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Gentle Giant Tour History
*** Part Eight ***
*** The Final Days ***
(1980)
new information will be in RED
1980
Mar. 3 The
American release date for the CIVILIAN album was in early March, with
one ad specifically listing Mar. 3. It
was released by Columbia Records.
Capitol, unfortunately, had dropped the band from its roster, so they signed
a new contract with Columbia, the same US label that had released THREE
FRIENDS and OCTOPUS several years earlier. Many dislike this album, claiming the band
had completely "sold out" by this point, but just as many others see
it as a collection of quality rock songs, with freshness and vitality. The album cover was adapted from a photo
included in a 1950’s Life Magazine article about the growing suburban
lifestyle and the increased number of commuters in post-war America.
May ? A 1991 band
retrospective in Record World magazine lists the month of May for the
Chrysalis British release of CIVILIAN.
No other printed documentation has been found so far, though some
unofficial sources have claimed it was released in February, April or even as
late as June 13, although June seems the most unlikely. It does seem that this final album had very
little promotion in England, if any, which could explain the difficulty in
tracking down an exact release date.
Life Magazine photo used for CIVILIAN
album cover early 1980
Finally, after being off the road for nearly two and a
half years, Giant staged their CIVILIAN tour in May and June, though
only in
As was
the case on their late 1977 MISSING PIECE tour, they again added quite a
few new songs into their setlist.
However, they kept things simpler this time, with less
multi-instrumental interplay between the members than on previous tours. Gone were the violin, cello, vibraphone,
saxophone and trumpet. Still present
were the recorder quartet during The Advent of Panurge, the guitar
quintet during Memories of Old Days, and the "shulberry"
during Playing the Game. Their
intention was to employ two different methods of stage presentation on this
tour. They would keep things to a bare
minimum at the smaller club dates while using a few interesting staging and
lighting effects for the bigger theater dates, such as the projected hologram
images believed first used in early 1977.
It’s said that these were used during Memories of Old Days and On
Reflection. Supposedly, some sort of long-planned ”video
presentation” was also initially intended as part of the show, but the band was
quoted in a 1980 press report as having run out of time to finish its
preparation. They kept to this
two-pronged plan at first, but a truck accident a week or so into the tour
resulted in some equipment damage, necessitating all the shows, regardless of
the type of venue, to be simplified from that point on.
TYPICAL SETLIST (Mid 1980)
Convenience
All Through the Night/Free Hand
Memories of Old Days
Knots/Playing the Game - The song Knots
was played in a heavier, considerably different arrangement than had been used
previously.
Giant For a Day/Inside Out -
The song Giant for a Day became the only song from their album of the
same name to ever be performed live.
During the song, Derek would wear the "giant mask" pictured on
that album's cover.
It's Not Imagination
Underground - the new home for the 5-man drum
bash. The song began with the
"subway" recording heard on the new album, along with lighting
effects said to make it look like a train arriving on stage.
For Nobody
The Advent of Panurge - played in the encore
position, but not at every concert. The
recorder arrangement of Yankee Doodle was back, this time doubled on the
bass.
Number One - This was also not played at every
concert but when it was, it was used as an encore.
John
Weathers’ no-nonsense rock and roll drum lead-in to the opening song, Convenience,
set the tone for the straight-ahead nature of Giant's 1980 gigs. However, these shows were certainly not
devoid of creativity. Several new
mini-medleys, combining songs from different albums, were put into the
setlist. The full-length Excerpts
from Octopus was retired, but Knots and The Advent of Panurge
were still played.
Derek's
habit of introducing himself as some other famous singer continued on this
tour. At times, he even introduced
himself and the whole band, by name, as the members of Yes, much to the
audience's delight. On occasion, the
group would even follow this with a couple measures of Yes' Siberian Khatru
or Close to the Edge.
May 7 Rensselaer,
New York Hullabaloo
This
concert was a sellout. It was held in a
tiny club oddly located in the middle of a suburban residential area, and it
was packed. Ray later claimed to like
this particular venue. Beforehand, John
was spotted carting crates of concession items into the loading area and when
asked about it, he joked that Giant was a “family operation”. During the soundcheck, Kerry was heard
playing Cliff Richard’s It’s So Funny and he also began to have trouble
with his keyboards. Progressive band 805
was the opening act and during their own brief soundcheck, their guitarist
continually played the main riff from GG’s All Through the Night. Then, during their actual opening set, Gary
was seen watching them from backstage.
