Gentle Giant Tour History

 

*** Part Four ***

*** Back to North America ***

 

(late 1974 - mid 1975)

 

(new or modified information will appear in red)

 

            Finally, after a series of aborted tour plans and over sixteen months away from North America, Giant returned there in the fall of 1974.  Upon arrival, they had a small number of piecemeal gigs actually lined up, but the long-awaited concerts they did have went over quite well.  Additionally, they found that album sales in the United States were, by this time, fairly brisk and improving all the time.  Because of these factors, they decided to add many more gigs as they went along, sometimes as a support act and sometimes as a headliner.  Giant's management had very little to do with the organization of this impromptu tour, the band doing most of the planning themselves.  For that reason, it is still difficult to pin down exactly where the band was each and every night, with more information definitely being needed.  Since this North American tour ended up being extended quite a bit longer than expected, touring plans for later in the year had to be rethought.  They had planned a UK tour, supported by the band Snafu, beginning at the Plymouth Guildhall on October 31, followed by a swing through Europe, but the UK tour was postponed until December, while the European schedule was shortened considerably.

 

TYPICAL SETLIST  (Fall 1974)

 

The Runaway/Experience - during the “breaking glass” intro tape, a huge glittery sign spelling out “GIANT” was lowered down above the stage

Funny Ways

Excerpts from Octopus

Nothing at All - the glockenspiels remained, but Shortnin' Bread was no longer played

Plain Truth

In a Glass House

           

            Their setlist remained relatively unchanged, except that Prologue was again dropped, this time for good.  Songs from their new album, THE POWER AND THE GLORY, strangely only rarely appeared in their live shows at this time.  Even though the album had just been released, it was the band's feeling that they would be better off promoting the earlier albums.  Capitol Records, their American label, was not at all happy about this decision.

 

 

Oct. 7            Denver, Colorado                           Denver Coliseum                        on this first date of the US tour, GG opened for Traffic.  the band was encouraged by the good reception they received

Oct. 9            Los Angeles, California                  Whisky A-Go-Go                       this was only the second date of the tour, but it was the first of five straight sellout nights at this popular 500 seat Los Angeles nightclub, where they were rapturously received.  this is particularly ironic, considering the band did not even want to play at this club at all, finally being talked into it by their manager.  people started to line up for tickets hours ahead of time and each night, the club had to turn away hundreds of disappointed fans.  the band themselves were quite stunned by their reception, but their success at this club ended up getting them more headlining engagements over the next couple months.  a couple reports have surfaced indicating the band was filmed during at least one of these Whisky shows, not to be confused with the ABC filming described below.  it may have been for a local television report, although that is pure conjecture.  ex-Canned Heat guitarist Harvey Mandel was the opening act on this night, as he was at all these Whisky shows.  he led a rather heavy sounding four piece group which included a violin.  a tape of this first gig exists

 

Oct. ?            The group was filmed live for the ABC Wide World In Concert TV program.  Filming took place just outside of Los Angeles at the Long Beach Auditorium in Long Beach, California.  The band’s entire short set consisted of Experience, Excerpts from Octopus and Funny Ways.  There were tuning problems at the beginning of Funny Ways, causing the group to stop and start over.  The whole performance was filmed, though only Excerpts from Octopus actually appeared on TV when it was broadcast on Jan. 3, 1975.  The exact date of filming has also been the subject of debate, often being listed as Nov. 3.  Actually, it was filmed while they were in Los Angeles for their run of shows at the Whisky.  Although early indications were that this filming was on Oct. 10, Derek did announce to the crowd that it was the group’s final performance in the Los Angeles area until February of the following year.  This would make the date of Oct. 13, or even shortly after, more feasible.  The entire three-song set has now been officially released as part of the GIANT ON THE BOX DVD, although the DVD liner notes mistakenly list the set as being filmed at the Terrace Theater in early 1975.  The Terrace Theater was actually the name of the rebuilt, remodeled venue built on the same site after the original Auditorium was torn down in 1975.  Construction on the Terrace Theater was not completed until 1978.

 

Oct. 10          Los Angeles, California                  Whisky A-Go-Go                       Harvey Mandel opened

Oct. 11          Los Angeles, California                  Whisky A-Go-Go                       Harvey Mandel opened

Oct. 12          Los Angeles, California                  Whisky A-Go-Go                       they played two shows on this date. Harvey Mandel opened both

Oct. 13          Los Angeles, California                  Whisky A-Go-Go                       they again played two shows.  Harvey Mandel opened both.  at one or both of the shows on this night, the band played two songs from the new album, probably Cogs In Cogs and Proclamation.  they had been practicing these two songs in soundchecks, but this is believed to be the only time the songs were actually performed in front of an audience prior to the European tour in late November

???                Santa Monica, California                Civic Auditorium                         Gary remembered a 1974 gig here as being one of the band's best west coast gigs ever.  however, he may have been thinking of the Santa Monica show from Feb. 1975

 

 

            At this time, the band took a brief vacation in San Francisco, California before heading East to continue their U.S. tour.

