Wednesday, 23 April 2025
Steve Hackett chose to start off his latest European Tour, his Genesis Greats, Lamb Highlights & Solo tour, with us in Oslo, a place which Hackett said had “always been kind to me, personally…, and to the band”, which was a nice compliment. Given the performance that we enjoyed, it is not surprising that the Tiger City has welcomed Hackett and his band over and over. It was, as the name of the tour suggested, a mixture of hits from his solo career, the Genesis “Lamb Lies Down on Broadway” album and those tracks which must be played, of which more later.
The set fell into two parts, with Hackett’s solo work occupying the first half and the Genesis material the second, longer half. He started off with arguably the best three pieces from his latest release, “The Circus and the Nightwhale”: “People of the Smoke”, “Circo Inferno”, and “These Passing Clouds”. This new material sounded excellent live. It was exciting, dynamic, and gave all the band a chance to show that they were up to speed. The frantic fret-tapping at the close of “People of the Smoke” and the manic Eastern-sounding playing in “Circo Inferno” showed Hackett has lost none of his dexterity, something which was apparent throughout the show, while the opening measures of that track gave Rob Townsend (woodwind, keyboards) his first opportunity to demonstrate an excellent control of tone and timbre in his saxophone playing. That would play an important part throughout the set, as they employed the sax for dual voicing with the guitar on a number of tracks.
“The Devil’s Cathedral” was keyboard player and musical director Roger King’s first big moment, giving him a chance to go mad on the organ. It was a brutal, dark rendition of this piece, full of menace and force. The band were completely in step, with bass player Jonas Reingold and (new) drummer Felix Lehrmann, from Berlin, matching each other move for move as the one plucked and the other pounded the toms.
Indeed, it was a night of a number of firsts. Apart from being the first night of the European Tour, it was also Lehrmann’s first performance with the band, and the first stint of new guitar tech, Andy Rotherham, who Steve called out for a round of applause as he brought on a new guitar. The first half of the set was a nice mixture of older and newer solo material. Most of it was greeted with at least warm applause if not a decent cheer. The audience clearly new the material well, old and new alike. The largest cheer was reserved for “Shadow of the Hierophant” which fell just before the interval, and featured Hackett’s characteristic reed-like soloing style and some blistering playing from Lehrmann (“Not bad for a first show!” quipped Hackett).
If the first part had been largely about Hackett’s playing, the range of his musical skill and different voicings – something which was very much apparent between the older and newer pieces – the second part of the show was about the music. I would argue that, for a solo guitar player leading a band, even with half of the show being music written by Genesis, Hackett is generous in the room he leaves for the other musicians as well as the music itself. It’s not all about the next solo or the next opportunity for him to bring his instrument to the fore, though he has plenty to say with his instrument. Every member of the band had a moment to step forward and be recognised. Since this is generally hard for the bass player,. Reingold had a designated solo spot in the show, starting off with some improvisation on the themes from “A Tower Struck Down”, which had been the previous number, before slipping seamlessly into Bach’s Cello Suite I and then some hard rock, all of it with virtuosity.
In the second half of the show, starting with its montage of pieces from the “Lamb Lies Down on Broadway”, this was even more apparent. Hackett clearly wants to celebrate the music by performing it, and performing it well. It is a homage to the quality of the songs, not just an opportunity to keep touring by finding something to play. So, prima la musica. Vocalist Nad Sylvan, who had come on from time to time in the first half of the show, joined the band on the stage for whole of the second half. He’s not Peter Gabriel, however much he does sound like him at times and can sound exactly like him, but he very much brings his own voice to the show, adding inflexions and variation where he sees fit. It was a good vocal performance of the old songs, committed and authentic, if lacking a little at the very top end of the register. He was particular good on “Carpet Crawlers”, carrying the beguiling lyrics and investing them with meaning, though they are unfathomable, and also on “The Chamber of 32 Doors”.
Roger King managed the keyboard transitions between the different parts of the medley and generally played the difficult piano parts well. Hackett’s guitar playing showed the full range of his voicing. It was full of angst on “The Lamb….”, atmospheric and distant on “Carpet Crawlers”, strident and edgy on “The Chamber of 32 Doors”. Townsend’s flute playing on “The Lamia” was delicate, and then he followed that up with another jazz-influenced sax break, something that had been a highlight of the show. Townsend is a first-rate player, and in this concert he walked the line well between freer, looser playing that stayed within the confines of the music and moving into an open, near free-jazz style, which would have struck an odd chord in a band which was so much on song.
If the crowd was delighted by the medley (they were), they were ecstatic about what followed. “It’s the perfect single, and it’s only twenty-five minutes long. Yes, you know what it is” said Hackett as he announced “Supper’s Ready”. Even the barman to my right clenched his fist and mouthed “yes!”. Up to this point, you couldn’t have faulted the performance. There had been a few wobbly moments, but generally everyone was tight as hell and people helped each other keep it together, a hallmark of first-rate ensemble musicians. However, this rendition of “Supper’s Ready” was yet a step up. The pacing was excellent and the music had real power. It was a performance of total commitment. Sylvan’s vocals were top notch, the rhythm section were completely dialled in, the transitions between the songs-within-songs did not lose any breath. “Apocalypse in 9/8” was particularly good, fast, tense, relentless, urgent. For the close, Hackett took us home with busy, yearning glissando and even some blues motifs, the music dying away in a cloud of slide effects.
There was an ovation, an uproar. It had been absolutely brilliant. Some people started to leave at that point. They clearly thought it couldn’t get any better. Well, that’s arguable, because next came “Firth of Fifth”, with that guitar solo. King played the opening piano motif perfectly, leading Sylvan in for another authentic vocal performance and then we wait. As the keyboard rhythm built in the middle section, the audience started to clap along with the piano arpeggios until the keyboard solo started. To be picky, for me the middle section was a little slow. In fact, it sounded like Lehrmann agreed, because he seemed to ease the tempo up as the transition to the guitar solo arrived. The solo was, of course, wonderful, played with the same dexterity and emotional dynamics that have marked it in every performance (and much of the show for that matter). It never sounds tired, and it sounds like Hackett never tires of playing it. For the undersigned, this is the highlight of any Hackett show, and I’m sure I’m not alone in that, without wanting to take anything away from the rest of the setlist. Playing the main motif on the sax, not the flute, however, is probably more controversial!
The concert closed with the unashamed blowout that is “Los Endos”, which was the perfect way to celebrate and cap off what had been an excellent show, full of strong ensemble playing, first rate individual performances, and a special bond between audience and band. 5/6
Text: Alex Maines
Photography: Anne-Marie Forker
