20 September 1976 Banco del Mutuo Soccorso opens the Gentle Giant European shows

 

Hello,

On September 20, 1976 (half a century ago...) the European tour of the Banco del Mutuo Soccorso started, as an "open show" for Gentle Giant.

Under the "original" notes of the concerts, also the one in Munich, where Gentle Giant, (seeing the skill of ours, and the enthusiastic response of the public) gave permission to the Banco to do an encore, which was not contractually foreseen.

Practically the same thing that had happened to them in 1972 in Italy, when they opened for Jethro Tull.

Attachments, tour memorabilia.

By kind permission of Wazza

 

Sep. 20-Kiel, Germany 

    Audimax

Banco finally was able to open the show.  One fan remembers seeing the band at some point at Ball Pompos, a different venue in Kiel, though there is no proof of this.

 

Sep. 21-Hamburg, Germany 

          Musikhalle

Banco again opened the show.  According to a review in Hamburger Abendblatt, about 1,400 fans were in attendance, making the show not quite sold out.  The reviewer also claimed the playing was technically precise but lacked feeling, causing a less than enthusiastic response at times from the fans.  A member of the audience has also pointed out that the group’s PA system was noisy and uncooperative at this gig, with the quadrophonic system used during Ray’s violin solo not functioning properly. 

Sep. 22-Berlin, Germany

                       Philharmonie                          

CANCELED

  The band was scheduled to appear at this gig with Banco, but they encountered problems getting equipment across the border between West and East Germany.  The members of Giant did manage to arrive in Berlin and were even interviewed for a local music newspaper, but they were unable to perform.  The venue hastily arranged a classical orchestra concert in the band’s place. 

    Sep. 23-Dusseldorf, Germany                 

                Philipshalle                            

Banco opened the show.  This was one of the four concerts from the fall of 1976 that Giant recorded for a potential live album, the other three being the Munich, Paris and Brussels gigs.  When the PLAYING THE FOOL album was released, it at least included On Reflection from Dusseldorf, if not possibly a bit more.  Other material from this concert has also seen official release more recently.  The songs Interview and Timing, as well as Intro 76 from this show, appeared on the UNDER-CONSTRUCTION album.  The mini medley of The Runaway/Experience from this show appeared on the 2000 CD reissue of IN A GLASS HOUSE.  This same mini medley is also included on the 2005 35th anniversary CD reissue of the same album, where it's erroneously labeled as being just the song Experience.  Still, more of this night’s music remained unreleased until 2019 when the UNBURIED TREASURE boxset contained, in remixed and remastered form, all of the surviving source material from the Dusseldorf show, which is nearly complete.  In 2025, a longer, reimagined version of PLAYING THE FOOL became available, simulating an entire 1976 concert, including certain songs and stage banter that had originally been omitted.  It was compiled strictly from the multi-track recordings that still exist so, while it included many of the same recordings used on the original 1977 release, it also had to substitute other recordings when the originals were found to be erased.  It is safe to assume that portions of the Dusseldorf concert appear on the 2025 release.

 

Sep. 24-Mannheim, Germany                  

Rosengarten Musensaal         

Banco opened the show.  A newspaper review described the hall as “densely packed”, while being more favorable of Banco’s performance than of Giant’s.

  

Sep. 25-Munich, Germany

                        Circus Krone Building            

Banco opened the show.  According to the terms of their contract, Banco was not allowed to play encores on this tour.  However, the audience was quite vocal at this show in their support for the openers, so Giant reversed their decision and allowed an encore on this evening and on subsequent evenings, as needed.  This was another one of the four concerts recorded by the band for the PLAYING THE FOOL album.  The Intro and part of Funny Ways appeared on the 1977 release, as well as possibly a bit more.  A little under an hour’s worth of original source material remains from this gig and that was remixed, remastered and included in the UNBURIED TREASURE boxset.  The longer, reimagined version of PLAYING THE FOOL that came out in 2025 can also safely be assumed to include a portion of material from this Munich concert.  The Circus Krone Building, as the name implies, was home to one of the largest circus organizations in Europe, although they often hosted rock concerts and other entertainment events.

 

Sep. 27-Ulm, Germany

Donauhalle

CANCELED.

 The band originally planned to play here with Banco, but it was canceled at the very last minute.  Electrical issues in the venue were given as the reason, but a notice in the Sudwest Presse questioned whether sluggish ticket sales a contributing factor were. 

Sep. 28-Offenbach, Germany

                  Stadthalle                               

Banco opened the show and was well received, playing one or two encores.  During the show, Kerry greeted the fans by saying "hello Frankfurt", followed by howls of disapproval from the audience.  Offenbach is very near to Frankfurt but is not actually part of that larger city.  There is some evidence that the band may have also planned to record this gig, but it didn't happen.

 

Sep. 30-Zurich, Switzerland

                    Volkshaus                               

Banco opened the show.  The venue was sold out with about 2,000 fans in attendance.  A local newspaper review was mixed, complimenting the band on their musical prowess and showmanship, while noting the performance was somewhat routine and uninspired, and some of the solos were “pretty poor”.  This same review was very complimentary of Banco, stating they were good enough to have been the headliner.  This is another gig that some evidence indicates Giant may have originally intended to record, though it didn't happen.  However, a tape made by an audience member does exist.  It may have been unusually hot on stage that night, as Derek remarked that it felt "like a sauna bath" and joked that the band may have to start removing their clothes, which he said might "scare the gig.

