Gentle Giant Tour History

*** Part Eight ***

*** The Final Days ***

(1980)

(new or modified information added since the last update is in red)

1980

??? CIVILIAN was released in America, in either February or March. 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.

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 North America. This tour saw them not only making their way around the normal concert hall circuit, but also playing a larger number of smaller club dates than they'd done in quite some time. They had originally hoped to offer another band the support slot for the entire tour, but their agent didn't like the idea, so they ended up using different support acts each night, often using local acts.

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, at least for the big theater dates, to use at least a few interesting staging and lighting effects, 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. Meanwhile, they planned to keep things to a bare minimum at the smaller club dates. They kept to this plan at first, but a truck accident a week or so into the tour resulted in some equipment damage, necessitating all the shows to be at least somewhat 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 this 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

For Nobody

The Advent of Panurge - played in the encore position. Yankee Doodle was back during the recorder quartet, this time doubled on the bass

Number One - this was usually performed as a second encore

The rock and roll drum lead-in of John Weathers before 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 individually.

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 6 Stony Brook, New York Stony Brook, New York there are several inconsistencies surrounding the beginning of this tour. Gary’s printed itinerary had the band doing their pre-tour rehearsals at this University and then playing the first gig there on this date. however, there’s a very real possibility this gig was cancelled with the pre-tour rehearsal also taking place elsewhere

May 7 Rensselaer, New York Hullabaloo this show did indeed take place, possibly as the first show of the tour, although the date could be wrong. it was held in a tiny club oddly located in the middle of a suburban residential area, and it was packed. Ray later claimed to like this particular venue. beforehand, John was spotted carting crates of concession items into the loading area and when asked about it, he joked that Giant was a “family operation”. during the soundcheck, Kerry was heard playing Cliff Richard’s It’s So Funny and he also began to have trouble with his keyboards. prog 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. when Giant finally hit the stage, Kerry’s keyboard troubles had not cleared up and he was forced to play many of his parts on the Hammond organ. being possibly the first stop on 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, the song Number One, Derek announced that that particular song was going to be released as a single within a few weeks. as it turns out, this did not happen

??? Poughkeepsie, New York another mystery of the early days of this tour concerns a statement John made before the above listed Rensselaer gig. John told a fan that the next gig was in Poughkeepsie, a name he struggled to pronounce. however, this doesn’t seem possible, considering the known itinerary. it’s possible that a Poughkeepsie gig was originally planned, before changes in the schedule took place. in support of this theory, one fan does remember the show being advertised. this fan reports tickets were already available but the show was cancelled, possibly due to poor sales

May 8 Syracuse, New York Stage East the date of this show is confirmed, making it the first concert of the tour to be beyond question. the show, a tape of which exists, was again opened by 805. Ray claimed to like this venue also

May 9 Montreal, Quebec Theatre St-Denis they did two shows. the opening act was pop/jazz/bossa nova singer Diane Tell. a very brief silent 8mm film clip of one of these shows exists, but which show was filmed is not known

May 10 Toronto, Ontario Massey Hall Nash the Slash, ex-violinist from the Canadian band FM, opened this gig, although he mistakenly recalls it having taken place in November, 1981. he says he was well-received and was called back for an encore

May 11 Rochester, New York Triangle Theater although scheduled for Rochester’s Auditorium Theater, the gig was moved to the smaller Triangle Theater. 805 was slated to open this show, as well, although two fans who were present remember that a comedian may have been on the bill instead

May 12 Detroit, Michigan Harpo's Theatre this was actually on 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

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 during their set, saying "nice one, that was"

May 15 Buffalo, New York Kleinhan's Music Hall the band 805 opened the show, as they had in Rensselaer, Syracuse and Rochester. a member of 805 has since recalled GG as being “humble and friendly and very funny in the dressing room“. sadly, it was after this gig that a truck carrying the neon "Giant's head" that often hung over the stage was involved in an accident and the head was destroyed for good. 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 this 1980 tour, but it made its final appearance at this Buffalo show. 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

