Memory:Phil Drenth

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This fan memory was written by Phil Drenth.

I saw Gentle Giant in San Diego on the spring 1977 tour. For their previous show in San Diego they'd been miscast as the opening act in a stadium full of Peter Frampton fans (okay, to be fair, the headliner was Yes, Peter Frampton was second billed, Gary Wright was third billed, GG was the opener) hot on the heels of Frampton Comes Alive. Fifty gazillion yahoos booing down our heroes, as I heard it. During the 1977 show that I saw, Derek graciously apologized to the fans for the context of their previous appearance. We showed up in plenty of time before the show. To our distress, the sound board was where our seats were supposed to be. Glory be, the bouncers gave us seat upgrades to 7th row center! Renaissance gave an excellent performance, then Gentle Giant proceeded to burn the house down. Tightest band I've ever heard to this day. Derek Shulman did this thing with his hand as he was singing, sort of hand-dancing or something. The show was pretty much identical to the live album. One of the most memorable concerts I've seen to this day. I only wish I'd had the opportunity to see Gentle Giant twice.