In 1978 I attended the first solo gig by Steve Hackett (born on February 12th, 1950 in London) in The Netherlands, in the Congresgebouw in The Hague, in a half empty hall and Hackett hardly played Genesis compositions, only I Know What I like and a few acoustic pieces, like Horizons. Last week I attended one of the four gigs in a row in Cultuurpodium Boerderij in Zoetermeer, these concerts were completely sold out within a

Steve Hackett (center) with band

very short time (the first one was even added, due to the huge demand for tickets) and Hackett played a lot of Genesis compositions, only on electric guitar, what a difference between Hackett solo in 1978 and 2024!
This evening the band started with 3 songs from the highly acclaimed new album The Circus And The Nightwale (2024, see review), to be honest, I am not familiar with this new work but very soon I was delighted with the music that sounds dynamic, tasteful and melodic, topped with Hackett's versatile guitar play, from loud rock guitar riffs to moving runs, and fuelled by excellent musicians, inspired and skilled. The crowd loved it and Hackett and his band were clearly pleased by the huge response of their fans. Next keyboard player Roger King showed his wide range of keyboard sounds, this time the church organ in The Devil's Catherdral, a strong track from his previous solo album Surrender Of Silence (2021, see review). Then Hackett returned to his earlier albums, with Every Day (wonderful guitar solo) and the exciting Ace Of Wands, one of my favourites from his debut album (1975). Bass player Jonas Reingold got room for a solo piece, he stunned the crowd with impressive scale acrobatics, including inspiration from Bach and Jimi Hendrix. Other

Nad Sylvan (with beatring)

band member Rob Townsend delivered a sensational, pretty wild saxophone solo in Camino Royale. Set 1 was concluded with the epic Shadow Of The Hierophant (part 2), trademark Steve Hackett with howling volume pedal driven runs and a deep bass pedal sound, goose bumps!

In Set 2 the focus was on The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway 2-LP, 9 tracks in total, from the sparkling piano intro in TLLDOB to the swinging rhythm in It. I have always been a huge fan of Steve Hackett and his work on TLLDOB, and he did a great job, in combination with often majestic Mellotron choirs, a fresh contribution by Rob Townsend with his wood - and brass instruments, and Nad Sylvan his beautiful and intense vocals. Especially in Carpet Crawlers and The Chamber Of 32 Doors, wow, how inspired he sounded, totally into the music! Then Hackett announced tracks from Selling England By The Pound, obviously one of his favourite albums, huge roars in the crowd, haha, what a prog joy this evening: Dancing With The Moonlit Knight, The Cinema Show and Aisle Of Plenty, Steve Hackett and his band carried us away to Prog Heaven, what exciting renditions of these Prog Rock Classics, top notch, and Hackett was shining, and smiling, and humble and grateful, wow!

After a short break Steve Hackett and his band returned for the 'encores'. First one of the most beautiful and compelling symphonic rock compositions ever made, Firth Of Fifth, including the virtuoso piano intro and halfway Steve Hackett his legendary guitar solo, what a build-up and climax, in an extended version, goose bumps! Next a spectacular drum solo by Craig Blundell, dynamic, thunderous, furious, ending in a wet t-shirt, and a huge applause, very well deserved! The final part was a tribute to the Seconds Out album with a wonderful version of Los Endos (part 1 and 2), in between the spectacular early Hackett instrumental Slogans. I have seen Steve Hackett solo many times since 1978, especially in the Eighties, but my latest Hackett gig was more than 10 year ago. This night I was very impressed by the 74 year old ex-Genesis guitar player, inspired playing, showing his versatile, very distinctive guitar sound, supported by excellent musicians, all playing with a lot of joy, it was a magical and memorable prog night!

Erik Neuteboom (edited by Tracy van Os van den Abeelen), pictures by Leenderd Roeleveld.