Steve Hackett Event – Remscheid, 27 + 28 March 2009 – Event report

A weekend full of experiences, encounters, joy, affection, and auditory and visual delights.

First of all, we must acknowledge the exemplary and dedicated preparatory work of the more than twenty people who were involved in making this event happen, which made such a result possible in the first place. The Steve Hackett event was only announced on the website on 24 December 2008, before all the work of promotion, ticket sales and the rest of the organisation was carried out in just under three months.

On the day of arrival, many discover the small district of Lennep in Remscheid, birthplace of Wilhelm Röntgen – discoverer of X-rays – and also the birthplace of editorial team member Christian, who had the idea of holding the event here.

The entire Hackett crew stayed at the Hotel Berliner Hof, located at one end of the old town. The other hotel guests, including the three of us from France, had all booked tickets for the event. At the other end of the old town, about 700 metres from the hotel, was the venue, the Klosterkirche cultural centre.

The venue was aptly chosen, no wonder Steve compared it to 'Grimm's fairy tales or the story of the Pied Piper of Hamelin' – or to 'archaic charm that is unexpectedly reminiscent of a Tim Burton film set', as he himself wrote in his blog report. Narrow cobbled streets, typical regional houses – one can only agree with Steve. Steve, who repeatedly takes up this theme in his artwork, seemed to feel very much at home in Lennep.

FRIDAY

Since the three of us were also responsible for merchandising for The Watch, and Katrin, John Hackett's wife, was responsible for John and Nick Magnus, we were able to stroll into the monastery church early in the afternoon. The Watch, who had to expect a slightly longer sound check, were trying to decide whether or not to retune the Mellotron. It had been lent to them by a local fan, but he hadn't played it in a long time. So they had to resort to the Mellotron studio samples, which, thankfully, had been provided in case of failure. This delayed the soundcheck, and the doors of the hall didn't open until around 6 p.m. The hall, which had free seating, filled up smoothly and quickly.

At the same time, there was a special exhibition about Steve Hackett at the cultural centre, with every conceivable poster, photo, book, collector's item in every language and other rarities that outlined Steve's musical career. This was certainly a laborious research project, which Helmut Janisch carried out with Sherlock Holmes-like meticulousness, which also impressed Steve greatly. There were things there that even Steve couldn't remember…

And on the first floor, on the same floor as the concert hall, at the other end of the corridor, there was a Genesis Collectors Market, with every conceivable record by the craziest artists and projects that had more or less to do with Genesis.

At around 6.30 p.m., our heroes Helmut, Peter, Bernd and Christian appeared on stage. Christian Gerhards, as presenter and showmaster, welcomed the eventers and introduced the programme for the event. Bilingual, as on similar occasions before. As an aperitif, there were a few rare Hackett videos to watch, such as this incredible one from the Bottom Line Club in New York in 1980, in which Steve jumps around on stage in an amazing version of Clocks and shouts at the audience, and a completely crazy Spinal Tap-like John Shearer jumping around on the drums and roaring like he was being castrated during his solo in Angel of Mons. The eventers were doubled up with laughter. Also worth mentioning was a fantastic road movie version of A Blue Part Of Town with Steve on harmonica and Julian Colbeck on electric piano – an excerpt from a duo performance in Italy in 1994.

Stage Interview

After a short break, Christian accompanied Steve Hackett onto the stage to thunderous applause and took his seat for the eagerly awaited fan interview.

Nothing really new was revealed, but that wasn't the intention of this fan interview. But there were many answers that fans had asked themselves or in forums, such as whether Steve actually played guitar parts on all three songs on the Spot the Pigeon EP and not just on Inside and Out. A masterclass-like question came up about his way of composing, from an artistic or instrumental point of view, in which his solo duels with Tony Banks or Nick Magnus were mentioned as examples. Steve replied that at Genesis his role was expected to be that of an instrumentalist, and Tony didn't give him much leeway for his own ideas at first.

So he tried to incorporate his guitar playing into the pieces more as embellishment, such as the famous 'Tic Toc' in Musical Box, or to synchronise with existing motifs. His first attempts at inventing his own solos and offering the group entire songs were probably pieces such as Horizons and For Absent Friends.

Steve seemed to really enjoy chatting with his fans. He made an effort to speak slowly, using appropriate vocabulary, and sometimes asked Christian if he was explaining too much at once, so as not to hinder the translation – a true gentleman.

After the fan interview, there was a generous refreshment break, with all the stands running at full speed: merchandising, exhibition, collectors' market and a sausage with a good beer.

