Article from The Buffalo News, 1st November, 1993

With Friday leading off the Halloween weekend and the circus in town, the Icon fittingly played host to a most magical performance - not the rabbit-out-of-a-hat variety, but rather an unearthly talented musician to rival Orpheus himself - guitarist Steve Hackett. Once a key member in Genesis' early '70s revolving-door lineup, Hackett left the band to begin a solo career. Like many "old Genesis" fans, Hackett's followers are a loyal bunch, if much fewer in number than the millions of "new Genesis" fans. After watching Hackett weave his musical spell Friday night, the loyalty makes sense, but the numbers don't. Hackett walked onstage wearing a neatly pressed blue suit, smiled shyly at the excited crowd and as his band settled in their places, he began to play. His fingers moved up and down the neck of his guitar like spider legs, crawling along the frets and weaving a beautiful, multi-textured instrumental medley that included snippets from Genesis' Selling England by the Pound and Trick of the Tail albums as well as some of Hackett's older solo material. His music was soothing, along the lines of jazz-fusion, with an ethereal quality that conjured up mythological images of Orpheus' ability to enchant even Hades, the Greek god of the Underworld. But in no way did Steve Hackett's music resemble Muzak or soulless New Age background noise. His songs were more like aural paintings, with light strokes of melody suddenly giving way to broader, brighter chords to create brilliantly colorful pieces of art.

He dug his heels in a little for the wicked-sounding Vampyre With a Healthy Appetite from Guitar Noir, his latest album. His fans, who did not quite fill the Icon, were awestruck. In spite of the blatant adulation beaming at him, Hackett's demeanor was very English, very shy and extremely understated. He often segued from one song into another, creating a fury of screams and applause the moment his fans recognized the tune. As he moved from Vampyre into Shadow of the Hierophant from Voyage of the Acolyte, his first solo effort, Hackett's contribution to early Genesis became apparent. The combination of hypnotic rhythms and keyboards filling up all empty spaces in the music provided the perfect background for Hackett's textured solos. When he sang, which was infrequently, he half spoke his mythical lyrics in a low voice not unlike that of fellow Englishman David Bowie. Backed by three phenomenal musicians, including drummer Hugo Degenhardt, Hackett returned for his encore - which included a drop-dead solo by Degenhardt and a cover of the love theme from Cinema Paradiso. Hackett finished up with "... In That Quiet Earth from Genesis' Wind and Wuthering album, and, his spell indelibly cast, left the stage from whence he came - probably someplace that mere mortals could never find. © The Buffalo News, 1993