After a longer than usual delay, Giant finally hit the stage, but
Kerry’s keyboard troubles had not cleared up and he was forced to play many of
his parts on the Hammond organ. Being
the very beginning of the tour, there were also a few other problems, such as
band members forgetting some lyrics or missing the odd instrumental line, but
they just looked at each other and laughed.
GG was quite popular in this area of New York State and the crowd loved
the show, the band seeming to enjoy it, as well. It’s even been said that they played at least
three encores, although this remains unconfirmed. Before playing one of these encores, Number
One, Derek announced that that particular song was going to be released as
a single within a few weeks. That did
not happen. Before the show, John told a
fan that the next gig was in Poughkeepsie, a name he struggled to
pronounce. Actually, John was mistaken,
as the Poughkeepsie show was not set to happen until May 23, when it was
ultimately canceled. A fan taped this
Rensselaer show but, unfortunately, that tape is now presumed lost.
Rensselaer ad May 7, 1980
May 8 Syracuse,
New York Stage East
There
is a tape of this concert at which 805 again played support. Ray claimed to like this venue also.
Syracuse
- Derek’s mask May 8, 1980
May 9 Montreal, Quebec Theatre St-Denis
They
did two shows, both sold out with a crowd of around 1,500 each. The second show, which was added by popular
demand, began around midnight, but ads and tickets read 11:59 P.M. to maintain
the integrity of the May 9 date. The
opening act for both sets was a local acoustic pop/jazz/bossa nova singer named
Diane Tell, who performed alone with just a classical guitar. These concerts took place at the height of a
political upheaval in Quebec Province when many were seeking independence from
the rest of Canada. During one of the
shows, chants from the crowd arose, hoping to entice Derek to voice support for
the cause, but he did not oblige. As a
promotional stunt, Montreal’s CHOM Radio had held a GG-themed contest and
awarded the winner a $500 check onstage at one of these shows. A very brief silent 8mm film clip exists from
one of these shows, also.
Montreal
- ad for added second show and newspaper photo May 9, 1980
May 10 Toronto,
Ontario Massey
Hall
This
concert was just shy of a sellout with 2,581 fans seeing Nash the Slash,
ex-violinist from the Canadian band FM, open the show, although he later
mistakenly recalled it having taken place in November, 1981. He said he was well-received and was called
back for an encore. The next day, the Globe
and Mail gave GG a nice write-up, but did point out the constant trouble
they had with feedback. Ray, in particular, appeared visibly upset by this
problem. Early ads in the Toronto
Star indicated the group had two sets planned on this evening, at 9:30 and
11:30, but there ended up being just the one show beginning at 8:00.
Toronto May 10, 1980
May 11 Rochester,
New York Triangle Theater
Although
originally scheduled and advertised for Rochester’s Auditorium Theater, this
show was relocated at some point to the smaller Triangle Theater nearby. This was more than likely due to lackluster
ticket sales as only 820 tickets are confirmed to have been sold. Earlier purchased tickets were printed as
reserved seating at the Auditorium, while later tickets were printed as general
admission at the Triangle. 805 was
slated to open this show and that band’s lighting director recalls that they
did, as does a fan at the show. On the
other hand, another fan has vivid memories of a comedian opening the show. It’s certainly possible that there were two
support acts on this evening.
Interestingly, Giant did use a comedian as support in San Francisco on
June 15, towards the end of this tour.
As Giant was just about to start their own set, a technical glitch on
stage caused a slight delay. Gary got to
joke around with the crowd for a bit while things were straightened out. Ray stated in a published interview in the
city’s Democrat and Chronicle that the band had fond memories of playing
in Rochester.
Rochester
- tickets with original and corrected venue
May 11, 1980
May 12 Detroit,
Michigan Harpo's
Theatre
This
was an old movie theater converted into a club.
The support act was a punk style band called Nikki and the
Corvettes. The audience grew restless
during their set, angering Nikki, their female lead singer. As she announced their final number, the
crowd erupted into applause.
Interestingly, even Nikki herself agreed that putting these two bands on
the same bill was a bad idea.
