Steve Hackett – Genesis Revisited with Classic Hackett 2017 tour – Gig Review

So back to Steve’s roots in London for the last night of the Genesis Revisited with Classic Hackett 2017 tour.  Only just made the packed London Palladium to see the start of the 2 part show (19:45 prompt).  So part 1 was Hackett solo stuff and part 2 was basically Genesis stuff with his favourite songs from “Wind and Wuthering” featuring prominently.  As it happens I attended my first ever Genesis gig on 22 Jan 1977, Leicester De Montford Halls, on their Wind and Wuthering tour (wow where did those 40 years go??).

Steve had his mum, sister and brother there (his brother John doing a bit of flute work on Serpentine Song – which was inspired by his late dad and the Peter Pan statue on the Serpentine in Hyde Park where he used to sell his paintings).

As always start with a classic to set the tone for the evening – welcome ‘Everyday’ which really showcases Steve’s extra ordinary guitar skills and tumultuous applause from the eager crowd (I admit I was surprised to see so many ladies in the audience – they generally don’t do prog rock).

There were a few new songs which I must admit I didn’t recognise from his ‘The Night Siren’ LP.  Some were better than others but the first half closer was the full-length version of ‘Shadow Of The Hierophant’ starting with Amanda Lehmann’s high pitched vocals and just continuing to build and build repetitively, bolero like, on intensity and volume.  Nick Beggs, resplendent in kilt, sat down next to his bass pedals hammering them with his fists.  He was in the groove, a bleached blonde mass of hair at one with the music.

In fairness Steve and Nick are the main show stoppers in this band. Steve the maestro guitarist and Nick the flamboyant (sorry Nad) mad bassist who always looks like he is totally lost in the music and dancing to his own tune – wonderful!

We barely had time to relive our prostrates and get back to our seats in time for the second half to start.

The second half featured Nad Sylvan, with his usual period regalia outfits (like an Earl himself, puffing on an (unlit) pipe to enhance effect), on lead vocals to do the Genesis songs. Occasionally his voice let him down, just not hitting the right notes but hey, he can sing better than me any day!  The only surprise of the night was the inclusion of ‘Inside and Out’ from the “Spot the Pigeon” EP (they didn’t have room for it on the Wind and Wuthering album).  Phil Collins wrote the lyrics, which Steve says were great and before he got into his ‘relationship issues period’!

The encore was Los Endos with the entire audience on their feet at the end celebrating with a thunderous and sustained applause.

London Palladium Set List

Set 1 (Classic Hackett):

1. Every Day – (Spectral Mornings 1979)
2. El Niño – (The Night Siren 2017)
3. The Steppes – (Defector 1980)
4. In the Skeleton Gallery – (The Night Siren 2017)
5. Behind the Smoke – (The Night Siren 2017)
6. Serpentine Song (with John Hackett) – (To Watch The Storm 2003)
7. Rise Again – (Darktown 1999)
8. Shadow of the Hierophant – (Voyage of The Acolyte 1975)

Set 2 (Genesis Revisited with Nad Sylvan):

1. Eleventh Earl of Mar – (Wind and Wuthering 1977)
2. One for the Vine – (Wind and Wuthering 1977)
3. Blood on the Rooftops – (Wind and Wuthering 1977)
4. …In That Quiet Earth – (Wind and Wuthering 1977)
5. Afterglow – (Wind and Wuthering 1977)
6. Dance on a Volcano – (A Trick of the Tail 1975)
7. Inside and Out – (Spot the Pigeon EP 1977)
8. Firth of Fifth – (Selling England by the Pound 1973)
9. The Musical Box – (Nursery Cryme 1971)
10. Slogans / Los Endos – (Defector 1980 & A Trick of the Tail 1975)

At 67 Steve has a full head of dark hair (in fact he’s had the same haircut for donkeys) so I’m guessing his wife does a good job with the hair dye 😊.  On Steve’s stage left the same goes for 56-year-old Nick Beggs with his long blond hair.  Nick is the only member of the band who looks like he’s enjoying himself and getting down with the music rather than performing it ad verbatim.  He played bass, 6-string and double neck stood up, sat down and generally bopping about).  How did this 80’s Kajagoogoo pop man make the move to Prog?

The second set went down much better than the first (I kind of guess there were a lot there just like me who suffered the first half to get to the gems in the second) from where I was sitting in row F of the Stalls.

So, all in all a very accomplished gig from a tight knit unit of muso’s.  Prog Rock is in the safe custody of Mr. Hackett.  Please continue touring with the old Genesis catalogue for as long as you can Steve – you’ll make a lot of old grey haired (or bald) men very very happy!!

The only down side was seeing the keyboard and woodwind chaps in FCK BXIT t-shirts.  Stick to the music and fuck your politics chaps – we are not interested in anything but the music and I certainly don’t need preaching to – dick heads)!

Marko – 20 May 2017