May 16 Upper Darby, Pennsylvania Tower Theater the opening act was the Granati Brothers, a band for whom Ray had produced some demos in the summer of 1977. Ray and Derek were eventually both involved with this band, Ray also producing their lone album in 1979. this collaboration proved to be unsuccessful and the Shulmans had actually broken their ties with the other band by this point. the show was over an hour late, as Giant was late arriving at the venue, due to the truck accident after the previous night’s show. this could explain why the Granati Brothers ended up cutting their set short, although their reported hostile reception by the audience could have been a contributing factor. a newspaper review of this gig commented on Giant’s set also going by rather quickly. however, the reviewer was impressed by the drum bash during Underground, particularly its use of strobe light. a tape exists of this concert

May 17 New York, New York Palladium always the clown, John 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. although originally the subject of some debate, it has definitely been confirmed that David Sancious opened this show. he performed with only two other musicians, a pianist and a drummer. during his set, he even played the well-known theme song from the animated Peanuts Christmas TV special and received quite an ovation in the process

May 18 New Haven, Connecticut Toad's Place broadcast live over New Haven's WPLR radio station. 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 ? Asbury Park, New Jersey The Fastlane although not originally on the schedule, it's been confirmed that Giant played a gig at this fairly large rock club somewhere around this date, supposedly on either May 19, May 21, or May 23. an earlier rumor that this show was actually the first of the tour, back on May 8, was incorrect. Regina Richards and the Red Hots opened the show

May 20 Chicago, Illinois Park West during the afternoon, the band visited Pierce Arrow Studio in nearby Evanston, Illinois, with the possibility in mind of considering its use for their potential next album. in the evening, they did two shows, the second added at the last minute. the band had some sound problems during the early show, particularly with Derek's monitor. 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 about 1000. 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, though, 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

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 more loose and 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. one tape of the early show definitely exists. the late show was also recorded but that tape was stolen and is now missing. a second tape of the early show, recorded by someone else in the audience, is also rumored to exist, but this is probably a false rumor. Giant was also originally scheduled to appear in Boston on May 21, but it's very unlikely that they played both nights

May 24 Hempstead, New York Calderone Concert Hall broadcast live over New York City's WLIR radio station. Regina Richards & the Red Hots were the opening act. one fan at the show was quite impressed when Ray rode his motorcycle onto the stage wearing a tight leather jacket. during Memories of Old Days, Gary's acoustic guitar died, so he finished the song using an electric guitar. 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, he even wore an Islanders shirt presented to him before the number

May 25 Owings Mills, Maryland Painters Mill Music Fair this venue had Giant performing on a circular, rotating stage. the opening act, Facedancer, was very poorly received and left the stage in humiliation after just a few songs. a tape exists of Giant's gig. for some reason, some of the tickets for this show listed the band in plural form as “Gentle Giants”

May 27 Virginia Beach, Virginia Rogues Gallery Robin Thompson, a very popular local beach music act, opened this club gig. at first, the club was packed with 1500 fans, but a number of them left before Giant came out. unfortunately, those that remained were reportedly quite noisy during GG's performance. 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. this gig was originally scheduled for May 26

May 28 Charleston, West Virginia

May 29 Atlanta, Georgia Agora there was no support act and the sound in the hall was reported to be quite good this evening. the show was broadcast live as it happened over Atlanta’s WKLS radio station. on the broadcast, the band came across very loose and relaxed. while presenting the members of the group, Derek referred to himself as Jimmy Carter who, prior to his stint as US President, worked right in Atlanta as Governor of the state of Georgia

May 31 Gainesville, Florida Great Southern Music Hall there may not have been a support act on this evening. 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 head

June 1 Miami, Florida Gusman Cultural Center interestingly, Derek introduced the song Knots to the crowd as a “psychedelic” song. one fan claims Giant looked ill during this concert, even remembering John Weathers repeatedly throwing up into a bucket on stage during the show. as it turns out, the fan was correct. the band had eaten some bad burgers beforehand, jokingly described by Derek in a backstage press interview after the gig, as “Kentucky Fried Rat”. this also explains why Derek frequently left the stage when he was not singing. the food poisoning hit the players when the opening act, a group called Hoochie, hit 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 was, unfortunately, on its way to Houston, the site of the following night’s show

