If your first name is Steve and your surname begins with the letter H, what are the chances you’ll grow up to be a progressive rock guitarist? That’s how it turned out for Steves Howe (Yes), Hackett (Genesis) and Hillage (Gong),all three of whom are alive and well in 2019 and continuing with their fascinating careers.
Hillage, the youngest of the three, had a short period of commercial prominence in the mid-to-late seventies, after leaving Gong and issuing a series of solo albums - Fish Rising, L, Motivation Radio, Green, Open - that struck a chord at a time of New Age thinking and macrobiotic diets. The combination of plangent soundscapes, courtesy of Hillage’s longtime collaborator (and fellow ex-Gong) Miquette Giraudy with HIllage’s soaringly lyrical guitar became one of the defining musical tropes of the period, though their work continued to evolve, via their ongoing ambient collaboration System 7. In the late nineties, they were hailed as prophets of the Ambient Scene.
This current tour, which kicks off in the summer with other dates added for the autumn, is less about where Hillage and Giraudy are at now than a celebration of their legacy. Joined by the current version of Gong - Dave Stuart on bass, Ian East on saxophone and assorted wind instruments, Kavus Torabi on rhythm guitar and backing vocals and drummer Cheb Nettles - they hit the Ritz stage for a two-hour set of ‘relevant nostalgia’. For one thing that became clear immediately was that the music has held up very well indeed, even if some of the lyrics are decidedly of their time.
Opening with 'Talking To The Sun', the opening track from the 1979’s appropriately-titled Open, Hillage and band tore through this survey of his prime period with impressive dedication and attention to detail. Although the arrangements stayed faithful to the studio originals, there was an extra element of funkiness, always contingent in the music, now given its proper due in a live setting and a testament to the excellent working relationship he seems to enjoy with the current iteration of his old band. They followed up with a cover version of George Harrison’s psychedelic Beatles number 'It’s All Too Much'. (Hillage is known for his ‘surprise’ Beatles covers, which actually give the originals a good run for their money). Donovan’s custom-made 'Hurdy-Gurdy Man' from 1976’s L was also dusted off to great effect.
Other highlights of the night were the resurrection of 'Salmon Song' from the 1975 solo debut Fish Rising, the audience participation favourite 'Light In The Sky' and the 'Glorious Om Riff' from Green. Hillage, playing a brutalist-looking 80-style ‘headless’ guitar, has lost nothing of the amazing dexterity he displayed forty years ago, even if he now looks less like the friend you might have dropped acid with back in the day than the bloke you’d play a round of golf with at the weekend. Giraudy still looks like the French film star she might have been (and, briefly, was).
They finished with a rousing version of the Cricket/Stones' chestnut 'Not Fade Away', played as a tribute to Gong’s late founder Daevid Allen. A Ritz packed with fans of all ages proved that this tour is not just an exercise in nostalgia.
Reviewer - Richard Ely
on - 7/6/19
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