Capping off an impressive 25 date tour of the U.K., Steve Hackett brought his Foxtrot at 50 creation to the iconic Eventim Apollo – a venue in which all the great British bands cut their teeth during their golden years – when it was called the Hammersmith Apollo.
The Band consisted of Steve Hackett (guitar); Nad Sylvan (vocals); Roger King (keyboards); Craig Blunbell (drums/percussion); Jonus Reingold (bass/twelve string guitar); Rob Townsend (assorted elements) and Amanda Lehmann on guitar and vocals on select songs.
Part 1 Steve Hackett
The first 50-minute set featured Steve’s own work – because the show’s got his name on it – and another 50-minute half devoted to The 1972 Genesis album Foxtrot.
The first set kicked off with Ace of Wands, the opening track from Hackett’s solo debut, Voyage of the Acolyte, which was a perfect prelude to my favourite track of this set, The Devil’s Cathedral. Sylvan paraded on stage for the first time, sang along, and then waltzed off like a spectral figure. I should also give out props to Townsend’s scorchingly hot saxophone, which added an extra level of oomph to the song.
After two tracks from his Spectral Mornings album, we returned to the “Acolyte” track A Tower Struck Down. Not much to say except people cheered when it was announced and then clapped along during the solo.
The final track of this set – and probably the quintessential Hackett live song – was Shadow of the Hierophant, and thanks to Lehmann’s presence, we got the full version.
The closing instrumental nearly brought the house down, with the reverberation off the drums sending shockwaves through the venue. It’s a miracle they were even able to do a second set after all that.
Part 2: Foxtrot
During the break some lucky punters were offered seats closer to the stage to enjoy the Foxtrot tribute.
Watcher of the Skies opened the set, just as it opened the original album and all those Genesis live shows 50 years ago. The song still retains the power it had way back then.
After the song’s introduction had settled down, the band started to play that familiar riff, gradually whipping us all into a frenzy by the time Nad launched into the lyrics.
Time Table was the most intriguing track of the evening, because it has never made it onto a Genesis setlist before. It’s a shame, because this track is a lovely breath of fresh air.
Despite the silly premise of Get ‘em Out by Friday, the song is actually one of Foxtrot’s most intricate tracks, and showcased how hard-hitting this band can sound.
Then there we were, at the moment everyone was waiting for, the star of the show, the monumental epic to end all epics… Supper’s Ready.
Here is my guide to this 23-minute stonker as experienced live:
1. A pleasant acoustic beginning sets the acoustic scene
2. Pure hard-hitting Genesis bliss, played beautifully
3. Steve’s guitar solo: my favourite part of the track and of the whole show
4. A little breather before the most iconic part of the song
5. You know a song is special when a room of middle aged men yell out “A FLOWER?!” in unison. This section is a great piece of British humour, set to music
6. The build-up to the grand finale: probably the heaviest part of the song
7. The glorious ending in which Steve just riffs for ages (and ages)
And 1-7 together? A wonderful recreation of one of Genesis’ finest moments
For the encores they began with Firth of Fifth. No Genesis experience would be complete without this beauty, and for the first time in a while the fans got to hear the entire work. Whenever Genesis performed the piece after the original Selling England tour, they first cut out the piano intro before reducing it to just the instrumental middle, so I was glad to hear it in full.
Then came Los Endos from A Trick of the Tail. The rendition began with a monster drum solo courtesy of Blunbell and later on weaved in Steve’s own track Slogans as a perfect interpolation to end a night devoted to Hackett with and without Genesis.
The show allowed an older crowd to relive their teenage memories of seeing Genesis perform these songs on stage half a century go. But it also gave a younger crowd the chance to vicariously share that experience without having to listen to old bootleg cassette tapes.
Edited by Camden O’Keefe
Pictures by Hamish Mackenzie