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Which was a good thing because, as fine a guitarist as Hackett is—and while he commanded attention when he was playing a solo or taking a brief acoustic turn, as he did on nylon-string guitar for a version of his instrumental solo 'Horizons,' from Foxtrot (Charisma, 1972), which segued into a beautiful version of Wind & Wuthering's 'Blood on the Rooftops,' sung by O'Toole—he doesn't resort to any of the typical rock guitar posturing; instead, he focused on the task at hand: delivering the music at its absolute best. 'Blood on the Rooftops' then led into the same triptych of songs that followed on that album: the atmospheric 'Unquiet Slumber For the Sleepers...,' the hard-edged, near-fusion of ...'In That Quiet Earth' and finally, with Sylvan back onstage to sing, '>The Beatles-esque 'Afterglow,' not only powered by Pomeroy's bass pedals and 12-string guitar arpeggios, but by something else this group delivered that Genesis did less and less as time went on: vocal harmonies.
While, in the early days, Tony Banks, Mike Rutherford and Phil Collins provided Gabriel with the occasional backup vocals, by the time Gabriel deserted the group to pursue a solo career, background vocals were largely left behind in concert—a shame, as they made songs like 'Watcher of the Skies,' 'Afterglow' and 'I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)' (the group's first charting single, reaching #21 on the UK Singles Charts) all the better, and it was simply great to have them back (with Hackett also singing).
It was also a pleasure to see just how much fun the group was having; while Gabriel was a charismatic front man, the rest of the group rarely looked like they were having a good time, in particular Banks and Hackett. Here, Hackett's front and center position onstage—augmented, at times, by lighting that drew even more attention to him—made clear that this was his show, and his band; but it was the occasional clowning around by Sylvan, Townsend, O'Toole and Pomeroy, in particular— King's enjoyment was clear from his facial expressions, but hidden behind his keyboards, he was limited in what else he could do—that brought an infectious and joyous energy to the show.

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There was also a nice surprise halfway through the set, when the group pulled out a song they'd been rehearsing, but had not yet played on the tour: 'The Fountain of Salmacis,' from Nursery Cryme, which hasn't been performed by Hackett since the last road trip before Genesis began making inroads in North America with its

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Selling England By The Pound (Charisma, 1973) tour. A faithful rendition that recaptured the symphonic extremes of Genesis' early days with Hackett and Collins, the guitarist simply introduced it as 'new for us, old for you.'
Hackett addressed the beyond enthusiastic audience a number of times throughout the set, doing his best with his limited French but doing far better in English, when he first spoke to the crowd after 'Watcher of the Skies,' saying 'The abandoned ship of Genesis is back with a ghost crew.' With Townsend covering a number of reed and woodwind instruments (including pennywhistle and recorder), as well as giving King some extra oomph with additional mellotron parts, his instrumental harmonies with Hackett on songs like Trick of the Tail's 'Dance on a Volcano' and (not played together, as Genesis so often did) the same album's closer, 'Los Endos' (where Sylvan appeared onstage for its one vocal line, 'There's an angel standing in the sun') he was but one demonstration that this may have been a ghost crew, but it was one hell of a good one, capable of things Genesis was unable to do back in the day, like executing Hackett's overdubbed guitar parts in performance.
The set's pinnacle was, of course, Genesis' 25-minute epic, 'Supper's Ready,' from Foxtrot, and if Sylvan's performance wasn't already beyond good enough—and it was—he also demonstrated a stamina that Gabriel didn't have back in the day. As charismatic and captivating as he was, Gabriel's voice was rarely able to make it through a full set without losing his upper range—one of the reasons why he insisted on overdubbing his vocal parts when the Genesis released Genesis Archives 1967-75 (Atlantic, 1998), a decision met with considerable anger from his fans as his voice had deepened and become much huskier in the two decades since he left the group, though he had managed to address his stamina issues, making his new vocal overdubs far too obvious.
Two encores: an epic 'Firth of Fifth,' from Selling England By The Pound, where King restored the album's intro after Banks had excised it from live performance early on; and a finale that began with a hard-rocking intro which, after a brief pass through Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition, found its way to 'Los Endos.'

It was a powerful conclusion to an evening that found Hackett and his group performing at the absolute top of their game. While any new music from Hackett is most welcome, it's important that he continue to keep the music of Genesis alive— whether as a small part of his regular live concerts or, as here, in a more concentrated effort that focuses exclusively on the music that, at least amongst progressive rock fans (and, based on his comments about sales, a group of people that continues to grow), has made him a household name. With a set this captivating, and performed by a group this good, Hackett's success deserves to translate into success for each and every member of the band, but in particular for Sylvan, a singer who placed in the unenviable position of filling some massive shoes, but who succeeded in doing so not through imitation, but through respectful reverence, the occasional total irreverence, and a commanding stage presence that suggests following him in whatever his next endeavor is will be a very good idea, indeed.
Photo Credit
All Photos: John Kelman

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