Oct. 1-Neuchatel, Switzerland

               Temple du Bas                       

A tape of this show also exists.  Banco opened the show, which was reportedly only the second major rock concert to be held in Neuchatel.  Temple du Bas was a beautiful old church that had just recently been renovated.  As a rider in their contract, the band had listed certain electrical safety features be installed.  The promoter told them during soundcheck that the building had brand new wiring, due to the renovation, and the band’s concerns were unfounded.  However, that evening, when he walked into the dressing room, the promoter saw the roadies dressed in the band members' stage clothes.  The roadies told him that, because of unsafe wiring, the group would not play, and the roadies would take their places.  The promoter was horrified, at which time the roadies admitted it was all a bit of English humor.  In actuality, the members of Giant were quite touched by the lavishly catered affair the promotor and his friends had provided them in their dressing room.  Derek was even moved enough to thank them publicly from the stage during the concert.  Apparently, the band played loudly enough this night to be easily heard outside in the street, where some fans stayed and enjoyed the music, no doubt also enjoying the annual wine festival going on at the time.  Multiple press reports were favorable to Giant’s set, with one singling out Ray’s violin solo in particular.  This reviewer was enamored by Ray’s trick of finishing by placing his instrument on the floor and walking off while the violin notes continued to sound. 

Oct. 2-Vaduz, Liechtenstein  

                                Vaduzer-saal                                      

The only known time the group ever played in this tiny European nation.  Banco opened the show.

 

Oct. 5-Paris, France

Pavillon de Paris

Banco opened the show.  This was another of the four concerts recorded for use on the PLAYING THE FOOL album.  Quite a bit of the music on the original album came from Paris including at least Excerpts from Octopus, The Runaway/Experience, Peel the Paint/I Lost My Head, part of So Sincere, and possibly a bit more.  In 2015, an Alucard reissue of OCTOPUS had a bonus track of Excerpts from Octopus taken from this concert which included a bit of Derek’s spoken introduction not heard on the 1977 release.  All of the existing source material was finally remixed and remastered for inclusion in the UNBURIED TREASURE boxset.  It contains not quite the complete show but is well over an hour in length.  Certainly, a sizable portion of musical and spoken material from Paris was also included in 2025’s expanded, reimagined version of PLAYING THE FOOL.  John recalls a nerve-wracking moment that played out in Paris while he and Gary were doing some after dinner sightseeing along the banks of the Seine.  They noticed a student riot taking place on the river’s opposite shore when suddenly, a portion of the rioters split from the group and ran across the bridge towards them.  As the students ran by, baton wielding police in close pursuit, John and Gary held their ground but yelled out, “Anglais!  Anglais!”  The police apparently understood and left them alone, continuing to chase after the rioters.  Relieved, John and Gary quickly returned to their hotel.  This could have taken place around the time of the band’s Nov. 29, 1975, Paris gig, but this one seems more likely, as they had a day off for sightseeing before moving on to Brussels. 

 

Oct. 7-Brussels, Belgium

Cirque Royal

Banco opened at this, the last of the four concerts recorded by the band for use on the PLAYING THE FOOL album.  This gig was held in another venue originally designed to stage circuses, as was the case for the Munich show listed above.  This venue seated 3,500 and. although exact attendance on this night is unknown, it was said to be quite crowded.  One fan report has a significant number of audience members there specifically to see Banco and then leaving before Giant’s set.  A keyboard breakdown just before So Sincere led to a lengthy delay in the show, during which Ray, Gary and John filled some time with a spontaneous improvisational version of the 1925 jazz standard Sweet Georgia Brown, a number they had played on and off for years during soundchecks.  It appeared on the PLAYING THE FOOL album, retitled Breakdown in Brussels, interestingly one of only two songs the band ever released that were not original compositions, the other being The Queen off the first album.  There was a report long ago that band members improvised more than one number during the breakdown but no further corroboration of this has ever surfaced, so it does not appear to be the case. The keyboards were eventually brought back to half strength so the band could at least finish the show.  The song Free Hand from this concert also appeared on the 1977 live album, as well as possibly a bit more.  As was done with the other three PLAYING THE FOOL gigs, all the remaining material that exists from Brussels was remixed, remastered and included in the UNBURIED TREASURE boxset, but the source material that remains is only the last three songs of the show and barely approaches a half hour in length.  Sadly, Breakdown in Brussels and the entire keyboard fiasco from earlier in the evening no longer exist and do not appear in UNBURIED TREASURE.  Likewise, when the expanded, reimagined version of PLAYING THE FOOL came out in 2025, compiled solely from the existing muti-track recordings, only a limited amount of material from Brussels was available and used in that release.  The exception is Breakdown in Brussels which has once again been included in the newer 2025 release, but was mastered and mixed from a different source, rather than from the multi-track recordings.