John Hackett and Nick Magnus live

At 9 p.m., the show continued with a romantic and intimate acoustic set by John Hackett and Nick Magnus, who played songs from Hexameron and Double Helix, some of John's 'classic' albums, and an amazingly beautiful version of Steve's Hammer in the Sand, which received long-lasting applause.

Then John unpacked his folk guitar, stood at the microphone and sang four songs from his 2005 band album Checking Out of London in a duo version, including an unexpectedly profound Dreamtown, which is sung by ReGenesis singer Tony Patterson on the album. Listening to these newly arranged songs, one could only hope that John would one day release a sequel to his first rock album.

All the songs from this set that John and Nick had brought with them were specially rearranged and rehearsed for this event, which made the performance even more unique, and it is uncertain whether they would ever perform the same set in this form anywhere else. That alone made the event very special. Steve Hackett, who was there, writes in his blog how much he enjoyed experiencing the two of them with this unique sound.

Setlist:

John (Spoken Intro)
Freefall
Le Chat Noir
Prelude to Summer
Nippy Tune
Nick (Spoken Intro)
Fantasy
Hallway and the Pram
Winter
Twilight Forest
Hammer in the Sand (segue into…)
Dreamtown
Jacuzzi

The Watch

Simone Rossetti: Gesang, D'Tambu, Querflöte
Giorgio Gabriel: E- und Akustische Gitarren
Marco Fabbri: Schlagzeug, Percussions und Gesang
Guglielmo Mariotti: Bass, Bass Pedals, 12 Saiten Gitarre und Gesang
Valerio de Vittorio: Keyboards, 12 Saiten Gitarre und Gesang.
Simone Stucchi: Tontechnik und Mischpult

The Watch rounded off the day with a late-night Early Genesis set, into which they repeatedly incorporated older and newer songs from their own repertoire. Accompanied by John Hackett on the transverse flute, the performance began with The Shepherd, which John gave a new look with specially arranged flute parts. A very symbolically chosen opener from the pre-Trespass era, with minimalist piano, guitar and tambourine, just like Genesis really sounded when they were 17-18 years old, a cover that other tribute bands would probably never have chosen.

Whether you like The Watch's songs or not is certainly a matter of taste, but the ones that were selected, including an acoustic version of Soaring On, newly rehearsed especially for the event, as well as the medley of Two Paces To The Rear and Another Life, all three from the 2007 album Primitive, together with Apocalypse Fisherman embedded in 9/8-As Sure As Egg is Egg, was certainly not the unwise choice for a Hackett event. The intention was to offer something equivalent from his own art.

The rest of the repertoire consisted of Trespass/Nursery Cryme/Foxtrot classics and never-before-played songs such as Time Table. According to the audience, John Hackett was delighted with The Watch's interpretation of The Musical Box. The whole thing was performed with a lot of energy and intensity, only the drums were a little too loud for the listeners in the front rows, a problem that could have been solved with a partition wall. Otherwise, the general live programme of the day, with plenty of songs from over thirty years, was representative enough to do justice to the first part of the event.

Setlist:

The Shepherd (feat. John Hackett)
Looking For Someone
Stagnation
Fountain Of Salmacis
Twilight Alehouse
Can-Utility And The Coastliners
Soaring On (The Watch)
Seven Stones
The Musical Box
Time Table
Two Paces to the Rear /Another Life (The Watch)
The Reurn Of The Giant Hogweed
The Fischerman (The Watch)
Apocalypse in 9/8 / As Sure As Eggs Is Eggs

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SATURDAY:

Very few people got much sleep. Those who made a last-minute trip to Lennep on Saturday looked visibly fresher, including Katrin, alias Zahme Lamie, who had travelled from Berlin and is known for her cocktails during events in Welkers. But first, the guests at the Berliner Hof hotel had the pleasant surprise of welcoming Steve Hackett and his crew at the breakfast table. At least we had the privilege of exchanging a few words with Jo and Steve at the breakfast table, with Steve himself talking freely about his plans, music and business.

Jo also seemed very supportive of Steve's future career and encouraged him greatly. Steve explained to us that his two-year absence from the stage and the associated cancellation of the Wild Orchids Tour were due to formal legal reasons relating to his negotiations with his former manager Bill Budis and his ex-wife Kim Poor. A lot of time was invested in the legal proceedings and, with regard to his former management, Steve said that the work he had expected Bill to do, mainly tour planning, had not been done. Steve admitted that he missed the contact with his fans, which had been very limited in recent years.

That's why, according to Steve, he wants to take everything into his own hands from now on and take care of his business himself with the help of Jo and Brian Coles (his new manager). In short, there are new staff, a new website and new projects. Kudos to him for approaching this new phase of his life with such enthusiasm at almost 60 years of age; some of his former colleagues could learn a thing or two from him.