 

 

???                St. Louis, Missouri                        Terrace Ballroom                        this is not confirmed.  GG did indeed open for the J. Geils Band in St. Louis at some point, but it may have actually occurred in the spring of 1973.  whatever the case, a press report had the audience loving both bands

Oct. 18          Cleveland, Ohio                             Allen Theater                             here, they opened for Golden Earring

Oct. 20          Youngstown, Ohio                         Tomorrow Club                           played two shows, opening for Focus.  the first, at 2:00 P.M. was open to all ages, while the late show at 9:00 P.M. was only for those over 18.  Giant had opened for Focus at this same venue on Mar. 12, 1973, when it was probably known as the State Theater

Oct. 21          Columbus, Ohio                            Agora                                        more than likely, the openers were a local area progressive band called I Don’t Care, the keyboard player of which remembers opening twice for Giant.  the second was probably July 6, 1976.  this keyboardist also recalls the members of GG being very personable with them on both occasions.  ticket sales were not very good for this show, resulting in the promoter lowering the prices

Oct. 22          Chicago, Illinois                            Auditorium Theater                     this venue is a converted opera house and boasts superior acoustics.  GG opened for J. Geils 

Oct. 23         Parsippany, New Jersey                A Joint In The Woods                 this club was located, literally, way out in the woods, away from everything, a fact which may have contributed to the rather small size of the crowd.  the audience stood on an empty dance floor, with no tables or chairs, making for a very intimate concert experience.  the group is known to have, once again, played Cogs In Cogs and Proclamation in their soundcheck, though not during the actual concert.  supposedly, the opening act, a band called Joe’s Bar and Grill, was somewhat frustrated by the hard time given them by the impatient audience.  the frugality of the travel budget Giant allowed themselves on this tour is evidenced by the fact that they showed up at the club on this night, not in a limousine, but in a rented station wagon.  a tape of this gig exists

Oct. 24          Northampton, Pennsylvania            Roxy Theatre                             P.F. and the Flyers were supposedly the opening act at this very small theatre

Oct. 25          Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania               Carnegie-Mellon University          the band opened for Chick Corea’s Return to Forever.  the concert was part of the school’s Homecoming celebration and was held in a gymnasium with everyone sitting on a large mat on the floor

Oct. 26          Lawrenceville, New Jersey             Rider College                             originally, GG was scheduled to open for J. Geils at the Spectrum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on this date.  however, they ended up playing this college gig outside of Trenton instead, where they opened for Dave Mason.  GG was well received and, reportedly, Mason had the house lights turned up three quarters of the way through Giant’s set, in an attempt to shut them down

Oct. 29          Harrisburg, Pennsylvania               Farm Show Arena                      opened for Frank Zappa.  long ago, Gary Green revealed Giant had opened for Zappa on one occasion and even claimed to have a backstage pass from the show.  however, he couldn’t remember the date or even the year.  since that time, there has been much speculation on when it must have occurred, with opinions ranging from 1974 to 1980.  finally, it has been confirmed by two attendees at the show. that it took place in Harrisburg on this date.  some in attendance expected John McLaughlin to also be on the bill.  this was just a rumor that circulated at the time and McLaughlin was definitely not there, although he could have, at one time, been scheduled to appear.  it was a pretty full house with somewhere in the neighborhood of 8000 people present.  Giant was well received by the Zappa fans, as might be expected.  the Farm Show Arena, as can be surmised by its name, was not much more than a big barn, with dirt floors and terrible acoustics.  at one point, the sound man was asked why he was using so much echo, to which he replied that he was using none at all.  this was an added date, not on the original schedule.  John, who was a big Zappa fan and had been looking forward to this show, described the Arena as a “rodeo hall” and was so upset by the poor acoustics that he refused to listen to Zappa’s set

Oct. 31          Springfield, Massachusetts            Julia Sanderson Theatre             this venue was originally a movie theater known as the Paramount Theater but converted to a 2600 seat concert hall in 1973, changing its name at the same time in tribute to a well-known actress from Springfield.  it’s now a dance club known as the Hippodrome.  GG was preceded by John Martyn, both opening for headliners Focus in this old refurbished vaudeville theater.  being Halloween night, the crowd was rather festive, with a number of spectators in costume.  Giant decided this would be a good night for a bit of holiday theatrics, as well.  when the pre-recorded bit after The Runaway began, Kerry disappeared underneath the stage, seating himself at the theater’s built in Wurlitzer organ.  he was for a time totally in the dark, struggling to find his place on the instrument, until he finally rose out of the pit, lit by spotlight, at which time he launched into the keyboard intro to Experience.   the band played their parts somewhat quietly so as not to drown out the Wurlitzer.  when they reached a section of the song requiring just bass and drums, they added a few extra measures to give Kerry enough time to return to his spot on stage so he could continue the show, now out of breath.  throughout it all, to complete the effect, he was wearing a cape.  it did take some cajoling to get Kerry to agree to this stunt, but the audience responded with deafening applause as he rejoined the rest of the band on stage.  ever the gentlemen, they had asked Focus ahead of time if they would mind this possibly upstaging activity.  graciously, Focus agreed.  during the Knots portion of Excerpts from Octopus, the band got a little off on their timing.  a gentle wave of sympathetic laughter rippled through the crowd and they recovered quickly.  during Ray's violin solo, a screaming match developed between Ray and an audience member 

Nov. 1            New York, New York                     Academy Of Music                    a tape of this concert exists.  the group opened for Focus, although one fan remembers both bands playing equal length sets.  this is the first known time GG played at this popular New York venue, but they returned there many times in later years.  at this show, which started at midnight, the transition tape between The Runaway and Experience played a half step sharp, for some reason.  once again, a member of the audience recalls a fan near the front screaming at Ray during his violin solo.  Ray then put his instrument down and engaged in a back and forth screaming match with the fan before resuming his solo.  this was actually a common occurrence during the violin solos through the years, though it is unclear how much of it was spontaneous and how much was provoked by Ray himself.  after the show, as further evidence of their shoestring budget at the time, no limousine was present and the band was spotted simply walking away from the Academy, belongings in hand.  sadly, a review of this gig in Billboard cited the band’s music as being “too repetitious”

