Steve Hackett has a way of making you feel not like a journalist but as a friend invited to his own home, sharing a cup of tea on the sofa... I met Steve before his concert in my home town of Spilimbergo, on August 1, we talked for half an hour about his new album Beyond the Shrouded Horizon, that will see the light of day on September 27th; we also talked about his previous record, about Genesis and about his perception of the Folkest festival, which he masterfully closed with his set. To sit on that couch with him inside the former Cinema Castello, right in the Duomo square was like a dream come true... How many times had I walked or driven around it, with his or Genesis music blaring out of my stereo or headphones since I was a kid? And there he was, the perfect English gentleman, answering my questions, my curiosities. We would have talked more but other guests were waiting and soundcheck was incumbent on him and the band. Needless to say the performace was flawless, a set that saw him go back in time and play a lot of Genesis numbers like the Hackett/Collins penned Blood on the Rooftops, Firth of Fifth, Watcher of the Skies or a more experimental version of Los Endos but also a good selection from his more recent albums (the nostalgic Golden Age of Steam for example) and a lot of his own classics (he opened with Everyday but also played the melancholic Spectral Mornings, the epic The Steppes and Ace of Wands, or Clocks - The Angel of Mons that closed the whole set). The show was electric, with his only concession to acoustic numbers being the obvious Horizons and the introduction to Blood on The Rooftops. Gary O'Toole (his drummer) sang the Genesis tunes with a good delivery, Roger King was his usual right arm, Rob Townsend played sax and flute with great skill and the eye-catching Nick Beggs played fretless bass, Rickenbacker bass (who does that remind you of?) and some guitar (his acoustic solo was acclaimed by the whole audience)... I need to thank the Folkest festival organisation and Vania Santi from Blue Sky Promotion for giving me the opportunity to meet and friendly chat with Steve. Keep up the good work!Podcast of interview now published!
