On Feb 5, 2006, at 10:00 AM, tony wrote:
I don't recall seeing a Tron when I saw them either. I owned one then (still do), but the lack of it sure didn't hamper the beauty of the show, in my humble opinion. Wish I could remember the year, but do remember a silver sign with "Giant" on it being lowered during the set. That went over quite well!
Tony
#510
Actually, Tony, that would have been around 1974. It was covered with little mirrors like a mirror ball. I found out from a conversation with one of them later, that it said "Giant" because they couldn't afford the cost of having "Gentle Giant" (they did do the second word later on), and yeah, it was quite effective.
I got to see them in their first trip to North America (1972, I believe) when they came in to do a few shows around Quebec where they were huge. To my recollection, their records hadn't even been released on this side of the Atlantic. I think Quebec City was behind it since the abbreviated tour was during Carnival. Anyway, it was right around the time of Octopus, and if memory serves, they not only had a 400 but Philip Shulman was still in the band. Their set sure knocked me on my ass! I hadn't heard any of their music other than "The Advent of Panurge" and didn't know what to expect. Subsequently, I saw them about a half dozen more times but that was as a tron-less 5-piece and while still awesome, the lack of Phil could be felt. If you thought they played a lot of instruments, you should have seen the band with him in it!
Rick