Back at the cultural centre, where visitors discussed a wide variety of topics from 2 p.m. onwards. There was plenty of choice. Some caught up with old acquaintances over a beer, others crowded around for a pre-autograph session with Steve and his mates. Still others used the time to dig up the most impossible newspaper clippings from the collectors' markets. Everyone was busy or simply happy.

The afternoon was enriched with another video presentation of Steve's career, followed by an interactive competition in which every event visitor could participate. The well-designed quiz, moderated by Christian, allowed every visitor to participate at the same time, as each player had two cards at their disposal to answer the questions posed by Christian. A green card to answer yes to the question, a red card to answer no. Everyone stood up at the beginning of each round, and the last person standing won a prize of their choice. There were five rounds, and an exciting hour had passed in no time. This ensured a cheerful atmosphere until the next item on the programme.

But first, there was a great fan meeting in the hallway of the cultural centre with Steve and his band members, and he himself generously asked the audience to have their photos taken with everyone, even with Grandma, if the fans wanted to. Isn't that a big concession? The fans didn't need to be told twice, and so there was a whole flashlight show, with Steve in the arms of his fans, or Steve in the arms of his fans and music lovers, signed items, guitars, even tattoos on their legs, which he signed.

Finally, the final bouquet, the crowning glory of the event, the promised Storyteller Show…

Steve Hackett Acoustic Trio

Fantastic!!! What else can be said? The set naturally had Steve's British accent, inspired, baroque, with his typical sensitivity.

Steve Hackett: Acoustic guitar
John Hackett: Flutes
Roger King: Keyboards

In contrast to his electric set two weeks earlier in Italy, the whole thing was certainly much calmer, served with that classic serenity, without that raw energy, without those electric discharges that take you by surprise – but that is balanced in the broadest sense by a mixture of rich acoustic sounds from piano, guitar, flutes and string carpets.

Tracks such as Ace of Wands and Jacuzzi were given an elegant makeover, much to the delight of die-hard Hackett fans and those who discovered these pieces from the 70s for the first time at the event.

Jazz On a Summers Night, which is jazz in name only, and Roger King's mysterious M3, which Steve played with his eyes closed, also aroused curiosity. And for those who weren't satisfied with the ritualistic Horizons, there were still true treasures such as Hands Of The Priestess/The Hermit, Bacchus, Second Chance and Walking Away for Rainbows. However, the biggest applause was reserved for some forgotten Hackett numbers from his Genesis days, such as After the Ordeal and Hairless Heart.

Visibly satisfied and very moved, Steve left the stage to thunderous applause from his admirers and those who had only just discovered him today. At the exciting age of 59, life seems to have only just begun for him, and this event has certainly contributed to his rebirth.

Setlist:

Steve Hackett solo medley:
Classical Jazz (intro)
End of Day
Skye Boat Song
The Fountain Suite (excerpt)
Horizons

Acoustic Trio:
Jacuzzi
Apocalypse in 9/8 (intro)
After the Ordeal
Hairless Heart
M3
Next Time Around
Jazz on a Summer's Night
Imagining
Second Chance
Walking Away From Rainbows
Improvisation
The Red Flower of Tachai Blooms Everywhere
Hands of the Priestess
The Hermit
Ace of Wands

Zugaben
Bacchus (incl. excerpt from Firth of Fifth)
Gnossienne No.1

All in all

And so a wonderful weekend came to a confident close, with Christian showing himself to be no less moved than Steve had been shortly before in his farewell speech – delivered, as always, in perfect English. This was a sign that only a well-prepared organisation, as Steve praised in his blog, could make such an event possible, with all its unexpected bonuses, where everyone – fans, musicians and organisers alike – could feel at home as if they were part of a family.

In this sense, the term 'event' takes on a different, new meaning for visitors and artists at such an event, one that is miles away from that of a concert.

Author: Paul Herlitschka

Tickets and admission control wristbands for the event:

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Program, 27 March 2009

17:00 Admission
18:00 Welcome
18:10 Video presentation (1)
7:00 p.m. Steve Hackett on-stage interview
8:45 p.m. John Hackett / Nick Magnus: Acoustic set live
9:30 p.m. The Watch – Early Genesis set!

In between / afterwards: Extensive and never-before-seen exhibition about Steve Hackett, collectors' market, autograph and photo session

Programm, 28 March 2009

14:00 Admission
15:00 Welcome
15:10 Video presentation (2)
16:15 Interactive competition (attractive prizes)
17:30 Video presentation (3)
19:30 Steve Hackett Acoustic Trio – Storytellers Show

In between/afterwards: extensive and never-before-seen exhibition about Steve Hackett, collectors' market, autograph and photo session