Nov. 2            Boston, Massachusetts                 Orpheum Theater                       Giant played first on a triple bill here, preceding Golden Earring and headliners Black Oak Arkansas 

Nov. 3            New York, New York                     Academy Of Music                    one online source claims Giant played here in support of Focus again, just as they had done two days earlier.  however, it seems doubtful, one other source placing Focus in Edison, New Jersey on this evening

Nov. 4            Detroit, Michigan                           Cobo Hall                                  promotional material from the band's record company originally listed a Detroit date at Ford Auditorium on Oct. 28, but it was changed at some point to this Cobo Hall appearance.  three bands were on the bill, Giant playing first, Mountain in the middle, and the J. Geils Band headlining.  J. Geils was extremely popular in Detroit and always played to rapturous fans.  however, in comments made the following day, both Kerry and Gary expressed disappointment over their own band’s lukewarm acceptance by the audience, Kerry going so far as to state that Giant never enjoyed playing in Detroit.  however, Gary still owns his backstage pass from this gig.  a tape of the show also exists, documenting an unusually short opening set 

Nov. 5            Waterbury, Connecticut                 Palace Theater                          even though information indicates the band opened for Focus here and was well-received, this date is still questionable

Nov. 6            Flint, Michigan                              I.M.A. Auditorium                       opened for Foghat,  in comments made the day before with a young fan, Kerry expressed concerns that this pairing would not be ideal and he was proved right.  Giant was heavily booed at this gig by the relatively small number of people who even bothered to watch them.  when first addressing the crowd, Derek asked that they stop throwing things at the stage. in response to the poor audience behavior, Ray is said to have made "rude" sounds with his bass, directed towards the audience.  a tape of the show exists as does a bit of the soundcheck.  during this soundcheck, the band can be heard in a bluesy jam, as well as running through an instrumental version of Cogs In Cogs

Nov. 7            Allentown, Pennsylvania                Lehigh Valley Community College           a conflicting report has this gig taking place at Allentown College of St. Francis de Sales.  either way, this college gig was arranged at relatively short notice and was supposed to be a triple bill with GG and the Strawbs opening for Robin Trower.  however, the Strawbs cancelled.  one fan recalls about 250 in attendance, while another places the number higher.  the attendees simply sat on the floor in front of the stage in what’s believed to have been a converted dining hall and, although Trower was the headliner, Giant was very well received.  in fact, after their set, the lights came on but the crowd continued to chant “Giant!  Giant!  Giant!”, sadly to no avail.  there is also a possibility that Giant played another show in Allentown at some unspecified date with Al Stewart in support and possibly comedian Robert Klein on the bill, as well.  even the year of this alleged concert is speculative at best, but it’s said to have been an acoustically excellent theater date          

Nov. 8            Plattsburgh, New York                   State University of New York at Plattsburgh          original plans were for Giant to perform in Teaneck, New Jersey on this evening, but they played this college near the Canadian border instead, opening for the Climax Blues Band.  in fact, several photos of the band appear in the college’s yearbook, where they are mislabeled as “Gentile Giant”.  John’s drum solo was particularly well received by the Plattsburgh crowd and one fan alleges they played Working All Day, dedicating it to the road manager

Nov. 9            New Haven, Connecticut                Yale University - Woolsey Hall                the band opened for Poco on this night.  Giant was booed for the first ten minutes of their set, but the crowd ended up giving them a standing ovation by the end.  then, after the show, the members of Giant were interviewed on the Yale University radio station.  Poco recorded their set and one song from this night may have ended up on their 1976 Live album

Nov. 10          Baltimore, Maryland                      Johns Hopkins University - Newton White Athletic Center  GG opened for Robin Trower and was well received.  Dave Mason may have been at one time scheduled as the headliner, but he did not appear, Trower playing instead

???                Buffalo, New York                         New Century Theatre                  an unconfirmed report has Nektar opening for Giant here in 1974

???                Upper Darby, Pennsylvania            Tower Theater                            there are a couple reports that Giant opened here for Focus, although one Focus source gives a date of November 9, 1973.  that is most certainly incorrect

???                North Branch, New Jersey             Somerset County Community College                  there are two fan reports of Giant playing in the gymnasium at this college.  one has GG opening for Robin Trower.  the other has GG opening for Caravan.  late 1974 and late 1975 have both been presented as possible time periods, but Trower and Caravan tour date sources both make late 1974 far more likely.  at least some agreement can be found between both reports, as both fans complained about less than ideal acoustics

???                Marietta, Ohio                               Marietta College                         exact date of this concert has not been narrowed down, but it is known that Giant opened for Quicksilver Messenger Service in the college gymnasium.  a tape is rumored to exist of Giant’s set

Nov. 15          Knoxville, Tennessee                     Knoxville Civic Coliseum             this was a festival seating gig at which Giant opened for John Sebastian and headliner Dave Mason

Nov. 17          Memphis, Tennessee                                                                    although all of the concerts Giant played on this tour have not yet been uncovered, this show was mentioned in the press as being the final date of the extended North American tour

 

                             

There have been reports from fans that Giant played some more Canadian gigs in late 1974, but these reports are unreliable.  More than likely, these fans were actually thinking of the shows held in Jan. 1975.  Upon returning to Europe, the group finally began regularly including songs from THE POWER AND THE GLORY in their live stage show.  However, they ended up spending relatively little time in Europe, because of the unexpected extension of their tour in America.  Six shows were, at one time, slated for Switzerland, but it appears that less actually took place.  One newspaper account corroborated that they had other European dates scheduled, but cancelled some of them.  It also implied the group may have even returned to America for a short spell after their time in Europe, though this seems unlikely.

