VELVET THUNDER

As the curator and sole band celebrant of this sublime Genesis music, as well as a string of excellent solo albums still being regularly released, Steve Hackett is nothing less than a Prog National Treasure, and should be deservedly celebrated as such. I Know What I Like – and this, once again, was It…

PHOTOS: Above – Paul Whimpenny, Others – Steve Pilkington

You know, watching and listening to Steve Hackett perform at this juncture, deep into the 21st century, one really is struck by the thought: in a world of linear time such as this one, there simply has to come a point in that time when he starts to become less able to perform at the high level he has been working at for well over half a century. That time surely must come, but somehow it has been held back as yet, with the seemingly ageless Hackett, still looking much as he did in photos back across five decades, still refusing to put a foot – or indeed a finger – wrong, as he crafts some of these ageless sonic tapestries from both his solo and Genesis careers, with the touch of a master craftsman whose muse is stubbornly yet to desert him in the least. It probably helps that he has never been a flashy, ‘shredding’ guitarist, but rather more in the Gilmour mould of how he plays the notes mattering far more than the sheer number of them. At times he will sit, or stand, with his hands poised at the ready, just listening for the point where he will enter and play a perfectly timed and perfectly judged part which sometimes you might not even have noticed, yet would make all of the difference were it not there. His finger vibrato combined with deft timing is a thing of such perfection that there really should be a law of physics named after it.

All of which is going to be a cast iron guarantee that a Hackett show will never, ever, be a poor one. Some will be better than others, but disappointment just doesn’t reside in his dictionary – I think he may have ripped the page out in around 1971 and started a fire with it, as it has certainly never been needed.

On this occasion, as with so many tours before it in recent times, he follows the established and very popular template of a set consisting of his own solo work, followed by a second which is all Genesis, all ’70s. Those Genesis halves have been variously themed, and on this occasion it is highlights from The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway, followed by some other favourites. Effectively, he is his own support band, and never one which is going to face a depleted audience which is half crowded in the bar, that much is obvious. This time round, he elects – bravely – to open with three tracks from his latest album The Circus And The Nightwhale; and as a selection, People Of The Smoke, These Passing Clouds and the dramatic Circo Inferno, are very well judged for their live impact. That constitutes the only visit to that particular Circus, with older tracks of varying vintage the order of the day from here on in. In fact, the very next selection would only go back a further three years or so, with the excellent Devil’s Cathedral from the Surrender Of Silence album deservedly holding down a place in proceedings – also introducing Nad Sylvan on the vocals for the first time (he would of course go on to be far more pivotal during the later Genesis set).

The ageless Everyday from the Spectral Mornings album was next up, and proved to be a clear highlight. The track somehow always manages to work the trick of appeating to be a lively, pleasant uptempo number, before the instrumental section is transformed into a beautifully constructed masterpiece of guitar eloquence and emotive playing. It’s a remarkable piece, and never fails to delight. From this point, however, things were to take a slight turn away from the anticipated, with neither Spectral Mornings nor Clocks (The Angel Of Mons) being included this time out, and instead the less obvious Camino Royale from Highly Strung being included. There would be two visits back to the first solo Hackett album, 1975’s Voyage Of The Acolyte, with fiurstly A Tower Struck Down, before the grand finale of Shadow Of The Hierophant. Before this, we were treated to a lengthy bass solo from Jonas Reingold which, despite its excellence, did perhaps outstay its time a little, with the odd shuffling of feet an indicator that perhaps some felt that shortening it might have left room for a compact piece such as Clocks to be inserted. No matter, however, as the climax to the set was delivered with an extraordinary performance of the full Hierophant, with Amanda Lehmann providing well received vocals in a nice change of the sonic palette. It has always been the case that, in order to appreciate this monstrous piece at its best, it must be listened to on a good system with considerable power, to be able to fully hear all of the instrumentation being gradually added on the way to the final crescendo, and this was certainly the case here – with Reingold’s bass pedals being a thing of beauty. The audience were certainly appreciative, with the standing ovation of such duration that Steve actually had to cut it short by reminding people that ‘we all have homes to go to’. Not just yet, of course, as this was merely the interval…

The main course of the Genesis meal this time out was The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway, the ambitious and sprawling conceptual double album which saw the departure of Peter Gabriel from the band following the tour to promote it in 1975. Now, I must freely confess that overall, The Lamb has never been my favourite Genesis album – it has brilliant peaks and a marvellously inventive concept for sure, but to me has always lacked a total cohesive quality required to sustain a work of that magnitude. It’s similar to how I feel about The Wall, in fact. However, the decision taken here was to pare down the album to nine songs (roughly half), and perform those nine as a sort of edited highlights treatment, which suited me fine, depending on which songs were chosen. Happily, they were almost entirely the ones I would have chosen myself – starting with the opening trio of the title track, Fly On A Windshield and Broadway Melody Of 1974, before skipping forward to the beautifully melodic instrumental Hairless Heart. The first disc was rounded out by the obvious highlight of Carpet Crawl(ers), and the much more unexpected Chamber Of 32 Doors, which was a very pleasant surprise. Lilywhite Lilith then led into a stunning rendition of The Lamia before a rousing blast through the finale It brought this ‘Lamb Chop’ to its conclusion. Apart from In The Cage, which I was very surprised not to see, that was as close a selection to my own as you could realistically get, and overall it exceeded my expectations wonderfully.

A trip back to the previous album Selling England By The Pound then gave us a triumphant and brilliantly performed Dancing With The Moonlit Knight followed by an energetic Cinema Show to bring the main set to its conclusion. Of course, as the cries for an encore began, it was clear that there was more Selling of England to be conducted, as naturally we were treated to Steve’s own showpiece Firth Of Fifth, the guitar solo from which is worth the price of admission alone to witness. I have seen it performed by very talented musicians in tribute bands, but somehow there is nobody else who can wring the intensity from those keening notes that Steve Hackett himself can do – and does, every single time; I’m not even sure it’s in his DNA to be able to fail to deliver magic on this one. Finally, following a relatively brief drum solo, it was time for the anticipated finale of Los Endos – another piece which can hardly fail to work, even if I have to admit to wondering why the saxophone of the admittedly impressive Rob Townsend is always featured so high in the mix, and carrying the climactic melody. Mind you, it certainly proves popular, with a nice touch being the excellent Nad Sylvan (he’s getting better and better over the years), delivering the Suppers Ready snippet of ‘There’s an angel standing in the sun’, which is just audible on the studio version of the track on the A Trick Of The Tail album.

I have been watching Steve Hackett with great regularity for the past 20 years, and it is true to say that he has never delivered what I would call a bad show. Some better than others, but never, ever one to feel short changed by. Tonight was no exception, and it was hard to detect a dissatisfied face when scanning the auditorium at the end. A word for the venue as well, whose grand Victorian style of restrained opulence and large stage fits the Hackett repertoire like a hand in a white velvet glove. I’m not sure how long we can continue to get these miracles pulled out of metaphorical non-aging hats, but I for one want to stay on the ride to find out. As the curator and sole band celebrant of this sublime Genesis music, as well as a string of excellent solo albums still being regularly released, Steve Hackett is nothing less than a Prog National Treasure, and should be deservedly celebrated as such. I Know What I Like – and this, once again, was It…