Detroit May 12, 1980
May 13 Cleveland,
Ohio Agora
Ballroom
Ray
remembered this gig, for which a tape exists, as going quite well. There were equipment problems, causing a
slight delay before All Through the Night. Local prog band Polyphony opened the
gig. Kerry Minnear was impressed with
this opening act and complimented them after their set, saying "nice one,
that was."
Cleveland May 13, 1980
May 15 Buffalo, New York Kleinhan's Music Hall
The
band 805 opened the show, as they had in Rensselaer, Syracuse and possibly
Rochester, and the place was packed with the Buffalo Evening News
reporting an attendance of 1,800. A
member of 805 has since recalled GG as being “humble and friendly and very
funny in the dressing room“. According to one fan in the audience, the
lights came on at the end of the show but the audience kept clapping. The lights went off again and the band
returned to complete their encore.
Sadly, it was after this gig that a truck carrying some of Giant’s
equipment was involved in an accident.
Buffalo ad May 15, 1980
May 16 In
the early morning hours of May 16, after performing the previous evening’s
concert in Buffalo, one of the band’s equipment trucks overturned on the New
York State Thruway near the city of Syracuse.
It was bound for that evening’s Upper Darby concert outside of
Philadelphia. Some of their equipment
was damaged, most notably the neon “giant’s head” which hung over the
stage. This head had already been
damaged once or twice during the early 1977 tour. It was also used as a stage prop during the late
1977 tour. It was one of the few stage
props used at the beginning of the 1980 tour, but it made its final appearance
at the Buffalo show and was retired for good.
According to the keyboard roadie who was driving at the time, the truck
contained mostly instrumental gear which sustained no damage. Some of the casters on the equipment's flight
cases were damaged, however, making the act of rolling things around during
setup a bit more difficult for the crew each night but, thankfully, no one was
hurt. Another truck carrying the lights
and PA was not involved in the accident.
Article
about truck accident May 16, 1980
May 16 Upper Darby, Pennsylvania Tower
Theater
This
show was over an hour late as Giant was delayed arriving at the venue, due to
the truck accident early that morning.
Because of this, their set was somewhat abbreviated with a couple tunes
omitted. The opening act did not even
have time for a proper soundcheck.
Determining exactly who occupied this opening slot on the bill has
proved quite challenging. On the very
day of the show, the Philadelphia Inquirer noted that GG was to be
supported by a New Jersey band called Fandango, a group which one fan in attendance
specifically recalls watching. However,
other eyewitnesses have stated the openers were the Granati
Brothers, the Pittsburgh group discovered in 1977 by Ray and Derek Shulman, who
also helped sign them, manage them and produce their
first album. As it turns out, neither
one of these scenarios may be correct.
Very strong evidence has come to light that the opener was actually a New York City new wave band led by one Philip D’Arrow. One fan has
clear memories of D’Arrow’s presence, while D’Arrow’s own guitarist and the gentleman running sound for
him in the hall that evening have both definitively confirmed this. D’Arrow had
recently released an album called SUB-ZERO and he held up a copy of that
record during his set, a fact recalled by two members of the audience. The crowd was not terribly interested in the
opener, but not overly rude or hostile, either.
Some particularly pro-Giant people continually yelled out “Gentle
Giant! Gentle Giant!” throughout D’Arrow’s time on stage, causing him to remark, jokingly,
that “maybe we’ll do some of their songs next.”
His guitarist does recall that D’Arrow was a
last-minute substitute, possibly signed on the morning of the show, when the
previously booked act canceled out. D’Arrow and Fandango shared the same booking agency so, if
Fandango was indeed the band that canceled, it would have been a simple matter
for the agency to quickly contact D’Arrow to fill
in. As for the Granatis,
some fans could simply be confusing this evening with a Granatis
appearance at the Tower Theater in 1981.
However things transpired, there is clearly more to this puzzle than
meets the eye. A combination of fading
memories and/or newspaper errors may have been at play but, whatever the case,
more information is certainly needed. A
review of this show does not mention the opener but the reviewer was quite
impressed by the drum bash during Underground, particularly its use of
strobe lights. A tape exists of Giant’s
set, during which they had a few sound system issues. In fact, they suffered a quite serious glitch
early in their set when some extremely loud distorted audio noise cut through
the sound, making it hard to even hear what was going on.