           

 

TYPICAL SETLIST  (late 1974)

 

Intro/Cogs in Cogs - a brief instrumental snippet of the song Giant was used as an intro to this set-opener                         

Proclamation/Funny Ways

The Runaway/Experience

Excerpts from Octopus - the recorder quartet included a brief bit of Raconteur, Troubadour instead of Yankee Doodle for only this minor European tour

Nothing at All

Plain Truth

Mister Class and Quality?/Peel the Paint – a slightly different arrangement than was used at some early 1973 gigs.  Gary's guitar solo now found a home in Peel the Paint.  the "breaking glass" tape loop was now faded out at the end of this, as an outro

 

            Most notable at this time is the band's increased fascination with combining songs or portions of songs into mini-medleys.  This would continue into future tours.

             

 

Nov. 21          Basel, Switzerland                        Stadtcasino                               a tape of this concert exists. it’s been said that, on this night, John was seen walking across the stage with bells attached to his ankle

Nov. 22          St. Gallen, Switzerland                  Kongresshaus Schützengarten                a tape of this concert also exists

Nov. 23          Ascona, Switzerland                     Palestra Scolastica                    Ascona is a beautiful small Swiss town on Lake Maggiore, Palestra Scolastica referring to the sports hall or gymnasium of the local school.  this concert was organized by Suzy Strauss of the one woman Ascona concert agency known as SU 71.  it was thought that the Italian band Arti e Mestieri served as the opening act, but none of the press related to this gig mention anyone else on the bill, nor do any of several fans in attendance recall an opener 

Nov. 25          Bologna, Italy                               Palazzo dello Sport                    opening act was Arti e Mestieri

 

Nov. 26          A film of the band appeared on British television on the Old Grey Whistle Test program.  This was the second half of Excerpts from Octopus shot at London's Drury Lane on March 16.  The clip has now been released officially in video and audio form on the GG AT THE GG DVD.

                    

Nov. 26          Rome, Italy                                   Palazzo dello Sport                    opening act was Arti e Mestieri.  the venue for this show is often listed as PalaEur which was a commonly used nickname for the same location.   It was a large circular hall built on a hill.  GG almost didn't make it to the show when the security guards didn't recognize them and wouldn't let them in the building.  about 20,000 fans were in attendance.  in 2000, a soundboard recording of this show became the first in a series of Gentle Giant releases on the European Glass House label.  this first one was entitled LIVE IN ROME and was a direct copy from an earlier bootleg release, right down to the artwork.  since that time, Glass House has released several more Giant recordings, all from pre-existent bootlegs of audience recordings, soundboard recordings, or radio broadcasts.  the band members do not endorse the sub-par sound quality of these releases, but they do allegedly receive royalties from them

Nov. 27          Udine, Italy                                   Palazzo dello Sport                    opening act was Arti e Mestieri

Nov. 28          Torino, Italy                                  Palazzo dello Sport                    opening act was Arti e Mestieri.  upon first welcoming the audience, Derek mentions the city’s famous football club, Juventus, and elicits applause from many in the crowd.  unfortunately, the city’s other football club, the Torino club, was not mentioned, thereby upsetting others in the crowd.  it seems fans of the two teams have a very rocky relationship.  a tape exists of this concert

Nov. 29          Genova, Italy                                Teatro Genova                           cancelled at the last minute.  opening act was supposed to be Arti e Mestieri

???                Modena, Italy                                Teatro Storchi                            this is an unconfirmed gig for which no written documentation has been found.  however, a fan recalls it, only remembering it as having been sometime between 1972 and 1974.  he also recalls a keyboard intro at the start of the show which could correlate with this time period.  interestingly, this fan states the audience responded better to the older tunes than to the newer ones

???                Stockholm, Sweden                                                                     there is a possibility that the band played a Stockholm date around this time, as one fan seems to recall it.  however, it remains unconfirmed

 

 

            As stated above, the band rescheduled their tour of Great Britain for the month of December 1974, with Joe Brown's Home Brew planned as the opening act.  They even intended to record some of the dates for a possible future live album release.  However, the tour ultimately had to be cancelled.  There are differing reports as to why.  The primary reason given to the press was that Derek developed a severe stomach ulcer.  Although possibly true, it seems there may have been more to the story.  John and Kerry have both claimed that management problems also played a part, logical when considering that they had just severed ties with WWA, their poorly run UK record label.  Listed here is the originally planned tour itinerary. 

 

 

Dec. 5            Sheffield, England                         City Hall                                    cancelled

Dec. 6            Leeds, England                             Town Hall                                  cancelled

Dec. 7            Norwich, England                          University of East Anglia             cancelled.  although sponsored by the University of East Anglia’s Student Union, this show may very well have been booked at a different, presumably smaller, Norwich college simply known as City College

Dec. 8            Birmingham, England                    Town Hall                                  cancelled

Dec. 9            Manchester, England                    Free Trade Hall                          cancelled

Dec. 10          Stoke on Trent, England                The Heavy Steam Machine         cancelled

 

Dec. 10          In London, the band did their tenth BBC studio session, broadcast on Dec. 17.  Derek was obviously well enough to fulfill this one commitment, although it was the band’s only performance that month.  The studio used for this recording of Proclamation, Experience, Aspirations and Cogs In Cogs, is unknown.  This entire session appears on the OUT OF THE WOODS and TOTALLY OUT OF THE WOODS albums.

