STEVE HACKETT 'Genesis Revisited: Foxtrot At Fifty + Hackett Highlights' Tour

[JJ88]

I saw Steve in a tiny club in Ottawa in the early 90s. There was a line up but because I paid by credit card I was escorted to my table before the crowd was let in. This was an era where Steve only played excerpts from his work with Genesis. There was less than 200 people in the audience and it was a spectacular show. Steve is now drawing huge crowds with his nod to the past.

The first one I bought new on release was Wild Orchids and it definitely felt like his profile was low then. Things are very different now- obviously leaning heavily on Genesis was the reason, but it's given his new solo stuff more visibility too. TBH though I think his 90s/00s rock albums were much stronger than what followed.

What are the crowds like at these US shows? Good attendances?

[JJ88]

Yeah, I was never a fan of "Blues With A Feeling." It might've been more palatable had he chosen someone else to do the vocals.

I like blues, I like Hackett...but not necessarily at the same time. I've always given that one a wide berth. Sorry Steve!

[Dan Roth]

What are the crowds like at these US shows? Good attendances?

I saw him a few weeks ago, and also a couple years back. These Genesis Revisited shows are packed. When I saw him a couple years back at the 1300-seat Keswick Theater outside Philly, he played two shows back-to-back there and the shows were either sold out or very very close. Likewise last month, he played the 1050-seat Scottish Rite Auditorium and sold out all 3 shows there. Not sure if it is just this Philly area that he packs em in, but he sure shows no signs of slowing down in the attendance dept.

[Mstove]

I saw him a few weeks ago, and also a couple years back. These Genesis Revisited shows are packed. When I saw him a couple years back at the 1300-seat Keswick Theater outside Philly, he played two shows back-to-back there and the shows were either sold out or very very close. Likewise last month, he played the 1050-seat Scottish Rite Auditorium and sold out all 3 shows there. Not sure if it is just this Philly area that he packs em in, but he sure shows no signs of slowing down in the attendance dept.

We've seen him a bunch of times over the past decade in Milwaukee (usually at the Pabst Theater - about 1,300 capacity - though once in South Milwaukee) and it is always full or close to full. I assume this will be the case Friday. He is coming to Madison next March which surprised me, but I presume means he's selling strongly enough that he can hit a smaller market - albeit one within a reasonable drive of Milwaukee or Chicago if people feel like coming up.

First time we caught one of his shows was at the Park West with Renaissance (maybe 2008 or 2009?) and while it was pretty full, it took two on that tour to play those sized venues. I agree that it would be cool to see some different solo songs, but I enjoy the ones he generally plays, along with the Genesis sets. It has been great fun getting to see him so often in recent years (I also go on CTTE and he is usually on that, as well).

[SteveSly]

We've seen him a bunch of times over the past decade in Milwaukee (usually at the Pabst Theater - about 1,300 capacity - though once in South Milwaukee) and it is always full or close to full. I assume this will be the case Friday. He is coming to Madison next March which surprised me, but I presume means he's selling strongly enough that he can hit a smaller market - albeit one within a reasonable drive of Milwaukee or Chicago if people feel like coming up.

).

He appears to be playing some smaller market place in the spring as he is playing my hometown of Kalamazoo for the first time ever.

[JJ88]

I saw him a few weeks ago, and also a couple years back. These Genesis Revisited shows are packed. When I saw him a couple years back at the 1300-seat Keswick Theater outside Philly, he played two shows back-to-back there and the shows were either sold out or very very close. Likewise last month, he played the 1050-seat Scottish Rite Auditorium and sold out all 3 shows there. Not sure if it is just this Philly area that he packs em in, but he sure shows no signs of slowing down in the attendance dept.

It's good to read he's still pulling in the crowds with this show, all these years later. At the end of the day, Hackett and his band deliver the goods.

[Mstove]

He appears to be playing some smaller market place in the spring as he is playing my hometown of Kalamazoo for the first time ever.

I hadn't actually looked at the other dates. He really does like the traveling aspect of his career, so I can see him enjoying checking out some new places.