Upper Darby ad May 16, 1980
May 17 New York, New York Palladium
A
crowd of 2,400 made this concert nearly a sellout. Preceding Giant was David Sancious
who played piano and guitar with only a drummer on stage with him. During his set, he played the well-known
theme song from the animated Peanuts Christmas TV special and received
quite an ovation in the process. As it
turned out, both acts received positive reviews in Variety. Although not listed on the marquee, there is
a report that Robin Lane and the Chartbusters were also on the bill, opening
the evening. The possibility has also
been floated that the Granati Brothers, who were also
rumored to be on the bill the previous night in Upper Darby, were at one time
supposed to be on this Palladium bill too, but canceled. Always the clown, John Weathers used a huge
number of green beer bottles to decorate the stage for this concert. Unfortunately, the stage lighting was said to
be weak on this night. In fact, it’s
been said there were various technical problems all night long. On this tour, Ray showed his appreciation for
the currently popular punk rock movement by dressing in black leather trousers
contrasting nicely with his hi-top red sneakers. At this particular show, one fan in the
audience was amused by seeing him knock his knees together at the start of the
show, reminiscent of Sid Vicious, the notorious bassist with the Sex Pistols.
New
York’s Palladium - ad and marquee May
17, 1980
May 18 New Haven, Connecticut Toad's
Place
This
concert was broadcast live over New Haven's WPLR radio station with a sizeable,
though incomplete, portion of it officially released on the MEMORIES OF OLD
DAYS compilation. There was a slight
delay getting this show started, as the band had some trouble with their
gear. In fact, Kerry seemed to have
equipment problems of some sort throughout the evening. The band, playing in an area that seemed way
too small, complained that it was quite hot on stage.
May 20 During the afternoon, before
the two evening sets in Chicago listed below, the band visited Pierce Arrow
Studio in nearby Evanston, Illinois, a state of the art
facility, claiming it was being considered for their potential next album. Band
members described this studio visit in an interview held between sets that
night. Ray again referred to this next
planned album and the studio the band had found in a June 1980 interview. Of course, there ended up being no next album.
May 20 Chicago, Illinois Park West
They
did two shows, the second added at the last minute. The support act was the midwest
band Faustus. GG had some sound problems
during the early show, particularly with Derek's monitor. Derek revealed to a fan backstage that he wasn’t actually feeling too well on this day. His frustration showed on stage at times as
he struggled with high notes. While
being interviewed between the two shows, Ray claimed to not like this venue,
saying it was too business-like and didn't lend itself
to rock and roll. The venue was actually
an old adult movie theater which had recently been refurbished and seated
750. Originally, Giant had scheduled
this midwest date in the middle of their east coast
dates because they expected to participate in some sort of big live satellite
radio broadcast. However, this was
postponed, so they headed back east the next night, expecting the broadcast to be rescheduled sometime within the following two
weeks. As it turns out, it’s believed
that no such satellite broadcast ever took place. Phil Collins of Genesis is believed to have
been in the audience at one of these shows, quietly sneaking out
afterwards. One report has some audience
members booing the band during Betcha
Thought We Couldn’t Do It at one of the shows, as well.
Chicago May 20, 1980
May 22 Boston, Massachusetts Paradise
Club
They
did two shows at this 400 seat club. The sets were similar although, at the early
show, they left out the song Number One, traditionally done as a second
encore on this tour. This could have
been due to time constraints, as the club management had very little time to
clear out the first crowd so the second crowd, waiting outside, could
enter. The first show was packed and the
second a little less so. One fan who was
at both shows remembers the band being a bit tense during the early show and a
bit looser and more relaxed, as well as louder, during the second show. There was tumultuous applause after the first
show’s encore, causing one anonymous audience member to remark that it was the
greatest response he’d ever seen for a band at the Paradise. A tape of the early show definitely exists
and while the late show was also recorded, that tape was stolen and is now
missing. Opening for both performances
was a local band called the Shane Champagne Band. Giant was also originally scheduled to appear
in Boston on May 21, but it's very unlikely that they played both nights.
Boston
ad May 22, 1980
May 23 Asbury Park,
New Jersey Fast Lane
This
date was a last-minute substitution.
Originally, the group was set to play at the Mid-Hudson Civic Center in
Poughkeepsie, New York but that concert was canceled a couple weeks before
showtime. One fan who was planning to
attend believes it was due to poor ticket sales. This club date in Asbury Park, at which the
band played before a couple hundred people, was quickly booked instead. People in the crowd were calling out for the
song Two Weeks In Spain, not a part of their
1980 setlist, causing Derek to explain, “we forgot that one.” A band called Sustenance opened the show on a
very rainy night.