 

Dec. 11          Glasgow, Scotland                        Apollo Centre                             cancelled

Dec. 12          Liverpool, England                         Royal Court Theatre                   cancelled

Dec. 13          Newcastle, England                      City Hall                                    cancelled

Dec. 14          Edinburgh, Scotland                      Usher Hall                                 cancelled

Dec. 16          Bristol, England                            Colston Hall                               cancelled

 

Dec. 17          The band's tenth BBC session from Dec. 10 was broadcast on Sounds of the Seventies, hosted by John Peel.

 

Dec. 18          Redruth, England                          Regal Cinema                            cancelled

Dec. 19          Plymouth, England                        Guildhall                                    cancelled

Dec. 20          London, England                           Rainbow Theatre                        this show was first set for Dec 22, then moved two days earlier to Dec. 20.  up until a few days before this date, the group had still hoped to play in London as a one-off performance.  however, it was finally cancelled.  the report circulated at the time was that Derek’s throat condition had actually worsened and was compounded by a sugar deficiency

 

 

            1975

 

 

            As 1975 rolled around, Giant once again toured heavily, beginning in North America and then, by summer, returning to Europe.  As was the case with the late 1974 U.S. tour, the dates on this swing through North America in early 1975 were changed and rearranged frequently as the days and weeks went by, making an exact accounting of what transpired quite difficult.  This year, they did manage to gain quite a bit of public exposure through an increased number of live radio and television appearances.  Their itinerary also included a few more successful eastern Canadian dates.  By this time, promoter Donald Tarlton was booking the band in that country.  He claimed that Montreal, in particular, was a North American springboard for Giant and other progressive bands, and he openly took pride in his role in that.  At one point, according to Billboard magazine, Canadian dates were planned for December 1974, but none of those occurred.

 

TYPICAL SETLIST  (Early - Mid 1975)

 

Intro/Cogs in Cogs

Proclamation/Funny Ways

The Runaway/Experience

Excerpts from Octopus - Yankee Doodle was returned to its place during the recorder quartet

So Sincere - the 5-man drum bash was now performed as part of this song.  during the glockenspiel section of this, the stage lights would turn off, revealing strobe lights and twinkling white lights

Plain Truth

Mister Class and Quality?/Peel the Paint/Valedictory - Gary's guitar solo was again a part of Peel the Paint.  once more, as an outro, the band faded out the "breaking glass" tape loop

 

            This was the time when Nothing at All, a staple of their shows since 1970, was finally retired.  John said in 1977 that the band attempted to perform Playing the Game briefly in 1975, but it isn't known exactly when during the year this happened.  The song was considered unsuccessful and was quickly dropped, but it resurfaced starting in early 1977.

 

 

Jan. 3            The ABC Wide World In Concert TV program, filmed in October of 1974, was broadcast.  Excerpts from Octopus was shown, though more was performed and filmed.  Also appearing on the program were the Climax Blues Band, the Isley Brothers and the Souther-Hillman-Furay Band.  The show was also simulcast in various other cities on FM radio stations affiliated with the ABC network, including KLOS there in Los Angeles.  Additionally, it seems some of this material was later broadcast on the BBC In Concert radio program, but when that was is not known.

                             

Jan. 8            Philadelphia, Pennsylvania                                                             an unconfirmed concert

Jan. 14           Montreal, Quebec                         Montreal Forum                         a band named Maneige opened the show.  it is illustrative of how well respected Gentle Giant had become in Canada that they were able to play in a venue as large as this one.  total capacity of the Forum was 20,000 and somewhere in the neighborhood of 10,000 attended this concert.  reviews for this and all the Canadian stops on this tour were extremely positive.  the Feb. 8 issue of Billboard reported that, while in Montreal, the band recorded a live-in-the-studio special for the city’s CHOM radio.  the whereabouts of this recording today, if it still exists at all, are sadly unknown

Jan. 15           Ottawa, Ontario                            Lansdown Park - Civic Centre Arena                    bluesman John Lee Hooker opened this concert.  the venue, a hockey arena, seated 5000-7000 people, but about 4000 were actually in attendance.  during the show, Derek jokingly introduced himself as Robert Plant, while shaking his microphone stand hard.  he used this gimmick of incorrectly identifying himself many times through the years, usually giving the audience a nice laugh.  an Ottawa Citizen newspaper review singled out Funny Ways as a particular highlight, but incorrectly identified it as Strange Ways    

Jan. 16           Sherbrooke, Quebec                     Centre Culturel

Jan. 18           New York, New York                     Academy of Music                     two shows, preceded by American Tears and followed by Alvin Lee and Company.  for at least one of this evening’s shows, Giant was late taking the stage, a situation which upset Alvin Lee.  it could very well have been the late show, as this is reported to have not started until midnight.  in written correspondence with Giant’s agent on Jan. 20, Lee’s tour manager made a point of urging Giant to start on time when the two bands again appeared together at the Jan. 22 Buffalo show.  both Academy shows were recorded by King Biscuit Radio, who on Sept. 28, broadcast about twenty minutes worth of music from this evening, including the song Cogs In Cogs.  it had been conjectured that the broadcast was taken from the second show, but that is no longer at all certain.  most of the songs played on this evening were also released on the KING BISCUIT PRESENTS GENTLE GIANT album in 1998, but without Cogs In Cogs.  again, which performance each song came from is not clear, although it had been believed that most came from the first show.  more recently, a longer set of King Biscuit material, this time approximating a nearly complete set, has surfaced, made up of all the music on the 1998 album plus the missing Cogs In Cogs.  as if this were not all confusing enough, this newly surfaced version of Cogs In Cogs is not the same as the one on the original radio broadcast.  Ray remembers the audience was a bit less receptive during the first show.  he laughingly recalls that during his violin solo at that first show, someone in the crowd yelled out "you suck!"  he says he later cut out that segment from King Biscuit’s tape and placed it in a locket he still owns today.  it’s presumed this solo took place, as usual, during the song Plain Truth, but no Jan. 18 recording of that tune has yet surfaced at all.  amazingly, the exact same thing happened at the Nov. 5, 1977 gig at the same venue, during which it’s been confirmed someone again yelled out “you suck!” 

