With his old band having retired for good in 2022 and Peter Gabriel never looking back following his 1975 departure, guitar hero Steve Hackett remains the sole torchbearer of the Genesis legacy in 2025. While Hackett himself would go onto have a celebrated solo career, with the sporadic collaboration along the way (i.e. GTR with Steve Howe, Squackett with Chris Squire, etc.), it’s his tenure with Genesis that remains the stuff of legend to this day. And perhaps no album of that tenure is more legendary than the classic lineup’s 1974 swansong, The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway.
A surrealist rock opera that saw Genesis fusing their English symphonic prog theatrics with elements of pop rock, hard rock, ambient, and beyond, Lamb tells the tale of a troubled young man named Rael and his introspective meanderings through the concrete jungle of New York City: A sort of missing link between The Who’s Quadrophenia and Queensrÿche’s Operation: Mindcrime. The album’s fraught recording process, coupled with an equally strenuous world tour, led to the band’s implosion, with Gabriel exiting upon said tour’s conclusion. Considering its infamy in Genesis lore, it’s all the more reason why, in 2025, it’s nothing short of mind-blowing to see the band reunite for the meticulous curation of an anniversary remix/remaster boxset of said album. Although this reunion didn’t extend past the mixing board and the one-off press appearance, Hackett is sure to keep the celebration going with his current Lamb Highlights & Solo Tour.
Though I normally wouldn’t make the haul from Chicago’s far northside to Joliet (home of the prison that housed the infamous Jake Blues) on a weekday during rush hour, I couldn’t stand to miss such an epic performance. Besides, the last couple times I caught Hackett, he was celebrating Genesis’ 1972 masterpiece, Foxtrot, and 1977 live behemoth, Seconds Out, respectively. Both of those shows were highlights of their respective years, and I knew in my prog-famished gut that this year’s performance would follow suit. Upon settling into the Rialto Square Theatre after a hellish 2 hour drive, the excitement began to take hold. This old school theatre wasn’t far off at all from the very venues Genesis would’ve played during their early ’70s heyday, and fit the atmosphere of the performance to a T.
The first half of Hackett’s show, as with every Hackett show, highlights his varied 50 year solo career with cuts both old and new. Spotlighting the old guard, the uneasy “A Tower Struck Down” and epic “Shadow of the Hierophant” off 1975’s Voyage of the Acolyte, a glorified Genesis album sans keyboardist Tony Banks, and my personal favorite, the melodic prog masterpiece, “Every Day” off 1978’s Spectral Mornings. Interestingly enough, Hackett’s later output is less reminiscent of classic Genesis and more in line with modern day prog metal stalwarts, Devin Townsend and Opeth, as exemplified by cuts like “People of the Smoke” and “Circo Inferno”. However, it was the colossal “The Devil’s Cathedral”, which saw keyboardist Roger King tackle the Rialto’s very own organ for the song’s intro. Talk about a once in a lifetime experience!
After a roughly 20 minute intermission, the cruel, unforgiving sounds of New York City’s subway started echoing over the speakers. It was time for the main event. A thousand plus prog faithful, decked out in their vintage concert shirts and white beards, sang together in unison: “And the lamb lies down on Broadway!” Outside the Rialto, it was 2025. Inside, it was 1974. True to its title, Hackett and his band treated the diehard audience to highlights off the iconic Lamb album. Although I would’ve preferred the bombastic affair from front to back, I certainly can’t complain about the songs that were played, amongst them being signature cuts like “Carpet Crawlers” and “Lilywhite Lilith”, as well as dramatic deep cuts like “Fly on a Windshield” / “Broadway Melody of 1974” and the climactic closer, “it”.
As if this tour de force wasn’t enough, Hackett and company followed this mini-Lamb exploration with “a little song off Foxtrot” entitled “Supper’s Ready”. Now I’d like to think that those with even a casual knowledge of prog rock are aware of this masterpiece, but assuming you’re not (after all, this IS a metal site, so you are forgiven), “Supper’s Ready” is the 23 minute closing song off Foxtrot, occupying its entire B-side. It’s a Herculean task for a band of musicians to even remember the song from start to finish, let alone play it. Hackett and his accompanying band of virtuosos did so with ease, the guitar-slinging grandmaster even executing those iconic proto-Van Halen finger tap passages with flawless precision.
An encore of the tear-inducing “Firth of Fifth”, followed by a smashing rendition of the instrumental “Los Endos” (complete with a Nick D’Virgilio drum battering!) served as an explosive ending to an evening of music that could only be described as epic. Sure, it would be incredible to see Hackett reunite with his old mates Peter, Tony, Mike, and drummer Nic Collins in place of his old man Phil, for one last go-around. The prices would also likely rival that of the recently-reunited Rush. If you are a Genesis fan who yearns to hear this music played live and proper, Steve Hackett and his band are an absolute must see, and the next best thing to a time machine. The lamb may have died down on Broadway in ’74, but the music lives forever.
Setlist
Set 1 (Solo)
- “People of the Smoke”
- “Circo Inferno”
- “These Passing Clouds”
- “The Devil’s Cathedral”
- “Every Day”
- “A Tower Struck Down”
- “Casino Royale”
- “Shadow of the Hierophant”
Set 2 (Genesis)
- “The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway”
- “Fly on a Windshield”
- “Broadway Melody of 1974”
- “Hairless Heart”
- “Carpet Crawlers”
- “The Chamber of 32 Doors”
- “Lilywhite Lilith”
- “The Lamia”
- “it”
- “Supper’s Ready”
Encore
- “Firth of Fifth”
- “Los Endos”
