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2 Pints of Saki and a
Packet of Crisps …
Written by John Hackett
Originally published in the Journal of the Classic Rock Society
Reproduced here by kind permission |
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Tribute to the Love
Generation – what a great name for a club. We were due to play a
3 night stint there with the Steve Hackett acoustic trio – best of all
it was in Tokyo, where I’d never been before. Would there be groups of
Japanese sitting on the floor strumming guitars, smoking dope with
flowers in their hair? Actually, the best aspect for me was getting
back on stage in 2002 after a gap of nearly 10 years, due to injury
problems.
On checking into the hotel I did my classic technophobe act and
couldn’t operate the electronic key card to my room. When help finally
arrived, my first thoughts then turned to tea, but on a closer
inspection of the room kettle this did not prove so easy. There were so
many switches and lights on this brewing machine that it looked more
suited to satellite navigation that making a simple cuppa. We were
clearly in the land of technology where everything worked (if only you
knew how).
The hotel was a short walk to the club in Odaiba, an island on the
outskirts of Tokyo, well known as a magnet for week-end courting
couples. There was a beautiful view across the bay to the bright
city lights and walking down by the shore, you were aware of the small
army of cleaners who diligently patrolled the area.
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| The Perfect Stool |
The club itself was situated on the
upper floor of a shopping complex. There were smiles all round from
musicians and crew, as it was clear at the first sound-check that
everything requested had been provided with painstaking efficiency,
down to a stool at the precise height for a jet-lagged English flute
player. It is always a worry when playing an acoustic set in a club
that shouts of “2 pints of saki and a packet of crisps, please” will
drown out the music, but when it came to it, the audience could not
have been more attentive. |
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Afterwards, once the relief
of knowing I could still remember all the old numbers had set in, it
was a moving experience to see so many people the other side of the
world queuing up for Steve’s autograph with their copies of Voyage of the Acolyte and other very
early albums under their arms. A few were close to tears, not that I
had played that badly, but because the Genesis references like Hairless Heart had pushed memory
buttons with some of them. For me it’s a bit like Baby, You’re a Rich Man which
always reminds me of one of the first teenage (love generation?)
parties I ever went to. As I walked in, I caught a whiff of burning
joss-sticks. Unfortunately my words got a bit mixed up and out came, “I
smell incest!”
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| A New Angle |
Things went smoothly
with our short residency until one morning I realised that my
(Japanese) flute had sprung a leak. Naomi, who worked for the promoter,
was really helpful and phoned round for a repairer. And so it was that
she and I set off across Tokyo on the subway in search of the Sankyo
workshop.
After asking a few directions
Naomi located a basement in an unassuming side street. We descended
into an Aladdin’s cave of gleaming flutes, busy technicians and photos
on the walls of well-known players who presumably had also dropped in
for a desperate pre-concert tweak.
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The repairer himself could
not have been more helpful. Although my own flute was of a different
make, I commented that I used to borrow a beautiful solid silver Sankyo
alto flute (Christmas is coming, Mum!) for the occasional session. The
repair-man gave a solemn bow and spoke reverently. Naomi translated,
‘he says “thank you for using Sankyo flute”’. Actually, he was
fascinated by my own instrument because of the unusual head-joint, made
by an English flute-maker, Mike Allen, which allows you to alter the
playing angle from the conventional transverse to fully vertical like a
clarinet or soprano sax. I’ve put some contact addresses at the end if
any of you doublers or flute players with neck/shoulder problems are
interested.
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Green Tea Drinker
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While the Sankyo man (whose name, I’m
sorry to say, I’ve forgotten) was fixing my flute, Naomi took me round
the corner to a traditional Japanese tea-house. The place was buzzing
and, in an attempt to do a “when in Rome”, I said I would have whatever
she was having. She ordered green tea which I had not tried before.
They brought some green glasses of a cold, bland tasting substance
which I sipped disappointedly. I managed a comment of, “Mmm, yes, very
nice!” “That’s just water” she said … Back at the flute shop it was
bows all round again. The technician had done an excellent job on my
Muramatsu and even provided a diagram of which pads he had replaced and
adjusted.
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| Love-In |
The
final night at the club ended with a love-in of a different kind. Many
people had come every night and Steve received a standing ovation. For
me, having been told by one consultant after my car accident that it
was unlikely I would play again, it was a tremendous feeling to be back
on stage with my brother.
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This
is the last article I shall be writing for the time
being. Thanks to Martin Hudson for allowing me to prattle on about the
old days. Now that my rock album is finished, my New Year’s resolution
is to make it along to more CRS gigs next year!
For information on the Mike Allen multi-head-joint
Email: afp@allflutesplus.co.uk
or enquiries@topwind.com
John will be on
tour with Steve Hackett and Roger King from 13th March to 16th
April this year.
His rock album Checking
out of London was released 7th February 2005.
John can be contacted via his website: www.johnhackett.net
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To read another John Hackett
article, please select from the following:
* 'Looking
For Someone'
* 'Star Clusters'
* 'The
Gardener, the Clark, his Wife
and the Ligger...'
* 'I Know What I
Don't Like (In My Wardrobe)'
* 'Revelations'
To visit John's website, click here
To visit The Classic Rock Society's website, click here
... or go back to stevehackett.com here |
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