Jan. 19           Trois Rivieres, Quebec                   University of Quebec - Sports Center       a fan in attendance specifically remembers this concert as starting at five minutes before midnight.  apparently, the band was late due to a delay at the US - Canadian border after playing in New York City the night before

Jan. 21           Quebec City, Quebec                    Centre Municipal des Congress   the opening band was a Quebec area prog/jazz fusion band named Sloche.  Giant was originally scheduled to play the following night, as well, in Quebec City, but that did not happen

Jan. 22           Buffalo, New York                         Kleinhan's Music Hall                 opened for Alvin Lee and Company.  at this particular show, one audience member recalls two whole rows of fans near the front screaming back and forth with Ray during his violin solo.  another remembers the Giant fans standing and cheering wildly after each song.  actually, very few GG fans were even in attendance this evening and the rest of the audience, there to see Alvin Lee, gave the band a poor reception.  this was unusual in Buffalo where the promoters, the team of Harvey and Corkey, always did a good job of publicizing GG's appearances.  this particular gig, however, was promoted by a different promoter.  the local newspaper's review the next day was favorable of Giant and made note of the fact that many of the very vocal Giant fans left shortly into Alvin Lee's set

Jan. 23           Rochester, New York                    Auditorium Theater                     preceded by American Tears and followed by Alvin Lee and Company

Jan. 24           Toronto, Ontario                            University of Toronto - Convocation Hall    this was a general admission show on a very cold night in a small, intimate hall.  the Myles and Lenny Band opened this show.  a tape of Giant's performance exists which shows that Derek had problems with his microphone and monitor at the beginning.  this is easily explained by the fact that their own sound system did not arrive for some reason, necessitating the last minute rental of a replacement system.  accordingly, the gig was quite late starting.  the tape of this show also includes one of Ray's most energetic violin solos known on any recording.  ironically, Ray was not even using his own violin this evening, as it was stolen before the show.  he borrowed a violin from Lenny Solomon, a member of the opening band.  in addition to the tape of the full concert, a small bit of the soundcheck was also recorded by someone else in the crowd.  on this tape, the band can be heard running through a little of So Sincere plus an instrumental version of No God’s a Man, a song never known to be played live in concert

Jan. 25           Waterloo, Ontario                          Wilfrid Laurier University                         the Myles and Lenny Band opened this show, as well.  previously, this college was known as Waterloo Lutheran University, a college where Giant had played on Mar. 31, 1973

Jan. 27           Cleveland, Ohio                             Agora Ballroom                          recorded by Cleveland's WMMS Radio for broadcast two days later.  at the very tail end of Excerpts from Octopus, the band got off and the music nearly fell apart.  fortunately, they recovered and ended together.  there was probably no opening act

Jan. 29           Utica, New York                            Memorial Auditorium                  opened for J. Geils in front of 3500 fans.  a tape of this show exists.  for some reason, So Sincere was omitted on this particular night, possibly because they didn't think it would go over too well with a J. Geils crowd.  fireworks were unfortunately set off during Giant's opening song

 

Jan. 29          The Cleveland show from Jan. 27 was broadcast on WMMS Radio in edited form as part of that station's regular Monday Night at the Agora series. 

 

???                Springfield, Massachusetts            Civic Center                               opened for J. Geils.  according to a fan, the crowd was quite rude to Giant, who were somewhat shaken by the experience and seemed to rush through their set.  after this, the house lights came on for quite a while, since Giant finished early and J. Geils was actually late arriving at the venue.  Gary recalls that GG and J. Geils actually got along quite well, despite their differences in musical direction

Jan. 31           Norman, Oklahoma                       University of Oklahoma - Field House                   three acts were on the bill, with Giant taking the stage first, Michael Martin Murphey playing second, and Alvin Lee and Company headlining.  the Field House, holding perhaps a couple thousand people, was a small building underneath the larger football stadium and, in fact, Giant used the team’s locker room as their own dressing room the night of the concert.  Murphey was a cowboy singer and GG was reportedly somewhat amused at the odd pairing of acts at this show.  GG were received enthusiastically, however, especially after their recorder quartet during Excerpts From Octopus

Feb. 1            St. Louis, Missouri            Ambassador Theatre                  opened for Alvin Lee and Company.  in one of their issues, Rolling Stone published an itinerary of Giant which placed them in Lakeland, Florida on this date.  however, this particular itinerary was known to contain several inaccuracies.  this could be a further indication of how often the band’s schedule changed as this tour went along.  as things turned out, with the band playing in the Midwest at this time, a date in Florida seems out of place anyways

Feb. 2            Tulsa, Oklahoma                           The Wharf                                 opened for Alvin Lee and Company.  this date is not absolutely certain, but seems most likely

Feb. 3            Denver, Colorado                           Ebbets Field                              the inaccurate issue of Rolling Stone referenced above placed the group in Columbus, Ohio on Feb. 3, but that must have changed.  they did play at this small club on the ground floor of a downtown Denver building, with a seating capacity of about 300 people at the most.  it had a small number of tables near the stage and, behind those, a combination of folding chairs and several tiers of wooden benches covered with carpet.  Giant did not have an opening act at this general admission show.  according to Gary's wife, she first met him in the early morning hours of Feb. 4, after this gig.  a well-known Denver audio company professionally recorded many, if not all, of the Ebbets Field shows from its booth in the back, right up until the club’s closure in 1976.  many of these were then broadcast, in edited form, over a local radio station.  this audio company still owns its treasure trove of 1970’s recordings, raising the very real possibility that some GG recordings are among them, including this one

