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The last time I saw Steve Hackett in concert was at the Bottom Line in NYC, 1992, the crowd was feverish for Steve, who played a few classics, but kept to a lot of newer material. He hired a couple `hired guns' on his America tour and though talented, I felt the band did not gel.

Look no further! Ten years later, Steve- armed with a group of gifted musicians created with music and lights an amazing set of brilliance, moods and power. Unlike his Genesis ex-mates, Steve didn't shy away from his Genesis past or early solo material.

Though the show started late due to technical difficulties, the band's sound was perfect and seemed that they have been together forever! The first few tunes were moody and set up the audience with a fantastic medley of Hackett, Genesis and GTR bits. The group was tight and the lighting was light years ahead of the rest of the bands at the festival and intelligently showcased the dramatics and atmosphere of each composition.

The crowd started to really get totally mesmerized when they heard `Watcher of the Skies,' which blended into The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway's- `Hairless Heart' and ended on the `Firth of Fifth' guitar solo to the first of many prolonged standing ovations.

Roger King's keyboard sounds and talent clearly showed a respect for classic Genesis songs and during some portions of the show, I just closed my eyes and thought I was back in 1977!

`The Steppes,' is still one of my favorite songs, and with Steve playing with sax/flute player Rob Townsend, it felt like they have been playing together for decades. The addition of Townsend gave the band ample opportunities to add jazzy bits to some of the newer compositions as well as complimented King's keyboards and Hackett's guitars remarkably well.

After some beautiful acoustic work, Steve acknowledged John Entwistle passing and dedicated the Darktown song- `In Memoriam' to his memory.

Next came a song that is not one of my favorites- `Vampyre with a Healthy Appetite.' Steve used voice effects to disguise the limitations in his lead vocals and created p a creepy mood which increased the tension of the piece... I'm starting to like the song!

After a gorgeously played `Spectral Mornings' (Steve said- he hadn't played in 10 years), to a standing ovation, Steve went back to the moody, dark sounds from Darktown, then ended up with two favorites, `Camino Royale,' and `Everyday' which were played perfectly to more standing cheers.

As the curfew for the War Memorial was closing near... Steve and his band came out and finished up with the long awaited acoustic `Horizons,' and the instrumental version of `Shadow of the Heirophant,' right from his Tokyo Tapes concert. The drum solo led into `Los Endos.' The place erupted! After another ear-piercing ovation, Steve gave us `Sierra Quemada,' as a final encore.

On the whole, this was the finest Steve Hackett concert I have seen (with the possible exception of 1981's Savoy Theatre show)! Musicianship was off the scale. I was hoping that Steve would play `Clocks' or an obscure Genesis song, but I guess you can't have everything. My only disappointment, as the line formed in the hall to get an autograph and a handshake; a worker from the Memorial told us that there would be no autographs. After we left, I was told that there was a curfew of midnight and Steve greeted and signed albums until 2AM at the Marriott. Still, this disappointment couldn't damper the memory of an amazing concert, full of power, beauty and talent. Thanks Steve, great gig, but you still owe me a handshake.

9.0/10

Set list:

The Floating Seventh

Mechanical Bride

Medley ( Please Don't Touch, Imagining, Ace of Wands, Hackett to Pieces )

Serpentine Song

Watcher of The Skies

Hairless Heart/Firth of Fifth

Riding The Colossus

Pollution

The Steppes

Satie (Gnossienne No.1)

Walking Away From Rainbows

In Memoriam

Slave Girls

Vampyre With A Healthy Appetite

Spectral Mornings

Lucridus

Darktown

Camino Royale

Every Day

Encore:

Horizons

Shadow of The Hierophant/Los Endos

Sierra Quemada