Steve Hackett performing his Seconds Out + More! Tour at The Royal Concert Hall Nottingham on Saturday 2nd October 2021



Images and Review by Kevin Cooper

Steve Hackett returned to the Royal Concert Hall last night to play what was undoubtedly Genesis’ best live album ever, Seconds Out, in its entirety. Originally released in 1977, six days after Hackett left the band to go solo; it was still warmly regarded by this eager crowd.

Split into two sets, the opener Clocks – The Angels Of Mons immediately showcased Hackett’s adventurous playing style. From his latest album Surrender Of Silence there was the tender yet aggressive Held In The Shadows with its scorching guitar licks, pounding drums and soaring vocals from Nad Sylvan, which was followed up with fans favourite, Everyday.

Another new track, the wonderfully sinister The Devil’s Cathedral complete with its shredding guitar solo gave way to an abridged version of Shadow Of The Hierophant which built to a tremendous crescendo and which brought the first set to a triumphant end.

For Seconds Out, Hackett delivered a master class in musicianship and with a band that matched him note for note. Opener Squonk set the scene before Hackett picked up his acoustic guitar for the very tender The Carpet Crawlers. Robbery, Assault And Battery took full advantage of a swinging rhythm section provided by the very talented Jonas Reingold and its tricky keyboard runs were handled with ease by Roger King.

Afterglow played out against a classic backdrop of white spotlights all pointing down, whilst Firth Of Fifth boasted the most extravagant Hackett solo in Genesis’ catalogue which he nailed with ease, with cheers from the audience to prove it. The Cinema Show which started off slow expanded to a major keyboard and drum spectacle to bring the album to an end.

For the encore there was a thunderous Dance On A Volcano which morphed into a full blown drum solo of 70’s proportions before things were brought to a climatic end with a full on version of Los Endos showing that Hackett is still worth the ticket price.