June 3 Houston, Texas Palace a San Antonio band called Heyoka opened the show. 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 known as the Agora Ballroom, but had recently changed its name prior to this concert

June 4 Dallas, Texas Bijou Showcase Club 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. John Weathers still owns a backstage pass from this gig

June 5 Austin, Texas Armadillo World Headquarters a fan recalls this as being yet another well-received Austin show, with about 2500 in attendance. it's possible the band changed their normal song order and opened with Playing the Game

June 6 Norman, Oklahoma Boomer Theater this was an old movie theater that only seated around 600. 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

June 8 Denver, Colorado Rainbow Music Hall Denver's KAZY radio station broadcast an edited version of this show 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. the Rainbow was a converted movie theater with a capacity of about 1000. one fan at the show claimed the hall had terrible acoustics, though others have disputed that. there was another early report that at least part of the stage was open to the weather, causing Kerry to be inconveniently rained on for part of the time. this, too, has come into question. more likely, the fan reporting this confused the GG show with some other concert. the band did have problems with their stage lighting at the beginning of the show. this didn’t stop the band from, according to one fan, handing out Giant For a Day masks to audience members

June 9 Albuquerque, New Mexico KiMo Theatre this show was cancelled, due to too few tickets being sold

June 10 Tempe, Arizona Dooley’s there’s a possibility this show was at Dooley’s in Phoenix, rather than Tempe. Dooley’s was a chain of clubs in the southwest US

June 11 Tucson, Arizona Dooley's as promotion for this concert, 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". Dooley's was an old renovated church that had also been used, at one time, as a fraternity house, before being converted into a nightclub. there was a wooden balcony, once a choir loft, around the interior of the club and Kerry is said to have appeared a bit apprehensive about the people watching from there. the place was packed and the crowd was raucous but enthusiastic. there may not have been a support act

June 13 It is believed that this is the date when CIVILIAN was released in England, though it could possibly have been as early as sometime in May.

June 13 West Hollywood, California The Roxy they did two sold-out shows on this, the first of three nights at this famous nightclub outside of Los Angeles. an audience tape exists of what's believed to be the early show, though it's also believed that the Roxy's sound man recorded both shows on the house soundboard. 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

June 14 West Hollywood, California The Roxy they did two more sold-out shows, again both supposedly 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, another Los Angeles hall. In addition, two separate audience tapes, recorded by two different people in attendance, are known to exist of the late show

June 15 San Francisco, California Old Waldorf Hotel the band played two shows upstairs at this hotel, 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. this 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. a tape of one of these shows has been rumored to exist, but the rumor is probably unfounded. a fan at one of these shows was amazed at how divided the audience seemed to be, with half cheering wildly for the older tunes while the other half was mainly interested in the newer material. whether this was the standard situation with the audiences throughout the 1980 tour is a matter of conjecture

June 16 West Hollywood, California The Roxy they again did two sold-out shows, both 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 show, the band held a little sing-along during the "hey friends" section of The Advent of Panurge. this 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 said to have taped both shows. a different, totally separate tape of the late show, recorded by a roadie named Ritchie, was the tape made into the official live album. Richie’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 official live CD. this album, which was released with the incorrect date of June 14, preserves Giant's very last live performance

* 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 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 New York City. There were also discussions at one point about carrying on with a new lead singer and keyboard player. However, the exact nature of what happened remains very hazy. Unfortunately, contractual complications with the band’s record label, Chrysalis, remained even after the band split. Finally, in 1983, Kerry recorded five demos and presented them to the label. These five songs, which now appear on the SCRAPING THE BARREL box set in both Kerry's original mixes and newly remixed versions, were not particularly what Chrysalis was looking for, so they signed off on them and the band was officially, legally finished.

However, they left behind a remarkable legacy of work for all to enjoy, and historical and archival interest in the band is still very high today. There is no doubt that fans of sophisticated music will continue to be inspired, long into the future, by the music of that mythical beast from the past known as

Gentle Giant

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