Was prog actually popular in the 70s??

Dean wrote: I wonder how many people here walk away from a two hour show moaning about what the band didn't play rather than enjoying in what they did play?

Dean wrote: I wonder how many people here walk away from a two hour show moaning about what the band didn't play rather than enjoying in what they did play?

The setlist, the lineup, blah blah, it goes on.  I know people who can lament and criticise a show even before attending it (in fact, in such cases they do not intend to, and perhaps therefore want to ruin the experience for those who are a bit more open minded).

Yeah, but in this case, these were people who didn't attend.  They tried to spread their pre-conceived notions to the rest.  It didn't dent the attendance at that show, though, nor the enthusiasm of either the band or the audience.  

Dean wrote: I wonder how many people here walk away from a two hour show moaning about what the band didn't play rather than enjoying in what they did play?

That's precisely why Roger Waters is able to travel around the world with The Wall for the third year in a row. People get exactly what they're expecting. No surprises, no new stuff, not even a slightly new rendition of the songs. The guitarist is copying Gilmour note for note. 
It was very enjoyable.

I think L.S.D

Changed a lot of peoples listening habits in the 70s Man!..

rogerthat wrote: Yeah, but in this case, these were people who didn't attend.  They tried to spread their pre-conceived notions to the rest.  It didn't dent the attendance at that show, though, nor the enthusiasm of either the band or the audience.

Or wouldn'tattend. How many sneer at personnel decisions that result in a line-up that they disapprove of, to the extent they refuse to attend a show to judge for themselves?!

fudgenuts64 wrote: Hi, I'm curious to know whether the most well known prog had some popularity at it's peak. Like, was stuff like Close to the Edge or Foxtrot commonly known during that time or just a mere niche? This was before my time so I'm very curious to know exactly what prog significance was during it's peak.

It was a glorious time indeed. As already mentioned FM radio then played a key role, but not just by playing the music, but also offering lots of inside info about these bands.  All these bands were  touring at the same as they must have crossed paths in the skies in their jets. I was very lucky as I was living in San Francisco at the time and the Bay Area was concert goers paradise. Within a three or four  month period I saw ELP, Yes, and The Strawbs. all of them always sold out.
I remember going to see Genesis The Lamb lies Down On Broadway show in Berkeley and blew the top of my head off! The audience was deafening when they came back out and played The Musical Box & Watcher Of The Skies for their encores. That show became the crowning moment of concerts for me. But it was 1975 and things were starting to change. And here we are in 2013 and Prog is still popular today in its many shapes and forms which is a testament  to the greatness and timelessness of the music and its musicians.

Rando wrote: fudgenuts64 wrote: Hi, I'm curious to know whether the most well known prog had some popularity at it's peak. Like, was stuff like Close to the Edge or Foxtrot commonly known during that time or just a mere niche? This was before my time so I'm very curious to know exactly what prog significance was during it's peak.   It was a glorious time indeed. As already mentioned FM radio then played a key role, but not just by playing the music, but also offering lots of inside info about these bands.  All these bands were  touring at the same as they must have crossed paths in the skies in their jets. I was very lucky as I was living in San Francisco at the time and the Bay Area was concert goers paradise. Within a three or four  month period I saw ELP, Yes, and The Strawbs. all of them always sold out.

Rando wrote: The.Crimson.King wrote: Rando wrote: [QUOTE=fudgenuts64] It was a glorious time indeed. As already mentioned FM radio then played a key role, but not just by playing the music, but also offering lots of inside info about these bands.  All these bands were  touring at the same as they must have crossed paths in the skies in their jets. I was very lucky as I was living in San Francisco at the time and the Bay Area was concert goers paradise. Within a three or four  month period I saw ELP, Yes, and The Strawbs. all of them always sold out. I was in the SF Bay Area too and I remember when both "Going for the One" and "Tormato" was released FM station KOME made a big deal out of it and played them in their entirety.  We also had a local DJ named Greg Stone who had a weekly prog radio show called "Stone Trek".  He switched radio stations a few times but his show was always on Sunday nights.  He did a good job of mixing well known prog with some lesser known bands and a lot of Genesis and Yes bootleg recordings.  He never went really deep obscure into non-English bands like Ange or Banco or US bands like Yezda Urfa or Mirthrandir, but his show was a nice break from hearing Led Zeppelin-Bad Company-Journey-Jefferson Starship 24/7   Yeah, good 'ol KOME! How can I forget! Man this is taking me back! I'm not sure if I remember Greg Stone, but I do remember the bootleg recordings. I always made sure I had a blank cassette ready to record something. I do remember one night they played a whole  side of PFM's Photos of Ghosts. It's the first time I'd heard them. Man I wish I still had that bag of cassettes! I agree, "Zeppelin, Bad Company, Journey-Jefferson Starship!" Ad-nauseum!

dr prog wrote: Not sure why elp became so big. They were pretty crap after 1973

Ya..... and thats why.