[flowerking]

What are the crowds like at these US shows? Good attendances?

Saw him last night in Cincinnati playing at the beautiful Taft Theater, where he played last year during his Seconds Out tour. Last year, the show looked sold out, close to 2500 people. Last night I'd say it was only no more than 75% full so maybe 1500-2000 people. A little disappointing that more people didn't show up for it.

[JKL2000]

Who's playing bass on the current tour?

[calyx]

Who's playing bass on the current tour?

It's been Jonas Reingold consistently for years now, hasn't it ? That's why he's no longer in the Flower Kings.

[Mstove]

It's been Jonas Reingold consistently for years now, hasn't it ? That's why he's no longer in the Flower Kings.

I was trying to remember the last time I saw Beggs in his band and had to check Wikipedia, which lists it as 2018, so it has been a bit.

[JKL2000]

It's been Jonas Reingold consistently for years now, hasn't it ? That's why he's no longer in the Flower Kings.

Thanks, it's been a few years since I've seen either Hackett or FK, so I was a little uninformed about recent year. I've seen a few different bassists with Hackett, including Roine Stolt!

[Mstove]

Thanks, it's been a few years since I've seen either Hackett or FK, so I was a little uninformed about recent year. I've seen a few different bassists with Hackett, including Roine Stolt!

I'd forgotten about Roine playing.

[dmh84]

I used to keep track of how many times I’d seen him by remembering each bass player!

[JAMOOL]

saw him in Milwaukee and was very impressed. it was one of the few shows I've been to where you could clearly hear what everyone was doing. and the band was amazing - I think I heard that the drummer was the guy from Frost*? he was great, though maybe a bit more powerful than what the music called for. still he totally ruled and gave the music a different dimension. didn't think I'd get so emotionally moved hearing Supper's Ready for the 4000th time but it was so good. now I regret missing him the other times he came around. by the way, did anyone else catch the announcement that Levin, Belew, and Vai are doing an 80s Crimson live project? thats gotta be good.

[SteveSly]

saw him in Milwaukee and was very impressed. it was one of the few shows I've been to where you could clearly hear what everyone was doing. and the band was amazing - I think I heard that the drummer was the guy from Frost*? he was great, though maybe a bit more powerful than what the music called for. still he totally ruled and gave the music a different dimension. didn't think I'd get so emotionally moved hearing Supper's Ready for the 4000th time but it was so good. now I regret missing him the other times he came around. by the way, did anyone else catch the announcement that Levin, Belew, and Vai are doing an 80s Crimson live project? thats gotta be good.

Yes, Craig Blundell is the drummer for Frost*. He has also played with Steven Wilson, Fish, Lonely Robot / John Mitchel and others.

[Mstove]

saw him in Milwaukee and was very impressed. it was one of the few shows I've been to where you could clearly hear what everyone was doing. and the band was amazing - I think I heard that the drummer was the guy from Frost*? he was great, though maybe a bit more powerful than what the music called for. still he totally ruled and gave the music a different dimension. didn't think I'd get so emotionally moved hearing Supper's Ready for the 4000th time but it was so good. now I regret missing him the other times he came around. by the way, did anyone else catch the announcement that Levin, Belew, and Vai are doing an 80s Crimson live project? thats gotta be good.

Yeah it sounds amazing.

Blundell has been Steve’s drummer for several years now and is always awesome. He’s so good.

The sound was excellent as you mention. Steve Rispin is out with them and that’s always a good sign. Plus the Pabst is just a great venue. Really good show and fun night. Looking forward to seeing them again on CTTE and Madison next March.

[IncogNeato]

Saw Steve in Durham NC complete with pre-show dressing room meet & greet. Such a sweet person. Very open to discuss music and life. Was an amazing experience to just "hang" with such a legend and, needless to say, the show was AMAZING!!!

[Rufus]

I used to keep track of how many times I’d seen him by remembering each bass player!