Feb. 4            Denver, Colorado                           Ebbets Field                              Gary and John have both verified that the band played two nights in a row in Denver on this tour.  again, it was general admission and there was no opening act.  like the above listed show, this one may have been professionally recorded

Feb. 6            San Diego, California                     Golden Hall                               the Daily Aztec, which was the college newspaper of San Diego State University, claimed that GG stole the show from headliner Alvin Lee and Company.  first on the bill before Giant was American Tears.  an Alvin Lee ad at the time listed the venue as the Civic Center

Feb. 8            Fresno, California                          Warners Theater                        opened for Alvin Lee and Company.  it’s been reported by more than one attendee that quite a number of the Alvin Lee fans were skeptical of GG at first, but came around as the evening wore on.  in fact, many in the crowd held up lighters while cheering wildly after Giant’s set, an indication of their desire to have the band return to the stage.  the band obliged and came back for an encore, after which there was quite a long pause before the house lights finally came on.  this seems to indicate the members of GG even considered a rare opening act second encore, but ultimately decided against it.  cries for Giant to come out again could even be heard partway into Alvin Lee’s set.  there is still confusion as to the exact date of this concert, with some indications pointing to Feb. 9.  interestingly, Alvin Lee is known to have played additional West Coast dates immediately after this one and, since there is a hole in Giant’s known schedule for the next few days, it’s certainly possible that they could have joined Lee on at least some of them

Feb. ?            Austin, Texas

Feb. ?            Los Angeles, California                                                                  during the ABC In Concert performance in October 1974, Derek told the crowd that the band would be returning to Los Angeles in February.  however, it's unknown if there was a separate gig in Los Angeles at this time.  Derek may simply have been referring to the Santa Monica show listed below, Santa Monica being quite near to Los Angeles

???                Berkeley, California                       Community Theater                    there is a report from one fan that, at some point, GG played at this Berkeley venue with the band Camel in support.  the only times the two bands were in America at the same time were late 1974 and early 1975.  Giant’s late 1974 tour tended to concentrate on the east coast, making early 1975 a better bet.  there is, as of yet, no confirmation although, supposedly, a large percentage of the crowd was there to see Camel, and therefore left before Giant took the stage

 

Feb. 13          In West Hollywood, California's Capitol Studios, Gentle Giant made a live studio recording, with no audience, meant for broadcast two days later over KMET Radio in Los Angeles.  It included much of the material they were performing on stage during their early 1975 tour.  The group even recorded a brief musical jingle based on the radio station’s call letters, which, during the broadcast, served as KMET’s station identification.  Interestingly, this jingle has been officially released on SCRAPING THE BARREL under the title With Gentle Giant on KMET.  The date of this live session is often listed as Jan. 1, but this date of Feb. 13 seems definitive.  At the time, they were in the area for the nearby Santa Monica gig listed below, held that same evening.  In fact, this Capitol Studios recording is often mistakenly listed as having been recorded in Santa Monica, as well.  It has been rumored that Giant made this studio recording, believed to be mixed by Derek, because earlier plans to release an official live album were changed.  In an interview around this time, Derek indicated this was because they felt they needed more time to establish themselves in America through studio albums before bringing out a live record.

 

Feb. 13          Santa Monica, California                Civic Auditorium                         a country band called named Captain started the show and had a difficult time being accepted.  at one point, their lead singer asked for tolerance from the crowd, claiming the band were “friends of the Giant”, but they still ended up playing an abbreviated set.  this may be the show that Gary described as one of GG's best west coast gigs ever, mistakenly thinking it was from 1974

Feb. 14          San Francisco, California               Winterland                                 once again, an early ad in Rolling Stone was inaccurate, listing the band as playing Albuquerque, New Mexico on this date, while the two San Francisco dates were listed in the same issue as planned for Feb. 7 and 8.  however, by the following issue, the correct San Francisco dates were printed.  American Tears opened the show, followed by Giant, then headliners  Alvin Lee and Company.  one uncorroborated report also has the band Raw Soul on the bill.  a rumor existed once that some of this performance, or that of the following night, may have been broadcast over San Francisco’s KSAN-FM radio station, but this has not been verified

Feb. 15          San Francisco, California               Winterland                                 the inclusion of the band Raw Soul on this night’s bill is again a reported possibility, but it is not confirmed.  however, it is certain that American Tears, followed by GG, again opened for Alvin Lee and Company.  one report placed these bands at Warners Theater in Fresno, California on this date.  however, a handbill from the Winterland clearly showed Giant scheduled to play two consecutive nights in San Francisco 

 

Feb. 15          The live studio recording made at West Hollywood's Capitol Studios on Feb. 13 was broadcast over KMET radio in Los Angeles, on that station’s weekly Saturday Night At the Concert Hour series, also known as SNATCH.  To prepare the audience, KMET preceded the live session with the airing of three studio tracks, namely Black Cat, Knots and In a Glass House.  The live portion was edited before being broadcast, the band having supposedly recorded at least a couple more songs that never made it to the airwaves.  The master tapes of this session were located several years ago and an official release of the entire session was at the time being considered, though the idea has never come to fruition.