Ads
for canceled Poughkeepsie show and replacement Asbury Park show May 23, 1980
May 24 Hempstead, New York Calderone
Concert Hall
broadcast
live over New York City's WLIR radio station.
Regina Richards and the Red Hots, a Brooklyn dance music act, played in
the opening slot. Their short set was
not well received. During Memories of
Old Days, Gary's acoustic guitar died, so he finished the song using an
electric guitar. As the band began
playing the song Giant For a Day, a fan tossed
a poster at Derek on which he had painted the mask from the front cover of the
album of the same name. Derek held it up
during the tune and the poster remained on stage for the rest of the concert,
first near the bass drum, then in front of the keyboards. During the encore, Derek dedicated the song Number
One to the New York Islanders hockey team who had just won their league
championship on that very day. While
singing the song, he even wore an Islanders shirt presented to him before the
number. On this particular occasion,
Derek introduced himself as Ted Nugent.
Hempstead
- includes Calderone marquee May 24,
1980
May 25 Owings Mills, Maryland Painters Mill Music Fair
A
tape exists of this concert which had Giant performing on a circular, rotating
stage. On this evening, the club offered
virtually no seating, with only a couple table around the outside, so most
everybody stood to watch the show. The
opening act was Face Dancer, the same band who opened for Giant in Bailey’s
Crossroads, Virginia on Nov. 10, 1977.
Face Dancer, who were normally viewed as local home town heroes in the
Maryland/Virginia area, were very poorly received at this 1980 show and left
the stage in humiliation after just a few songs. For some reason, some of the tickets for this
show listed the headliner in plural form as “Gentle Giants.”
Owings
Mills May 25, 1980
May 27 Virginia Beach, Virginia Rogues
Gallery
The Robbin Thompson Band, a very popular local beach
music act, opened this club gig, which was originally scheduled for May
26. When Gary first walked onstage, he
took a long, leisurely sip from a glass of wine setting on his amplifier next
to a few beers, then the band started its first song. During Giant for a Day, Derek did not
need to wear his own mask, as an audience member gave him one. After the show, Derek autographed the mask
for its owner. At first, the club was
packed with 1,500 fans, but a fan report has a number of
them leaving before Giant came out, while those that remained were reportedly
quite noisy. Nevertheless,
a local newspaper gave the band a positive review. A tape of this concert is rumored to exist.
May 28 A diary page from this tour,
visible in the SCRAPING THE BARREL box set, seems to list a concert in
“Charlestown” on this date, but no other details are given. Based on the band’s location on surrounding
dates, this probably referred to either Charleston, West Virginia or Charleston,
South Carolina. However, no other
confirmation whatsoever has been found of a gig taking place on May 28.
May 29 Atlanta, Georgia Agora Ballroom
The
sound in the hall was reported to be quite good this evening. The opening band was advertised to be a group
called Twelfth Night. This was a local
Atlanta-based band, not to be confused with the British neo-prog band which was
to become quite well-known in the 1980’s.
However, Twelfth Night may not have appeared, as several sources seem to
indicate that GG ended up playing without a support act. Giant’s set was broadcast live as it happened
over Atlanta’s WKLS radio station. This
broadcast has now been officially released, on vinyl only, as part of the 2022 FRONT
ROW CENTER boxset, originating from a tape previously owned by a band
member. While presenting the members of
the group, Derek referred to himself as Jimmy Carter who was U.S. president at
the time of this gig and had previously worked right in Atlanta as Governor of
the state of Georgia. In 1980, Carter
was in the middle of a reelection campaign against Ronald Reagan. Just before this evening’s encore, John
Weathers came to the microphone and, in rather harsh terms, tried to discourage
the crowd from voting for Reagan.
Although this occurrence was mentioned in the liner notes included with
the official boxset, Joh’s statement was sadly edited out of the release. The University of Georgia’s student
newspaper, the Red and Black, advertised this gig for a few weeks prior
to the show but in each issue, printed very disparaging remarks about the band
which did nothing to positively promote the concert. Phrases used included “icky progressive
rock”, “formerly interesting” and “touring behind a limpid album”. Their final notice stated “being gentle is
one thing, but there’s no excuse for being comatose”. Fortunately, the Atlanta Journal
published a very generous review of the gig, while mentioning that members of
Kansas and the Dixie Dregs were seen in the audience.
