Steve Hackett

The Utilita Arena, Cardiff

Just how does former Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett maintain his stamina and energy to endlessly tour the world while simultaneously turning out works of majestic magnificence?

Consummate professional Steve, who says he 'helped shape' Genesis, and his awe inspiring band of Roger King, keyboards; Rob Townsend, additional key and assorted woodwind; Nad Sylvan, vocals; Amanda Lehmann, guitar; Craig Blundell, drums and Jonas Reingold, bass, showed no ounce of fatigue as they gave everything they had to the sizeable, seasoned crowd at the Cardiff leg of their tour.

Normally holding court at the unarguably more comfortable and intimate St David’s Hall in the city - closed for the foreseeable - Steve soon enveloped the crowd in the larger ‘stadium’ into his bosom.

Despite mentioning how chilly it was on stage and pointing out a small heater blasting him from a short distance 'switched on ‘to heat the strings of the guitar’, wrapped up Steve and the band soon warmed up before becoming red hot by ripping into songs, such as These Passing Clouds from his most recent album The Circus and the Nightingale.

And the magic just kept on coming.

The mesmeric first half ended with Shadow of the Hierophant - Amanda Lehmann on top form beaming and quite clearly enjoying every moment of her memorable performance.

The auditorium sadly wasn't full but those who were there enjoyed a treat of quite monumental proportions.

Steve and his band are amazingly talented performers. To realise that Steve is the man, the original, very same individual, who played the Genesis songs 50-plus years ago which we were treated to in the second half is more than a little bit of a spine tingler.

Termed as a `mini Lamb’, this part of the show featured tracks from the critically-acclaimed Lamb Lies Down on Broadway double album. Peter Gabriel’s’ swansong before he went solo, is a bit of a curate’s egg for me.

However the hairs already erect but settling down after the first section stood stock upright with the first notes of the title track and remained to attention for Carpet Crawlers and Lillywhite Lilith; Fly on the Windshield and Chamber of 32 Doors. I’m surely going to have to revisit the Lamb.

We didn't get the full album - Steve explained ‘we’d be here all week if we did’ which, I'm sure,  would have raised no complaints from the rapt audience.

He dedicated the Dancing with the Moonlight knight from Selling England by the Pound to John Lennon who helped pave the way for Genesis breaking into the USA by heaping praise on the Surrey-formed band.

Cinema Show and Aisle on Plenty, also from Selling England by the Pound, were superb bringing out all of Steve’s dexterity and not a little of Nad’s perfect pitch and tone. He’s always superb.

Firth of Fifth, another from Selling England by the Pound, which opened the encore, and in particular Steve’s towering solo and Nad’s faultless voice, was surely worth the ticket price alone to hear and ‘feel’ that creation in the flesh.

The customary final number, the almost chaotic explosion of talent, Los Endos from Trick of the Tail threatened to remove the roof of the Utillita and send it crashing away off into Cardiff Bay.

I am feeling a whole lot better for escaping to the wonderful world that is Steve Hackett and his band for around three hours of brilliance.

Thanks Steve for your unending energy, passion and commitment to your and our music. Please keep on coming to Wales, our country really needs you after all as you yourself said: “We may not all be Carusos but we’re all in the same band now’.

For more tour dates go to www.hackettsongs.com.

 

DB