Steve Hackett – Auckland Town Hall July 28, 2017

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Former Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett brought his “Genesis Revisited” show to Auckland last night. Incredibly, after over 40 years and countless albums, this was Hackett’s first foray into New Zealand.

While the turnout at the Town Hall was somewhat sparse, the venue itself proved to be perfect. The towering, ornate pipe organ that fills up the rear of the stage made for a rather spectacular backdrop for Hackett’s brand of prog-rock.

Though the turnout was low, the enthusiasm was high as one fan shouted out for Supper’s Ready as he marched down the centre of the hall just after the set had started.

Steve Hackett made good on his promise to play the epic Genesis classic, but not after first treating the crowd to a few of his solo offerings, beginning with Every Day, from 1979’s Spectral Mornings (one of my faves of his solo work).

Then we heard three tunes from his latest album, The Night Siren.

Hackett, himself, proved to be a gracious host, apologizing for taking “67 years to get here”.  When someone hollered, “Welcome back!”, he replied that he’s never been here before.

After a brief instrument, it was all Genesis material…clearly what the crowd came to see.

While Hackett had been singing his own material, he brought out Nad Sylvan to handle the Genesis songs. Dressed in what looked like a medieval waistcoat and sporting long, blonde hair, Sylvan looked like a cross between Billy Connolly and Robert Plant. Vocally, he was right in the Peter Gabriel/Phil Collins range.

The remainder of the band consisted of Roger King (keyboards), Rob Townsend (woodwinds), Gary O’Toole (drums & vocals) and Nick Beggs (bass).

Steve Hackett and the band seemed like they came to play, and play they did, performing over two hours of Genesis classics.

They began with Squonk, from 1976’s A Trick Of The Tail, the first album the band recorded without Gabriel, and I was reminded of how delicate and melodic the band was at that time. For me, tunes from Trick and the following album, Wind & Wuthering were the standouts for the evening, particularly the lovely Afterglow, which garnered the first of several standing ovations.

As the show progressed, the band stretched out, with the songs getting longer and more complex.

Both Firth Of Fifth and The Musical Box clocked in at over 10 minutes, with set closer Supper’s Ready taking 26 minutes to come to its conclusion.

No one seemed bored or impatient. In fact, audience members appeared to be glowing after the two and half hour show, no doubt hearing songs they thought they’d never experience live.

Hackett’s guitar playing was impeccable, full of little melodic twists and Rob Townsend’s contributions on soprano sax and flute offered the perfect counterpoint to Hackett’s guitar.

Another standout was drummer Gary O’Toole’s lead vocal during Fly On A Windshield.

Other than a full-blown Genesis reunion (the Peter Gabriel version), I can’t imagine a better treat for the long-suffering Genesis fan.

Marty Duda

Click on any image to view a photo gallery by Veronica McLaughlin:

Steve Hackett set list:

  1. Every Day
  2. El Nino
  3. In The Skeleton Gallery
  4. Behind The Smoke
  5. Instrumental
  6. Squonk
  7. Selling England By The Pound
  8. Fly On A Windshield
  9. Carpet Crawlers
  10. Eleventh Earl Of Mar
  11. Afterglow
  12. Dance On A Volcano
  13. Firth Of Fifth
  14. The Musical Box
  15. Supper’s Ready
  16. Medley/Los Endos

 

 

Marty Duda
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