Guitarist Steve Hackett rounded off the British leg of a world tour at the Fairfield last Wednesday night (October 29)- in front of a partisan crowd, many of whom seemed to be travelling the world with him.

The audience appeared to be one huge gathering of friends and family, including both parents, his brother John (who joined Steve onstage for one piece), ex-band members and the Brazilian artist Kim Poor, whose ethereal artwork has graced many of the Hackett album covers. As for the music, much of it was quite stunning; Steve has assembled a close-knit band of accomplished musicians around him to bring his textured, complex and often dramatic compositions to life.

Promoting his latest work To Watch the Storms, the new material such as Serpentine Song and the aptly titled Brand New sat comfortably alongside established tracks like Darktown and the fabulous Everyday.

There was room for a little humour too, Vampyre with a Healthy Appetite was a fun, pre-Hallowe’en workout for the band, led by Steve’s best Vincent Price vocal. Although Hackett could easily play the archetypal guitar hero, he is much happier simply to be part of the band.

He solos occasionally, preferring instead to let each member play their part to the full in his ensemble pieces – witness the flute and sax work of Rob Townsend in The Steppes. I had not expected Steve to even mention the ‘G’ word, let alone raid their back catalogue, but the former Genesis guitarist seemed more than happy to remember his past; from Watcher of the Skies and Firth of Fifth (always a majestic anthem), to the closing instrumental Los Endos, the older fans in the crowd got full value.

Having lost track of Steve Hackett for many years, the creativity of his solo work came as a revelation – and the rest of the audience thought so too, as Steve and the boys left the stage to a rousing send-off.