I’m sure Steve Hackett and his absolutely stellar band-Roger King (keyboards), Gary O’Toole (drums/percussion/vocals), Rob Townsend (saxes/flutes/keys/percussion), Jonas Reingold (bass/twelve string) and Nad Sylvan on vocals-have their off nights. You can’t play as many shows as the ex-Genesis ax man does and not have your ups and downs. But I am here to attest, that in the four times I have seen Mr. Hackett and his 5-piece, he has continues to amaze me.

With a show split into two parts, Hackett presented solo material in the first part of the night, Genesis in the second. At the wonderfully vintage Tarrytown Theatre, Mr. Hackett and band celebrated the 40^th anniversary of Steve Hackett’s second solo album, Please Don’t Touch. The 2 and 1/2 hour show opened with the that album’s title track, as well as later featuring other tunes from the album. Hackett also relied heavily on his last studio release, the spectacular The Night Siren, as well as closing that first half with the tune that always leaves me breathless, the drumming tour de force of “Shadow of the Hierophant.”

The real treat for me in this first half was a spot-on read of Hackett’s GTR hit, “When The Heart Rules The Mind.” GTR was the band he fronted wth Steve Howe in the MTV-era 80’s. It was fun to see such a serious prog assembly handle such a upbeat poppy tune so well.

The 2^nd second set never let up, the crowd especially pumped for the Genesis tunes, left hungry during the intermission from such a killer first set. Among the tunes here, Mr. Hackett and band gave forth on “Dancing With the Moonlit Knight,” “The Musical Box,” a deep turn at the very complex and ancient Genesis tune, “ The Fountain of Salmacis” and set ender, the classic Genesis song “Suppers Ready.”

The encore included more Genesis with a large piece of “Los Endos,” played, but quite frankly we were all rather done in by this point. Hackett and his band once again proved they are like no other outfit out there performing presently.