 

Feb. 17          Chicago, Illinois                            Auditorium Theater                     a tape of this gig exists.  it’s been confirmed that Peter Frampton headlined, while two or three attendees seem to remember Gary Wright also being on the bill.  apparently, the audience had a large percentage of receptive GG fans and one attendee claims the crowd was so enamored by Giant's set that they loudly demanded an encore.  the promoter came onstage and tried to move things along, but to no avail.  finally, Ray could be seen in a heated argument with three people on the left side of the stage, his bass strapped on.  after a few minutes, Ray pushed the others aside, walked onstage, plugged in his bass, then turned to the audience and smiled.  the crowd erupted in applause as the rest of the band joined him for a rare opening act encore

 

 

There is a fan recollection that Giant was set to open a US date for Mahavishnu Orchestra sometime in 1975, but cancelled due to illness.  Mahavishnu was touring in support of their 1975 VISIONS OF THE EMERALD BEYOND album.  The city and exact date of this scheduled pairing is not known.

 

 

Mar. 1           Supposedly, a newspaper ad exists which claimed Giant was to appear on this date on a television show called Wide World of Entertainment in Concert.  This is actually the full name of the ABC In Concert television program on which Giant actually appeared on Jan. 3.  Perhaps, the performance was rebroadcast on this date, but that is not verified.  On the other hand, this could easily be explained by comparing the US and UK systems of calendar dating.  In America, 3/1 refers to March 1, while in England the same notation stands for January 3.

 

            Information is very sketchy as to Gentle Giant's live activities in the late spring and early summer of 1975.  Very few concert dates are known from this time period, although there are unconfirmed fan recollections of U.S. shows in Houston, Dallas and Washington, D.C.  It is known that, between spring and summer, they spent most of their time writing, recording and mixing the music for their next album.  The band was supposedly planning to do a tour of Scandinavia with old friends Jethro Tull sometime in 1975, but this never materialized, even though posters advertising this double billing have been said to exist.  When exactly this was intended to take place is unclear.

             

                                                                                                               

Mar. 24          Torino, Italy                                  Palasport                                  this date is suspect.  Genesis is known to have played at this venue on this exact date so, unless the two bands shared the bill, which is unlikely, Giant probably was not there.  these two bands were indeed scheduled to play two shows together in West Germany in June of 1977.  however, Giant cancelled out of both of these dates

 

???               There was an Italian television broadcast featuring Gentle Giant somewhere around this time.  The program was entitled Baroque n’ Roll and it now appears on the official GIANT ON THE BOX DVD.  It includes a live performance of Excerpts from Octopus filmed at the Mar. 16 London concert, but it also includes interviews with all five band members, complete with an Italian translator.  It is unknown when or where any of this interview was filmed or exactly when it aired, though John Weathers can be heard stating that he had been in the band for "three years."  This would imply that, unlike the live music, the interview was filmed sometime during the first half of 1975. 

 

Apr. ?            The band recorded their seventh album, FREE HAND, at London's Advision Studios.  Apparently, the band considered mixing a quadraphonic version of the album, as well, but this did not happen.

 

June 21          Dusseldorf, West Germany            Philipshalle                                this was some sort of festival event entitled the "2nd Pop Meeting".  a total of twenty different bands performed, including Grobschnitt, Nektar, Savoy Brown, UFO and the Baker Gurvitz Army.  the festival was a two day affair, beginning on June 20, with Giant appearing midday on June 21.  although much of the crowd enjoyed Giant’s set, there were considerable numbers who were loud and vocal in their opposition.  on an existing tape of Giant's set, Derek is shown to be a bit flustered by this at times.  the group endured several other mishaps during their performance, as well.  Kerry had trouble with a falling microphone and a dropped vibraphone mallet, Ray had a bit of trouble with the cable on his violin, and an audience member even seems to recall John temporarily falling off his raised drum platform at one point

 

 

Some people recall dates Giant played in England in the period between late spring and early summer of 1975, a possibility also hinted at by a Canadian press report back at the end of January.  Supposedly, these included stops in Southend-on-Sea, Torquay and Portsmouth, but none of these has been established with certainty.  One fan from the Torquay area does indeed remember the band playing two concerts in that city at some point in the 1970’s, but he cannot recall the exact years.  One of these shows was at the Pavilion Theatre and the other was at the Torquay Town Hall.  A tape of one or the other of these shows has even been rumored to exist.

 

 

???               A live studio concert was filmed in Brussels, Belgium.  This concert is often mistakenly assumed to have been filmed in Czechoslovakia, but was actually filmed in Brussels for a German television program called Sonntagskonzert.  This was a show that normally featured classical performances, but ran a series of shows on rock bands that displayed classical influences.  The exact date of filming is unknown.  However, although the band recalls it as dating from 1974, the inclusion of So Sincere in the setlist leads one to believe it was actually from 1975.  In an on-stage comment, Derek mentions the IN A GLASS HOUSE album as being recorded ”a year and a half ago”, indicating mid 1975 as a more precise timeframe. 

 

July 20          A portion of the Golder's Green concert recorded by the BBC on Nov. 16. 1973 was broadcast on American radio as part of the Rock Around the World series.  The song Way of Life and part of Excerpts from Octopus were aired.  This weekly syndicated series broadcast live music, studio tracks and interviews with many rock musicians in the 1970's.  Others whose music appeared on this week’s broadcast were Dave Edmunds, Pete Winfield and Man, a group John Weathers would join in later years. Oddly, during the broadcast, Gentle Giant was introduced as being from Wales.  Even more curiously, even though this broadcast only included a portion of the original BBC performance, it does include a section of The Advent of Panurge from Excerpts from Octopus that was edited out of the original 1973 broadcast for some reason.  This missing section does not appear on the official OUT OF THE FIRE CD release of the concert either, making a recording of this American broadcast the only place to find the missing musical section.

 

Go on to   Part Five

 

Return to   Gentle Giant Tour History