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Taken from SILive (Feb 16, 2018)
Prog-rock legend Steve Hackett serves ‘Supper’ in St. George
by Vincent Caputo
Steve Hackett calls Staten Island down to supper.
Photo by Vincent Caputo |
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Long after the breakup of Genesis, prog-rock guitar virtuoso Steve Hackett is still playing across the world -- and shows no signs of slipping.
Steve and his band of merry men paid a visit to the historic St. George Theatre Thursday night and, to no one's surprise, tore it up for almost three hours.
The first set was dedicated to his original work: Songs like "When the Heart Rules the Mind," "Behind the Smoke", and "El Nino," made it clear Steve is still on his A-game when it comes to writing. (And gave him an excuse to sing!)
The second set was all Genesis classics like "Dancing with a Moonlit Knight," "Firth of Fifth," and the fan favorite "Supper's Ready." The set also included "One for the Vine" and "Inside and Out," two Genesis tunes that never made it onto an album but can still be heard live.
Steve brought his usual amazing crew to help out: Roger King on keyboards; Rob Townsend playing wind instruments and auxiliary percussion (the guy must've played about five different instruments); Jonas Reingold on bass and 12-string; drummer Gary O'Toole (his usual stylish hat sadly absent); and Nad Sylvan on vocals. (Close your eyes and you'll never know it isn't Peter Gabriel.)
The audience, for the most part, was well behaved. But when the show started, half of them were still in the lobby and I spent the whole first song trying to see past shuffling bodies. (Sorry, I'm a true fan and I want to see the entire show.)
But soon enough, everyone was whooping and hollering between songs and wishing Steve a happy belated 68th birthday.
The headliner certainly didn't disappoint his crowd of diehard fans -- and it's obvious that even at Steve's age, he's still got it. Come on, how many Top 40 pop tarts of today can deliver a three-hour live music marathon?
Here's hoping he calls Staten Islanders down to supper again soon, 'cause I'd buy what he's selling by the pound!
I get it, the song puns are getting annoying, but I know what I like and I like what I ... fine, I'll stop.
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