Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Photos: Aleš Podbrežnik
Location: Grado / Diga Nazario Sauro / Italy
Concert date: July 20, 2016
Attendance: 1000
Ticket price: €46.00 (gold seating) / €34.50 (standard seating)
The legendary guitar ace Steve Hackett is usually most cherished by fans of his former band Genesis. Yet this relatively recent inductee into the famous Rock and Roll ‘Hall of Fame’ in Cleveland, and one of the most influential guitarists of all time, deserves far more attention even from those who aren’t exactly worshippers of prog rock. During a four-day Italian tour, he dropped by the resort town of Grado. For these four Italian shows, Steve decided to go acoustic, billed as the ‘Steve Hackett Acoustic Trio’. To pull that off, he called in two members of his touring band: keyboard wizard Roger King (The Mute Gods) and multi-instrumentalist wind player Rob Townsend. They kept him company for most of his set at the Diga Nazario Sauro venue, on the seafront of Grado.
The concert venue sits right by the sea, which gives you a gorgeous panorama and a pretty much ideal ambience for Steve’s musical output, this time delivered in acoustic ‘tones’. As soon as his wife Jo Lehmann had checked how things looked in the seats below the stage, the English guitar grandmaster got the signal to start. He walked out alone, without his aforementioned instrumental buddies, which, as expected, didn’t last long. Steve sat down on a stool and warmed up with a longer acoustic guitar improvisation, which he most likely developed completely spontaneously, and which was probably different at each of the four Italian shows on the current tour. Steve was just talkative enough that evening to explain the essence and message of individual pieces, especially the new arrangements, while also, as usual, apologizing in a self-deprecating way for his lacking Italian.
The first new composition of the night was »Swan Fountain«, a track steeped in a serene, melancholic atmosphere, which Steve dedicated to his late mother-in-law. »Horizons«, Steve’s most famous instrumental for acoustic guitar, written back when he was a member of the legendary Genesis, signaled that we wouldn’t (as expected) be hearing only Hackett’s solo material that night. »Horizons« also closed the opening part of Steve’s performance, since that’s when his two ‘brothers-in-arms’ joined him on stage: Roger King on keyboards and Rob Townsend, who mostly stuck to the flute that night but also wowed the crowd twice on the Irish tin whistle.
For starters they played the »Defector« (1980) classic »Jacuzzi«, and then caused a proper little delirium with an interesting Genesis medley made up of the opening section of the supersized epic »Supper’s Ready« plus the rarely played live »After The Ordeal« and »Hairless Heart«. After the first of the evening’s concert highlights, Steve teamed up with the instrumental duo for »Jazz On a Summer’s Night«, a piece that so far exists only in a live version. You can hear it on the live album »Hungarian Horizons: Live in Budapest« (2003). The still-life, almost perfectly seaside-suited »The House of Faun« was another brand-new addition to Steve’s acoustic treasure chest. Among the surprises, the standout was »The Red Flower of Tachai Blooms Everywhere« from »Spectral Mornings« (1979). Maestro Hackett plays it very rarely, even though ambience-wise it’s one of his most beautiful instrumentals, with a structure and mood reminiscent of Japanese folk music. Mr. Hackett, who is also incredibly ‘well preserved’ and spry for his age, physically and not just musically, of course didn’t forget his long scarf, probably knitted by Jo, which has become one of his trademarks in recent years.
The performance of »Walking Away From Rainbows« from the album »Guitar Noir« (1993) was a minor surprise too, while most people likewise didn’t expect »Hand of Priestess« and »The Hermit«, two pieces not played live all that often from Steve’s legendary solo debut »Voyage of the Acolyte« (1975). From that masterpiece, the usually punchy »Ace of Wands« naturally wasn’t missing, and it came out remarkably interesting in its acoustic version. In the middle of an arrangement of a classical piece by Johann S. Bach called »Bacchus«, a surprise popped up in the form of the Genesis gem »Firth of Fifth«, which elegantly morphed back into »Bacchus« just before the finish. For the encore, Steve appeared on stage completely alone again and played two more pieces from the acoustic album »Bay of Kings« (1983), namely the title track and »The Journey«. He dedicated the latter to his late father. Of all Steve’s pieces, his dad apparently loved listening to the ambiently gorgeous »The Journey« best, and according to Steve, he put away no less than a whole bottle of brandy during it.
After the show, Mr. Hackett, as usual, took time for some of his devoted fans who didn’t want to go home without autographs and group photos. Despite his extraordinary body of work and his influence on the development of various guitar techniques, the musical master stays humble and approachable, which is one of the main reasons many Genesis fans value him even more than his far more famous former bandmates, Peter Gabriel and Phil Collins. Steve’s acoustic show by the sea was a true balm for body and soul, just what you’d expect from a guitar grandmaster we’re used to for pure ambient perfection. The setlist was interesting and nicely varied, with just the right number of longtime classics, rarely played pieces and novelties, so there wasn’t a single truly predictable moment. And besides the guitar maestro, both of his brothers-in-arms deserve praise too, namely King and Townsend, who once again proved why they rank among the best instrumentalists in modern progressive rock.
Setlist
1. Acoustic Guitar Improvisation
2. Swan Fountain
3. Horizons
4. Jacuzzi
5. Supper’s Ready / After The Ordeal / Hairless Heart
6. Jazz On a Summer’s Night
7. The House of Faun
8. The Red Flower of Tachai Blooms Everywhere
9. Walking Away From Rainbows
10. Hand of Priestess (Part 1 & 2)
11. The Hermit
12. Ace of Wands
13. Bacchus
14. Firth of Fifth
15. Bacchus (outro)
—encore—
16. Bay of Kings
17. The Journey
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