Bet many forget about N'Dvigillo who recently sat in on a few dates whilst Blundell got side tracked with Frost*

[proggy_jazzer]

I doubt there are too many folks who don't know what to expect from the current tour, but just in case, there are some mild spoilers ahead:

Last night's show in Des Moines was a joy for me and a couple of my close friends. None of us had seen SH live before, and he didn't disappoint. The set list was as expected, in line with the past several gigs the band has played on the current tour: first half heavy on "classic" Hackett solo material, including three cuts from VotA. The sound where we were sitting took awhile to get dialed in, it seemed, with Hackett's guitar at times buried in the mix. Truthfully, I could have used more of him throughout, or perhaps less of the keys and mid-drums. Even the shared lines with the soprano sax were balanced towards the sax more often than not. Volume was generally good, with lots of contrast and some colon-shaking bass when the Taurus pedals kicked in (both Rheingold and Townsend had them, and Townsend also supplied low frequencies from a keyboard at times). The crescendo that makes up the closing section of 'Shadow of the Hierophant' that ended the first set was intense and impressive. Other highlights from the first set: nice solo space for Rheingold - a talented player, and his sound was spot-on for the material; some very nice 4-part vocals on a couple of songs, and excellent flute and soprano sax work from Townsend.

Second set: what can you say about Foxtrot? One of my favorite recordings of all-time, by anybody. So great to hear it live, by a great band and with Hackett nailing all the iconic guitar parts; honestly, I think his playing has only improved over the years, and the sound of the Fernandez is just out-of-this-world in his hands. Nad Sylvan has won me over as the vocalist on this material; no one can replicate PG's tone and nuances, but Sylvan makes the words his own and delivers them with confidence and aplomb. While the marquee tracks were excellent and thrilling, it was hearing 'Time Table' and 'Can Utility' live that gave me the biggest smiles. Such amazing writing! The extended guitar workout at the end of 'Supper's Ready' was a fitting way to bring the set to a close. 'Firth of Fifth' and a modified 'Los Endos' brought the long show (2.5 hrs or maybe a bit more) to a close. The audience (3/4 capacity, I would estimate) was very appreciative, and grateful to have this music make a rare appearance in our usually-passed-over area.

I only had a few minor nits to pick: the aforementioned balance of guitar within the ensemble (could have been different in different locations in the theatre, I didn't move around to check). Tempos sometimes seemed a little rushed to me, most noticeably on the Foxtrot material (even 'Horizons', to my surprise); the upside of that is the pleasure of hearing a group like that play without a click, which is a nice change of pace these days. Craig Blundell, while an excellent drummer, was a little heavy-handed for my tastes at times; on the Genesis set he lacked a lot of what made Phil's playing so magical, the combination of chops and finesse that he did so effortlessly. But that only bugged me once or twice during the evening; when power was called for, he delivered in spades, and his solo spot was impressive and well-composed. Finally, the choice (I assume it was Hackett's) to have Townsend render the iconic flute solo on 'Firth' on soprano sax instead (when he plays flute beautifully in other parts of the show) was kind of baffling, and took me out of the moment briefly.

My friends and I left the auditorium with big grins on our faces, as did most of the others that I saw afterwards. It was a late night, with two hours travel on each end, but quality time with my mates and a bucket-list concert made it worthwhile. Hackett's 73 - I say go see him if you can; he seems to be in great shape, but it would stand to reason that there can't be that many more tours left.

[rich]

I doubt there are too many folks who don't know what to expect from the current tour, but just in case, there are some mild spoilers ahead:

Last night's show in Des Moines was a joy for me and a couple of my close friends. None of us had seen SH live before, and he didn't disappoint. The set list was as expected, in line with the past several gigs the band has played on the current tour: first half heavy on "classic" Hackett solo material, including three cuts from VotA. The sound where we were sitting took awhile to get dialed in, it seemed, with Hackett's guitar at times buried in the mix. Truthfully, I could have used more of him throughout, or perhaps less of the keys and mid-drums. Even the shared lines with the soprano sax were balanced towards the sax more often than not. Volume was generally good, with lots of contrast and some colon-shaking bass when the Taurus pedals kicked in (both Rheingold and Townsend had them, and Townsend also supplied low frequencies from a keyboard at times). The crescendo that makes up the closing section of 'Shadow of the Hierophant' that ended the first set was intense and impressive. Other highlights from the first set: nice solo space for Rheingold - a talented player, and his sound was spot-on for the material; some very nice 4-part vocals on a couple of songs, and excellent flute and soprano sax work from Townsend.

