Prog legend Steve Hackett, mirabile dictu, made a tour stop here in Madison last week and of course I was there.
https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/v99/tim_archer/hackett-madison.jpg
This was another date on his Foxtrot at 50 tour which I caught in Chicago back in November. Taking my seat at the Orpheum last Thursday night, I found that I was to enjoy the show next to a lovely young woman, a rarity at such a concert. Truth be known, I wasn't sure if she was even of legal drinking age. At first I figured someone, say, her father or a nerdy boyfriend, would appear and sit down next to her but that never happened. Good for her, I say! Glad to see a young woman taking matters into her own hands to administer a heavy dose of classic prog.
This show wasn't dramatically different from the one I attended last autumn. A couple solo songs were dropped - "Ace of Wands" and "The Steppes" - and replaced by 3 songs from Steve's latest album, The Circus And The Nightwhale. This showed a strong confidence in the new material, something aging proggers generally lack in concert these days. I am not familiar with most of the new album but have to say that "Circo Inferno" was just great live. It has a vaguely Middle Eastern feel but mainly it just rocks, including some great sax from Rob Townsend, and gets things moving early in the set to fire up the crowd. Plus, it has a whistle that both hearkened back to "Willow Farm" and foreshadowed the second set.
Craig Blundell once again turned "The Shadow of the Hierophant" into a resplendent set closer of transcendental beauty. That guy is just amazing and I don't just mean a great player. I mean it in the original sense of the word: I am filled with wonder and astonishment at his playing. The guy just plays parts that are intriguing and his fills are melodic, leaving me wondering where he's going next. He did the same thing during "Apocalypse in 9/8" and I laughed aloud at myself as I failed epically to bob and move my head in time with his beat. It just wasn't possible.
My eyes welled during "Ikhnaton and Itsacon and Their Band of Merry Men" ("waiting for battle!") and I felt the tears slowly fall down my cheeks until they were handily soaked up by my rather bushy beard. They did so again during Steve's extended solo that closed "Supper's Ready". Rather than fading out like the studio version, he gently lead us towards boundless joy for a few minutes.
I was hoping for a song or two from The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway during the encore as Hackett is set to celebrate that album's 50th(!!) anniversary on a tour later this year but, alas, no. Still, he's got a fantastic band behind him and decades of songs to play. There is something magical for me in hearing songs live that I have known and loved for nearly 40 years. They've become just like old friends and it's always a pleasure to spend time with them.
Some video from the show has been posted on Youtube.
No comments:
Post a Comment