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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. Giant themselves were quite
happy with the new album and hoped it would garner significant radio
attention. Unfortunately, they had
sought advice during the recording process from American radio consultant Lee
Abrams so, when the album was released, many stations viewed this as a conflict
of interest and refused to touch it.
Therefore, the album received very little airplay and failed to gain
anywhere near the commercial success the band thought it deserved.
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 near Albany, 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. It’s
known that The Advent of Panurge was omitted from the early show, but
it’s not known if the same was true at the late show. The opening act for both sets was a local
acoustic pop/jazz/bossa nova singer named Diane Tell, who performed on
classical guitar, accompanied by her brother on bass. 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 couple fans remember a
comedian/magician opening the show, one of these fans recalling very vivid
details of this person’s act. It’s
certainly possible that there were two support acts on this evening, but additional confirmation would be helpful. Interestingly, Giant did indeed 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, with two distinct possibilities emerging. 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 two different fans in attendance specifically recall
watching. However, 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. 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. 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. 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. Earlier in
the day, members of the band went to a well-known area music store where Derek
purchased a small metal glockenspiel, presumably for use during the drum bash
portion of So Sincere.
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 This
is a mysterious date on the CIVILIAN tour. Both a roadie’s travel itinerary and a page
from Kerry’s own diary confirm that the band did not travel directly from Virginia
Beach after the May 27 concert to Atlanta for the May 29 show. Instead, they took a detour and stayed in
Charleston, West Virginia on May 28, misspelled by Kerry as “Charlestown”. This was way out of the way and there would
be no logical reason for taking this route other than a scheduled gig in the
Charleston area. However, no information whatsoever has
been found that would indicate the band played
a show on May 28 in Charleston or anywhere else. Unless more information can be located, this
will remain a mystery.
Charleston - unexplained
appearance May 28, 1980
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
The
opening band was an art-rock band from Tampa called Hoochie. According to their manager at the time, Derek
liked the band and helped get them on the bill. A couple fans have claimed 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, these fans were 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 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 and backstage pass
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 was never really a
possibility, a few members of the band have stayed involved in the music
business in some capacity. Sadly, Ray and Martin have now passed away but,
even if none of the others plays another note together from this point forward,
their legacy is intact. Shulman, Shulman, Shulman, Minnear,
Green, Weathers, Mortimore and Smith clearly left behind a remarkable body 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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