Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Photos: Aleš Podbrežnik
Location: Lignano Sabbiadoro / Beach Arena / Italy
Concert date: July 5, 2017
Attendance: 1500
Ticket price: €0.00 (free entry)
Guitar grandmaster Steve Hackett, who has done by far the most of any of the (former) members of the legendary Genesis to keep their musical legacy alive, stopped by our western neighbors on his current summer tour, where he has always been welcomed with open arms. The Romance soul generally feels close to his music, which is hardly surprising in the land that invented the subgenre ‘Italian progressive rock’, even in modern times. Lignano is an Italian seaside resort town that has a concert venue right by the sea, next to a sandy beach. The fact that entry was free this time drew a whole bunch of curious passersby, families with small kids and other unlikely visitors who had never listened to Hackett’s body of work before. As expected, many of them left the show before it was over. The stadium by the beach was almost completely full, but down below on the sand there was still plenty of room left for the crowd, so there was space in abundance. You just couldn’t get up to the stage, because that area was reserved for seating for well-heeled guests with special invitations.
Steve appeared on stage roughly at the announced time. Anyone strolling around the stage area could spot him long before the show started, chatting with his wife and manager Jo. Once again Steve was accompanied by his longtime crew of thoroughly seasoned musicians: cult bassist / occasional vocalist Nick Beggs, keyboardist Roger King, wind player Rob Townsend, drummer / occasional vocalist Gary O’Toole and vocalist Nad Sylvan. The latter only showed up ‘late’ in the second half of the show, when it was time for the Genesis classics. The setlist in the first part of the set was nicely split between old and new Steve solo standards. So we got to enjoy classics like the opening »Every Day«, »The Steppes« and »Shadow of the Hierophant«, as well as material from the new album, »The Night Siren« (2017), led by »El Nino«, »In the Skeleton Gallery« and »Behind the Smoke«. Steve and his gang once again floored us with their incredible tightness, tossing off some of prog rock’s greatest delicacies like it was nothing, and the sound was very solid too. With the epic »Shadow of the Hierophant«, which of course had no female vocals like the original version, Steve wrapped up the solo standards for the night and turned to the Genesis evergreens.
Even before the first Genesis classic, the charismatic vocalist Sylvan joined the band on stage and once again impressed with his outstanding vocal interpretations and his vocal kinship with both Peter Gabriel and Phil Collins. This year marks the fortieth anniversary of the cult album »Wind and Wuthering« (1977), which has always been very close to Steve’s heart, so he decided to play most of the songs from that masterpiece. So besides the ‘standard’ treats like »Blood on the Rooftops« and »Afterglow«, which Steve has played plenty of times in the past, we also heard gems like »Eleventh Earl of Mar«, »One For the Vine« and »…In That Quiet Earth«. The biggest surprise of the night, though, was the performance of the exceptionally beautiful ballad »Inside and Out« from the rare EP »Spot the Pigeon« (1977), which later also came out on the second part of the Genesis Archives. From the Genesis classics of other chapters of their career, we then heard »Dance On a Volcano«, »Firth of Fifth« and the obligatory »The Musical Box«, with which Steve’s gang closed the main part of the show.
Before the encore, Steve apologized for missing the closing band introductions, because he had cut his finger while strumming the strings during »The Musical Box« and urgently needed a band-aid. For the grand finale, the masters played a medley made up of two Hackett solo standards, »Myopia« and »Slogans«, plus the Genesis masterpiece »Los Endos«, which has become something of a traditional closer for most of Steve’s shows. It’s extremely hard to find enough superlatives to sum up the impressions of this fantastic concert event. Mr. Hackett and his admirable crew of musical masters have proven once again that the test of time hasn’t dented the quality of his live shows one bit. What’s more, Steve keeps giving the impression that he has never played with as much zest as he has over the past few years, and visually he also looks the youngest of all the (former) Genesis members. His show in Lignano was insanely good, and it would be completely pointless to pick out individual highlights of the evening, because the whole concert was one big top-notch experience.
Setlist
Set 1 (Hackett Old & New):
1. Every Day
2. El Niño
3. The Steppes
4. In the Skeleton Gallery
5. Behind the Smoke
6. Serpentine Song
7. Rise Again
8. Shadow of the Hierophant
Set 2 (Genesis Revisited):
9. Eleventh Earl of Mar
10. One for the Vine
11. Blood on the Rooftops
12. …In That Quiet Earth
13. Afterglow
14. Dance on a Volcano
15. Inside and Out
16. Firth of Fifth
17. The Musical Box
—encore—
18. Myopia intro / Los Endos / Slogans / Los Endos conclusion (medley)
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