Atlanta
ad with unconfirmed opener May 29,
1980
May 31 Gainesville,
Florida Great Southern
Music Hall
Towards
the end of the show, a number of people in the crowd began throwing marijuana
cigarettes onto the stage. One fan in
the front row then handed them to Ray, who placed them on a drum. The Independent Florida Alligator newspaper
advertised the support act as Craig White and Teaser. White was a well-known local guitarist while
his band was actually called Teasers.
Gainesville ad May 31, 1980
June 1 Miami,
Florida Gusman
Cultural Center
Interestingly,
Derek introduced the song Knots to the crowd as a “psychedelic”
song. One fan claims Giant looked ill
during this concert, even remembering John Weathers repeatedly throwing up into
a bucket on stage during the show. As it
turns out, the fan was correct. The band
had eaten some bad burgers beforehand, jokingly described by Derek in a
backstage press interview after the gig, as “Kentucky Fried Rat”. This also explains why Derek frequently left
the stage when he was not singing. The
food poisoning hit the players when the opening act, a group called Hoochie,
took the stage, and continued through all of Giant’s set. Gary recalls this difficult gig, but says
they still managed to put on a good show, even though they played without their
own lighting and sound rig. This
equipment was, unfortunately, on its way to Houston, the site of the group’s
next concert. Film of the backstage
interview has recently been located and was released online by the band
themselves in 2020.
Miami
- questionable promotion June 1, 1980
June 3 Houston,
Texas Palace
A
San Antonio band called Heyoka opened the show.
Even after Giant finished playing two encores and the lights had come
up, the crowd continued to stand, whistle and cheer for quite some time. This Houston show may have been originally
scheduled for June 2, but clear evidence exists that it, in fact, took place on
June 3. The Palace was originally part
of the Agora Ballroom chain, but had recently changed its name prior to this
concert.
Houston
ticket June 3, 1980
June 4 Dallas, Texas Bijou Showcase
Club
Opening
the show was a band called Lightning. This small club was so crowded that the
local fire marshal came and threatened to cancel the show if some people
did not leave. It appears that security personnel at the club used a
rather nasty method for thinning out the crowd.
The show was late getting started and as waiting fans left to use the
bathroom, they were not allowed back in and were forced to leave the premises,
even though they had valid ticket stubs.
Others presumably took their seats.
Quite a crowd eventually gathered in the parking lot and scuffled with
police officers, but to no avail. It’s
rumored that some of these forcibly ejected paying customers later filed a
lawsuit against the Bijou. The show
finally did get underway about a half hour late.
Dallas
backstage pass and ticket June 4, 1980
June 5 Austin, Texas Armadillo World
Headquarters
A
fan recalls this as being yet another well-received Austin show, with about
2,500 in attendance. It's possible the
band changed their normal song order and opened with Playing the Game. Support for the evening was Mark Hallman,
former member of the band Navarro and future Austin record producer.
Austin ad June 5, 1980
June 6 Norman,
Oklahoma Boomer Theater
This
was an old movie theater that only seated around 800, although it was packed
for this show. It has been described as
“not having a bad seat in the house”, but also offering less than adequate air
conditioning. On this evening, the sound
was also quite poor and distorted. When
Derek first spoke, he joked that the band would be playing selections from CLOSE
TO THE EDGE, IN THE COURT OF THE CRIMSON KING and TRICK OF THE
TAIL. Of course, they did no such
thing. The intended support act for the
show was a local progressive trio called Evensong but, for unexplained reasons,
the bill was changed at the last minute and they did not perform. Instead, a local country-folk singer by the
name of Patty Benson opened the show. A
newspaper review did not give her high marks as a performer, but noted that the
crowd was at least polite in their applause.
Norman ads June 6, 1980
June 8 Denver, Colorado Rainbow Music Hall
The
Rainbow was a converted movie theater with a capacity of just shy of 1,500,
with Billboard reporting 958 in attendance at this general admission
gig. Listen Up, the Denver audio company
which had professionally recorded many of the rock concerts at local nightclub Ebbets Field earlier in the decade, began recording shows
at the Rainbow after that venue closed in 1976.
