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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
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
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 sand 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. It’s not known in
which city this happened, but he had to rent another guitar to finish the
tour. 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.
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.
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 as they struggled to get through what Kerry
described as “the worst gig of our lives”.
Afterward, quite an argument ensued.
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.
Solution was again the opening act.
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.
Sheffield press notice May 13, 1976
May 14 Newcastle, England City
Hall
Solution
opened the show. However, advertisements
in the Newcastle Evening Chronicle demonstrate that exact details on
this show were slow in coming together.
The earliest ad had a date of 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. 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.
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.
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
GG
participated in an 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, Nils Lofgren and an English comedy
rock band called Alberto y los Trios Paranoias. 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 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.
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
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. 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 professional Italian bass
player named Tiziano Ricci recalls his band Bingo
opening for Giant at this gig.
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. In its review, L’Unita
remarked how 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.
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 more like a “large bar". The place had tables for around 150 patrons
and a dance floor in front of the stage.
The support act for this show is undetermined. The rumor once was that a
local pop group by the name of the Pez Band may have opened, as they often
served as a house band for other events at the venue. More recently, a review in Walrus!
magazine has surfaced which seems to imply that Starcastle
again opened, as they did for several other shows around this time. However, multiple fan reports have Giant
playing alone on this particular night.
Ellicott City ad June 19, 1976
June ? Buffalo, New
York New Century
Theatre
UNCONFIRMED. This gig with Starcastle
again opening is completely unsubstantiated, although one fan claims to still
have his ticket stub.
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.
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
held
in an outdoor open-air venue 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. As yet
another example of how GG tour schedules were often rearranged on the fly, 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. An early report had GG headlining this show
at a club called The Bijou, but that was wrong.
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. A number of people at the show have sworn
that they saw no support act. However,
it’s now been verified that the Mick Ronson Band did
play on this date, though perhaps not as an official opening act for
Giant. Ronson’s
drummer explains that his band played quite early on, before most of the crowd
even arrived, with their set mainly meant for record executives in
attendance. 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 with Excerpts from Octopus, extracted from
this CD, appearing yet again on Alucard’s OCTOPUS
reissue in 2015. 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
The
Lantern described the audience as “small but dedicated”. GG played this same venue twice before. In 1974, they opened for Focus while in 1975,
they headlined with a local band called I Don’t Care in support. The opener for this 1976 gig was probably
Felix Pappalardi and his band Creation. Ads for this show, with Pappalardi
in support, had it taking place at the Ohio Theater in Columbus, but it was
apparently changed to the Agora at the last minute, as evidenced by the caption
below.
Columbus 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. 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. 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
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. One interesting fan recollection has come to
light stating that country rocker Charlie Daniels was in attendance at one of
Giant’s Electric Ballroom gigs and even joined them onstage. GG played this venue more than once so it is
not known to which show this fan was
referring.
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.
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 performers. 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 film of a portion of Gary
Wright’s set has recently been officially released but, as was the case the
previous night, there is no evidence that GG’s performance was itself preserved
on film.
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. 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. The local press agreed with this second
assessment 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
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 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.
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.
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 PLAYING THE FOOL
source material, including the
Dusseldorf show, which is nearly complete.
Dusseldorf
ticket Sep. 23, 1976
Sep. 24 Mannheim, Germany Rosengarten Musensaal
Banco
opened the show.
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 remained 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 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 requirements.
The promoter told them during soundcheck that he was unable to honor
their request. 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
broke into tears, 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.
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. The entire remaining source tape has now
been 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, possibly
because of the evening’s technical difficulties, the tape that remains barely
approaches a half hour in length. The
tape only contains the last three songs which means that, curiously, 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
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.
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
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
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.
Quebec City ad Feb. 20, 1977
Feb. 22 Toronto,
Ontario Maple Leaf
Gardens
A
tape exists of this show, for which Montreal trio Symphonic Slam was the
opening act. Half of this hockey arena was
closed off to give the venue more of a 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.
About 6,000 people were in The Forum to see the show. 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 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
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 opening act and, according to one
report, was booed off the stage after two or three songs. However, this has been disputed by another
fan in attendance. There was also a
rumor at one time that a third band was on the bill, but this does not seem to
be the case.
Hempstead
- Calderone marquee and ad 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 two 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.
It turned out to be John Weathers.
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 University's basketball gym. 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
went ahead as planned. In fact, the
attendance was good on this evening, totaling 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.
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”. 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
UNCONFIRMED. Some printed evidence shows that this
gig, for which Starcastle was slated to open, was
more than likely canceled. However, a
conflicting report has Starcastle’s soundcheck taking
longer than usual, pushing the starting time for the show back a bit. Since the audience was then restless, they
were not kind to the opening act.
Portland
ad - unconfirmed 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, 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 would have resulted from rigging the head over the revolving stage.
Go on
to Part Seven
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