. A
roadie at the time claims the band was not originally planning on playing in
Phoenix on this tour, which would imply this date was added at some point after
initial plans were made. If one is to
believe the recollections of this same roadie, the neon "giant's
head" was not used at this show, supposedly at Derek’s request. Perhaps this was due to potential problems
that could have resulted from rigging the head over the revolving stage.
Cover of concert program - Phoenix Apr. 1, 1977
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Giant Tour History