"Gentle Giant" performs "Prologue" live at Hampton Coliseum April 8,1973.

[@sftnetts]

Best band ever….

[@VIBRATO1]

Absolutely..They had me at "Peel the Paint"..

[@gordonmorris6359]

​@@VIBRATO1Is this Weathers or Mortimer on drums?

[@Bawookles]

The thing that is so amazing about GG is they take these really complicated, sophisticated arrangements and they make it even MORE complex and sophisticated LIVE, and they pull it off. They're always like "no, let's not simplify it for live performance, let's make it more complex!" Just crazy what these guys pulled off.

[@VIBRATO1]

Amen to all your spot on observations...Fans of the headliners that night were won over by GG's musicianship..The only downside of that evening was my brother Larry had his MGB ripped off from the Coliseum parking lot..

[@Magnetron33]

From the 3 Friends album. Great album! Incredible musicians!

[@VIBRATO1]

That was my first Gentle Giant album.This excellent concert was my very first after coming home from the Canal Zone.

[@Magnetron33]

@@VIBRATO1Mine too! I love it!

[@VIBRATO1]

I'll try to post more of Gentle Giants' nearly half hour of unparalleled music.

[@Magnetron33]

@@VIBRATO1Thank you! The only prog band I liked as much as YES

[@VIBRATO1]

Along with Yes,I'd would add early Genesis with Peter Gabriel.I saw a magical "Lamb Lies Down on Broadway" tour in Richmond,Va. at the Mosque..

[@jeffreylinkous2435]

I was there!!! This was the very first rock concert I ever attended. I had just graduated from Bethel High School in June of '73 and was just starting Christopher Newport College. I liked Foghat the most.

[@VIBRATO1]

Jeffrey,That was quite an eclectic lineup that evening at the Hampton Coliseum.I was already a Savoy Brown fan,so I knew I'd enjoy Foghat.That also was the only time I ever saw a version of Humble Pie.Clem Clempson was on lead guitar that evening.I met guitarist Rod Price from Foghat once,when he was performing one summer in downtown Hampton.But yeah,my brother and I dug Gentle Giant the most,especially as we'd gotten hooked on their "Three Friends" album.I hope to post more audio from that show..My brother Larry had his MGB ripped off from the Coliseum parking lot that night..

[@mikesimmons4519]

Love Gentle Giant’s Free Hand album and their unique, complicated sound. Wish I could have seen them live back then (along with Humble Pie)

[@VIBRATO1]

Mike,Gentle Giant actually were well received with the Humble Pie and Foghat crowd..Freehand,Glass House and Three Friends are three of my GG favs..I have some more 35mm slides from the show..I just need to convert them..I will also post more from their short Hampton Coliseum set,when I get time..

[@toddcannon1293]

I live in Hampton now and also was here in 1973, too bad I was only 12. I didn't hear of Gentle Giant until I was 16. Would have loved to see that show! Thanks for posting.

[@VIBRATO1]

Todd,My brother Larry and I went to that eclectic evening of music.The only bummer that night was my brothers' MGB vehicle was ripped off from the Hampton Coliseums' parking lot.Otherwise,Gentle Giant,who I'd discovered with their "Three Friends" recording,treated the crowd to a most amazing set of beautiful,progressive music.

[@MPDSR422]

As the music columnist for the local paper I had reviewed their Three Friends album and was blown away by their musicianship and songwriting ability. I was at the concert as well but I was there to interview the headliners, Humble Pie. The crowd was waiting to rock out to the gut punching 4 Day Creep powered by Steve Marriott’s gravelly vocals when Gentle Giant took the stage. Having heard their album I wondered who booked them on that tour! However, when they came on stage they took the roof off the Coliseum. As you can hear on this fan recording (most likely illegally pirated) the complexity and precision of their composition and performance. Hello Progressive Rock! I’ve been listening to a Brit Prog band called HAKEN and for those of you wishing GG was still around give them a listen. They combine prog, metal and jazz with incredible vocals that will carry you back to the madrigal singing featured in Gentle Giant.

[@VIBRATO1]

Just to let you know,that "illegally pirated" recording would've been by me, accomplished with a Panasonic portable recorder stuck down my pants. It most certainly wasn't off of a soundboard. In the mid 1970s,I started my side career,music reviewing for local magazines including "Tidewater After Dark", Portfolio Weekly, Jewish News and Natchel Blues Networks', "Blues News". I wish that I was reviewing when Gentle Giant made that appearance in Hampton,Va. I was a product of the Sixties and had my head and my ears completely turned around by their deeply,progressive music. That triple,eclectic musical lineup was among my first concerts, after my Vietnam era enlistment.

