I was hoping that you would post your review before I wrote mine so that I could find out for certain what the difference between the two shows was for this tour. The specific "Seconds Out & More" shows have this setlist:
Set 1:
Clocks - The Angel of Mons
Held in the Shadows
Every Day
The Devil's Cathedral
Shadow of the Hierophant (closing instrumental section)
Set 2 (Seconds Out):
Squonk
The Carpet Crawlers
Robbery, Assault & Battery
Afterglow
Firth of Fifth
I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)
The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway
The Musical Box (final verse only)
Supper's Ready
The Cinema Show
Aisle of Plenty
Encore:
Dance on a Volcano
Drum Solo
Los Endos / Slogans (solo song) / Los Endos
Since my show last night was a makeup date from a show originally scheduled two years ago, what I saw (and what others will see if they are seeing one of the makeup shows) was:
Set 1 (Seconds Out)
Squonk
The Carpet Crawlers
Robbery, Assault & Battery
Afterglow
The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway
The Musical Box (final verse only)
Supper's Ready
Set 2 (SEBTP)
Dancing With The Moonlit Knight
I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)
Firth Of Fifth
More Fool Me
The Battle Of Epping Forest
After The Ordeal
The Cinema Show
Aisle Of Plenty
Encore:
Dance on a Volcano
Drum Solo
Los Endos / Slogans (solo song) / Los Endos
So, for those seeing future shows, if you are seeing a makeup show, there is no solo set. Of course, this is to keep the two shows equitable time-wise.
Last night's (i.e., Friday's) show was spectacular (as Steve's shows tend to be)! It was sold out, so the venue was extra loud. This venue always holds the sound well, but even more so when it's sold out. (Coincidentally, the only other sellout I saw here (i.e., The Scottish Rite Auditorium) was Steve's show back in 2018.)
A few things to point out from the show:
Instrumentally, they were about as flawless as they could be. They were definitely "on" tonight, as I suspect that they are virtually, if not actually, every night. They all deserve special mention for different parts of the show; however, I really have to give special praise overall to Nad. I always liked the way he sang the Gabriel-era songs - his doing those songs well is almost certainly why Steve gave him the gig in the first place in 2013. However, IMHO, he never quite did equal justice to the Collins-era material on previous tours. Things definitely changed last night - I genuinely enjoyed his singing on "Afterglow", "Robbery, Assault & Battery", on all the Collins-era songs. I have never been able to say that before. Nad was really great for the entire show.
Roger King was an impeccable "Tony" yet again (he always is). He wore a t-shirt with a Ukranian flag, and he had an extra sticker of the flag on one of his keyboards. It was a nice, subtle touch. Jonas was his customary excellent "Mike" again. He was very active on stage, even joining Craig Blundell on his drum riser for part of one song - that got a nice smiling response for the drummer. That is something I really like about Steve's band overall - there is absolutely no doubt that they are enjoying performing these shows. They just exude it on stage. Rob Townsend (the woodwind specialist who contributes sometimes on keyboards and some percussion as well) is kind of the "secret weapon" of the band. He plays Peter's flute contributions, of course, however he also adds wonderful instrumental color with a variety of instruments in many songs. He even plays some sections of songs that were originally played on keyboards on his array of woodwinds. He really shines on the extended instrumental jam they play at the end of IKWIL. It's really great - and I also am amused at the irony that, were they a Genesis tribute band without Steve's being there with them, they would probably be verbally crucified for it. I'm glad that Steve allows extra bits to be played on some songs - they work.
I was sad when I originally heard that Gary O'Toole had to stop touring with Steve's band a few years back. He drummed excellently and contributed very well on vocals too. I thought he would be very hard to replace. Well, Steve did very well in selecting someone to succeed him by getting Craig Blundell. This is the second tour I have seen him on, and he is just jaw-droppingly good. On the last tour, he pulled off a one-handed drum solo on one song that, had I not seen it with my own eyes, I would have sworn from hearing the notes could only be played with two hands. Well, I swear he played it for even longer this time. The drum solo at the end of the show sounds virtually impossible to play, but he easily has the skill to execute it. It's hard avoiding watching him play for extended parts of the show; the temptation is just too great.
...and then there's the star of the show. How does Steve play as well as he has always played at age 72? He does, he just does. All of his excellent guitar parts from the past were played to perfection, and his new bits are just as impressive. The standout moment for me from him was at the end of "Supper's Ready". He played an amazing extended guitar ending, just as if the original song always had one. And they he played it as if the song had been originally composed and performed on Venus - it simply had this "otherworldly" sound to it. Just amazing. Their break between sets happened right after this song, and they had trouble leaving the stage because the ovation was so overwhelmingly rapturous.
Well, as you can tell, it was just a fantastic show. My "show-appreciation muscles" were all sore the next day - when you haven't seen a show for a while, you can forget that constantly standing up, cheering loudly for hours, and clapping loudly and incessantly can make you quite achy the next day! I'm also happy that I know the entire crowd felt the same joyful soreness the next day as I did. I'm already looking forward to his next tour, whether it's the "Foxtrot at 50" one or whatever he decides to do after that. He already knows we will all be there again - and we will.