Second set: what can you say about Foxtrot? One of my favorite recordings of all-time, by anybody. So great to hear it live, by a great band and with Hackett nailing all the iconic guitar parts; honestly, I think his playing has only improved over the years, and the sound of the Fernandez is just out-of-this-world in his hands. Nad Sylvan has won me over as the vocalist on this material; no one can replicate PG's tone and nuances, but Sylvan makes the words his own and delivers them with confidence and aplomb. While the marquee tracks were excellent and thrilling, it was hearing 'Time Table' and 'Can Utility' live that gave me the biggest smiles. Such amazing writing! The extended guitar workout at the end of 'Supper's Ready' was a fitting way to bring the set to a close. 'Firth of Fifth' and a modified 'Los Endos' brought the long show (2.5 hrs or maybe a bit more) to a close. The audience (3/4 capacity, I would estimate) was very appreciative, and grateful to have this music make a rare appearance in our usually-passed-over area.

I only had a few minor nits to pick: the aforementioned balance of guitar within the ensemble (could have been different in different locations in the theatre, I didn't move around to check). Tempos sometimes seemed a little rushed to me, most noticeably on the Foxtrot material (even 'Horizons', to my surprise); the upside of that is the pleasure of hearing a group like that play without a click, which is a nice change of pace these days. Craig Blundell, while an excellent drummer, was a little heavy-handed for my tastes at times; on the Genesis set he lacked a lot of what made Phil's playing so magical, the combination of chops and finesse that he did so effortlessly. But that only bugged me once or twice during the evening; when power was called for, he delivered in spades, and his solo spot was impressive and well-composed. Finally, the choice (I assume it was Hackett's) to have Townsend render the iconic flute solo on 'Firth' on soprano sax instead (when he plays flute beautifully in other parts of the show) was kind of baffling, and took me out of the moment briefly.

My friends and I left the auditorium with big grins on our faces, as did most of the others that I saw afterwards. It was a late night, with two hours travel on each end, but quality time with my mates and a bucket-list concert made it worthwhile. Hackett's 73 - I say go see him if you can; he seems to be in great shape, but it would stand to reason that there can't be that many more tours left.

Great review, I knew you would love this show. Just about a week until I see Steve again. I have my issues with the setlist as I have noted, having said that I will throughly enjoy it once I'm there and never tire of the Voyage material live. I just hope Steve "freshens" up the solo material on the next go around... even the Genesis material for that matter... he has never played Blood on the Rooftops on the west coast for example.

Have you seen the Musical Box? Just curious.

[Steve983]

Another new interview with Mr Steve

[proggy_jazzer]

Have you seen the Musical Box? Just curious.

Not yet! But I always keep an eye on their tour dates. One of these days the stars will align...

[gojikranz]

Just home from SF. Debated not going to this one as we’ve seen all but timetable live already but in the end I just can’t bear to miss me Hackett when he comes around.

Seen him every west coast show since he started finally coming here regularly with revisited ii. And he always delivers the goods even if I might prefer slightly different stuff.

Was very happy to get steppes and Camino royale for our first time. I do wish he had done a bit more from highly strung given it’s the 40th for it feel like it’s a bit underrated. Always somewhere else is deserving of some plays. Cell 151 would be fun or even walking through walls for a change of pace.

Guess that’s another covid loss is the 40th celebrations he did a good job digging up deep cuts from acolyte please don’t touch and spectral for their 40ths but missed defector and cureds big years so got out of rhythm.

Bring on the lamb highlights show we’ve only gotten broadway, fly on a windshield, Lillywhite and lamb lies down on the west coast thus far.