They recorded this show and Denver's KAZY radio station broadcast an
edited version of it shortly after it ended, the broadcast starting at midnight
on June 9. A funny moment happened
during the broadcast when, before Memories of Old Days, the announcer
started the tape at too slow of a speed, then had to adjust it. One fan at the show claimed the hall had
terrible acoustics, though others have disputed that. Outside, it was a rainy, windy night and,
partway through the gig, the ceiling over Kerry’s head began to leak. The band also had problems with their stage
lighting at the beginning of the show.
They soldiered on, though, even handing out GIANT FOR A DAY masks
to audience members. The opening act for
this show was the Colorado reggae musician John Bayley.
Denver June 8, 1980
June 9 Albuquerque,
New Mexico KiMo Theatre
It
is believed this gig did take place, even though one eyewitness had reported
that it was canceled, due to too few tickets being sold. Gary confirmed it went ahead as planned.
Albuquerque
ad June 9, 1980
June 10 Tempe,
Arizona Dooley’s
Dooley’s
was a chain of small clubs in the southwest US, this one seating no more than
around 300 patrons. Many of them were
wearing cardboard giant masks which had been handed out at the door. One of those present believes the band looked
a bit tired on this evening.
Tempe ticket June 10, 1980
June 11 Tucson,
Arizona Dooley's
The
band played two shows at this, another club in the Dooley’s chain. As publicity
for these two sets, Tucson radio station KWFM played an ad featuring the subway
train recording heard at the beginning of Underground, along with an announcer
proclaiming that Gentle Giant was "rolling into town". The Tucson Dooley's was an old renovated
church that was converted into a nightclub in 1977, before finally burning to
the ground in 1983. Supposedly, it had
also been used, at one time, as a fraternity house, due to its being adjacent
to the University of Arizona campus.
There was a wooden balcony, once a choir loft, around the interior of
the club which extended quite a ways inwards, so that
patrons in the front of the balcony appeared to be looking almost straight down
onto the stage. Kerry is said to have
appeared a bit apprehensive about the people watching from there. According to fan reports, the place was
packed for these shows and the crowds were raucous but enthusiastic. Attendance at the early set is known to be
around 250. There was not a musical act
in the support slot. Instead, a juggler
named Chris Bliss entertained the appreciative crowd with his juggling and his
joke telling. Before finally correcting
themselves, the Arizona Daily Star advertised an incorrect date of June
10, perhaps confusing this with the Dooley’s gig in Tempe the night
before. The promoter, Evening Star
Productions, claimed to have lost money on nearly every Tucson concert it had
organized since February, but did break even on the Giant shows.
Tucson
- incorrect and corrected advertised dates
June 11, 1980
June 13 West
Hollywood, California The Roxy
They
did two sold-out shows on this, the first of three nights at this famous
nightclub in greater Los Angeles. Comic
juggler James Marcel, known for juggling chain saws, bowling balls and the
like, served as the warm up act for both sets.
An audience tape exists of Giant’s set at what's believed to be the
early show, though it's also rumored that the Roxy's sound man recorded both
shows from the house mixing desk. At
this early show, the group got off at the very beginning of For Nobody
and had to start again. An audience
member in attendance at both shows recalls the crowds being quite unmoved by
the band's newer material, with the exception of Inside Out, for some
reason. During one of the shows, Derek
threw his mask into the audience at one point and was saddened to see that no
souvenir collector even bothered to pick it up for a while. At the sold-out late show, Derek, who
admitted to being drunk, had some trouble remembering his words during The
Advent of Panurge. Gary, also drunk,
lost one of his sticks during the drum bash.
A fan in the crowd retrieved it and, since Gary apparently didn't have
another stick, the fan reluctantly gave it back to him. As a thank you, Gary returned the stick to
the fan after the song. According to the
UCLA student newspaper The Daily Bruin, the sound was “lacking in
clarity and too loud” on this evening.
West
Hollywood - Genesis members selling tickets at the Roxy - marquee in back June 1980
June 14 West
Hollywood, California The Roxy
They
did two more sold-out shows, again both rumored to have been recorded by the
Roxy's sound man. An existing audience
tape of the early show shows Derek teasing the crowd by referring to the venue
as the Forum, a much larger Los Angeles hall. An audience tape of the late show is also
known to exist. Juggler James Marcel
again opened the shows. The Daily
Bruin, which claimed the sound was sub-par on the previous night, stated in
its review of this night’s early show that GG now produced “some of the cleanest
sound ever to emanate from the Roxy stage”.
