Memory:Steve Rapetti

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This fan memory was written by Steve Rapetti.

I saw them play at the University Of South Florida in 1973, toward the end of the year... I suspect September. At that time, USF had the 3rd highest rated independent college radio station in the country, largely (in part) due to the existence of a nightly show called "The Underground Railroad" which mixed unusual dramas like "The 4th Tower Of Inverness" in with segments including bits from comedy albums like those by Firesign Theatre, while surrounded by the finest hard to find Art Rock of the day. Gentle Giant got the most requests. The fact of the matter is that Academia had a particular fondness for the Gentle Giant and there was such a buzz going around the campus that the Student Government paid to bring them in for the live show at the end of 1st Quarter, after being deluged by interest from students and professors alike. It was the first and last time I ever saw a band play with all it's instrument amps split in half & facing IN from both SIDES of the stage. What a great simple idea... so everyone could hear each other well on stage (without monitors), with more elbow room and a better "sweet spot" for the drums. It also helped to create a closer rapport with the audience. I'm sure they appreciated our response, which was not unlike Opera, in that the room was entirely bereft of cat-calls, song requests, whistling and other typical stigmata of the concerts of the day. People were completely absorbed, entirely tuned in, and unilaterally dwelled on the experience of each tune so closely that even the applause reaction came after many seconds, very much as though we all hung onto the last trailing note until we could eventually come up for air. I will never forget it, and have never experienced anything quite like it since... long live Gentle Giant! Their music is timeless.