The Watch (performing Genesis' The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway) - Brewery Arts, Kendal

The Watch formed in Milan in 1997 with the full moniker 'The Night Watch', dropping the 'night' portion of the name in 2000. They've undergone a fair number of personnel changes but vocalist/flautist and driving force Simone Rossetti has remained a constant presence.

I first saw the band headlining at Prog Résiste in Soignies in 2014, billed as 'The Watch plays Genesis' Foxtrot', so I'm fully aware of their abilities and have since acquired their three latest albums 'Tracks From The Alps', 'Seven' and 'The Art Of Bleeding' on vinyl, adding a CD of 2004's 'Vacuum' from the merch stand at their Kendal show.

With no one else currently performing 'The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway' in its entirety, The Watch have a ready audience for a 50th anniversary tour of the album and they didn't disappoint. The presentation was without costumes or the triptych slide show (c.f. The Musical Box production of 'The Lamb') but the Brewery Arts Centre theatre acoustics and the technicians responsible for the live sound were excellent, producing a well-balanced mix without resorting to a ridiculous volume. As a frequent visitor to Italy and a native Cumbrian I found it amusing that it was difficult to discern the road crew from audience members because of the Lake District dress code and the fondness for padded jackets in Italy!

Genesis fans obviously wouldn’t have had any difficulty following or understanding the storyline but short pre-recorded synopses were provided at suitable breaks between the tracks and Rossetti also handled some possibly genuine stories originating from 1974 or 1975, Peter Gabriel-like addresses to the audience.

Rossetti's Peter Gabriel-like voice, backed up with four other supremely capable musicians (keyboard player Valerio de Vittorio, Mattia Rossetti on double neck guitar and bass, drummer Francesco Vaccarezza and lead guitarist Andrea Giustinani) made it easy to imagine you'd been transported back to 1974 and though you shouldn't make the mistake of calling The Watch a 'Genesis tribute act', it's evident they enjoy playing Genesis music. Rossetti left the stage for the extended instrumentals like ‘Hairless Heart’ and ‘The Evil Jam’ but you could still believe you were listening to Genesis perform on a darkened stage, making the whole experience a little surreal.

I thought the whole show was brilliant, and even when treated to an encore of 'The Musical Box' with de Vittorio adding a third guitar part, it was still difficult to choose any one particular favourite piece.
I'd strongly recommend to anyone who missed (or misses) Genesis playing 'The Lamb Lies On Broadway' live to get to see it performed by The Watch.