June 15 San
Francisco, California Old Waldorf
The
band played two general admission shows upstairs at this club, which is
believed to have held, at the most, 300 people.
Originally, they only planned on one performance at 8:00 but it sold out
so they added another show at 11:00. The
opening act for both shows was comedian A. Whitney Brown, who received a mixed
reaction from the crowd. One fan at the
late show found his opening joke to be particularly memorable. The comedian began, “Hi, I’m
A. Whiney Brown. Someday, I hope to be
THE Whitney Brown.” The band’s
appearance in San Francisco was originally scheduled as the final night of the
tour. However, as the tour went along,
things were reassessed and the band ended up adding one more night in West
Hollywood for the following night. A fan
at the early San Francisco show had the impression that the audience was
divided, half cheering wildly for the older tunes and the other half mainly
interested in the newer material. Gary
recalls that near the end of one of the concerts, a fan presented the band on
stage with a giant replica of the “missing piece”, the puzzle piece pictured on
their 1977 album by the same name. A
tape of the early show is known to exist.
On it, Derek is heard introducing John Weathers and making special
mention of the Oakland A’s baseball uniform he always wore on stage. This elicited a large cheer from the
audience, Oakland being just outside of San Francisco. Derek then introduced himself as Jerry
Garcia, a native son of San Francisco whose Grateful Dead became one of the city’s
most enduring bands.
San
Francisco June 15, 1980
June 16 West Hollywood, California The Roxy
On
this, Giant’s very last night as a live performing rock band, they again did
two sold-out shows, with juggler James Marcel opening. Both shows were added after the original tour
schedule was set. As late as the end of
May, the Los Angeles Times was advertising Roxy Giant shows only for
June 13 and 14, with Tommy James slated to appear on June 16. However, the June 1 issue of that newspaper
listed the amended schedule. As is
befitting a final gig of a tour, it’s known that many Gentle Giant masks, teeshirts and other memorabilia were tossed into the crowd
towards the end of the late show. During
this same set, the band held an awards ceremony of sorts, presenting their
sound man with a food mixer painted gold and their lights man with a light
bulb. Additionally, the band held a
little sing-along during the "hey friends" section of The Advent
of Panurge. This last light-hearted
diversion was sadly edited out of the 1996 officially released LAST STEPS
LIVE AT THE ROXY album. Again, the
Roxy's sound man is rumored to have taped both shows, but a different, totally
separate soundboard recording of the late show, recorded by a roadie, was the
tape made into the official live album.
The liner notes in the official live release identify the roadie only as
“Ritchie” but, although there was indeed a roadie named Richie at the time,
it’s believed a different roadie named Ron is actually the gentleman who
recorded the gig. Ron’s tape was a
modified soundboard recording with one channel taped directly from the mixing
desk and the other from an open mike.
The two channels were then blended together to create the mono mix found
on the live CD. In 2013, a large, though
incomplete, chunk of Ron’s recording was reissued as part of the MEMORIES OF
OLD DAYS boxset. In 2019, Ron’s
recording was once again reissued, in a slightly different edit and mix, as
part of the UNBURIED TREASURE boxset, this time at last restoring the
missing “hey friends” section.
West
Hollywood - Gentle Giant’s very last date
June 16, 1980
* Valedictory *
Original plans called for a European leg of the CIVILIAN
tour, including some festivals and television appearances. They even hoped to play two or three dates in
the UK in August before coming back to the States in September, allegedly to
continue writing. However, none of this
came to pass. After the 1980 American
tour, Gentle Giant quietly broke up.
Some of the members had simply grown tired of touring and the everyday
struggles of keeping a band together. It
appears that Derek and Kerry had actually planned on this being their final
tour before the tour even began, having informed the others of their decision
at a pre-tour band meeting in
Although a full-scale reunion seems
highly unlikely, a few members of the band have stayed involved in the music
business in some capacity. However, even
if none of them plays another note together from this point forward, Shulman,
Shulman, Shulman, Minnear, Green, Weathers, Mortimore and Smith clearly left
behind a remarkable legacy of work for all to enjoy, and historical and
archival interest in the band is still very high today. There is no doubt that fans of sophisticated
music will continue to be inspired, long into the future, by the music of that
mythical beast from the past known as
Gentle Giant
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