[@MPDSR422]

@@VIBRATO1 The brothers stuck together through a few albums but, as happens, fans are fickle and the required ability to fathom the complexity of that genre suffered with the dawn of Punk. 2 chords, blast beats and screaming was about to replace the likes of Yes, ELP and Gentle Giant on the charts. Still a pretty good recording. I wrote for The Daily Press and Regale Entertainment News.

[@VIBRATO1]

Yes, GG tried to get a tad more commercial with the likes of "Giant for a Day", but to no avail. I have their complete set as well as Humble Pies' on 50 year old cassettes. As I have time, I'll get GGs' whole set out there on this channel.

[@MPDSR422]

@@VIBRATO1 I interviewed Humble Pie on their first swing through VA at the Dome in Va Beach. Steve Marriott invited me back to their hotel on the beach and all the guys were sleeping of the two beds in the room. Frampton seemed quite shy. Steve had been given an allowance and he bought an R&B cassette he wanted to play on a little boombox. Some years later I had dinner with he and Alexis Körner at the holiday Inn next to the Coliseum. Steve’s health was in decline. For dinner I remember he ordered a salad of nothing but lettuce which he never ate a bite of. He was one of my heroes at that time. My band opened our set with 4 Day Creep. Always loved the live album.

[@jeffreylinkous2435]

I had never heard of Gentle Giant until this show. I was aware of Humble Pie but not a big fan. Foghat was up and coming on strong at that time and I really liked their sound, especially their next album "Energized", which came out in '74.

[@GentleGiant1969]

Fabulous!!❤️🙏❤️🙏

[@VIBRATO1]

Travis,I hope to add more compositions from Gentle Giants' Hampton Coliseum show that my late,great brother Larry and I attended..I recall that I smuggled a Panasonic cassette recorder into the show that evening..The entire Gentle Giant set,I believe,was about a half hour...I still have the Humble Pie and Foghat sets on cassette,as well..As I have the strength,I'll attempt to post more of Gentle Giants' inspiring set.

[@elizabethreece8504]

Wow, that was excellent. And while I wish there was an actual video to go with this, the photos are pretty good too. Looks like everybody was playing the asses off. Thanks for posting this!! And you're right, Ray was a musical genius

[@VIBRATO1]

Thank you.Yes,I would have appreciated video of this,too.51 years ago,all I had to save this historic musical event was a Panasonic cassette recorder and Asahi Pentax camera.There may be a few more 35mm slides of their set,which still have to be converted to jpegs.

[@elizabethreece8504]

@@VIBRATO1 I'd love to see anything you've got. These guys were one of a kind and will never be seen again so ANYTHING is great! Thanks!

[@AugustMedia]

Pardon to ask this, ...the sound quality for audience is amazing here! Do you have Humble Pie???

[@VIBRATO1]

Yes,I do.

[@gordonmorris6359]

Is this Weathers or Mortimore? It sounds like Weathers. After Martin Smith, it was Malcolm Mortimore on drums for Three Friends, before his motorcycle wreck (I can't find the date of the accident). His friend John P. Weathers replaced him. Malcolm rejoined decades later. GREAT DRUMMERS !

[@VIBRATO1]

Yes,it was John Weathers on those powerful drums at the Hampton Coliseum..

[@gordonmorris6359]

@@VIBRATO1 Thanks for replying! I got my first drum set in '72 and when I saw GG doing Octopus songs on Don Kirshner's Rock Concert TV show in '73 I was hooked, bought every album, learned every song, and traveled to see GG in L.A. and Phoenix.

[@VIBRATO1]

Gordon,Wow.That is some extreme dedication..The Three Friends album was my fIrst Gentle Giant recording...I was then hooked...When I get a moment,I'll get more of their set in Hampton posted..I believe there was a big drum break that evening also...

[@pedrozappa]

It sounds Weathers but i'm not sure if Phil is still in the band. I hear two woodwind instruments in the middle section.

[@VIBRATO1]

Gentle Giant was down to five members when my brother and I saw them at the Coliseum.Phil Shulman was no longer in the bands' lineup.