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Rating: The economic crisis is evident and glaring, and, once again this year, I find myself taking the few and meager vacations at my paternal grandparents’ house in the Finale area. A few days ago, while following a new online magazine called MAT 2020, which seems to want to revive the type and format of the old Ciao 2001, I saw that at the Priamar Monumental Complex in Savona, The Watch was playing, an Italian band with a decent production of their own, but that more often than not offers the repertoire of the Genesis from the '70s live. The kilometers are few, the price is very affordable, and the purpose is for charity to train guide dogs for the blind, so I decide to go.
We know well that in Italy and worldwide, dozens and dozens of groups present themselves as cover bands of the historic English band, each trying, in its small ways and with its means, to represent the highest fidelity of sounds and execution of the original tracks. Tracks that we know are truly difficult to perform. But if, usually, we can faithfully reproduce the sounds of keyboards, guitar, and bass, there are still the uncertainties of the drums, in which the sounds are paired with a very personal technique and, in the case of Phil Collins, an excellent technique, and the voice, the real sore point. The peculiarity of The Watch would be having a singer (Simone Rossetti) with a voice almost identical to that of Peter Gabriel, making this group a truly unique case in the panorama of Genesis re-presenters.
The afternoon opens with a devastating storm, almost two hours of rain that would have alarmed any organization. But by evening, the situation changes, and a call to the local police confirms that the concert will take place.
At 9:05, I arrive on site, buy my ticket, place myself centrally towards the last rows, and wait eagerly, watching the documentary on training dogs for the blind four times in a row, almost moving the first time and gradually more boring and tedious. The band takes the stage at 9:40.
Help! Very low volumes, a cold and awkward band in a “Watcher of the Sky” that should instead open with a striking impact. Guitars at very high volumes and barely audible keyboards. I wonder if whoever is doing the volumes has any idea of what the Genesis were and how dominant the role of the keyboards is, or if perhaps this person imagines being at the mixer of a guitar-rock cover band. The drums are well-heard for snare, bass drum, and hi-hat; the toms are almost inaudible. Concern rises with the singer's entrance: true, a timbre very similar to Gabriel’s, but this is not his natural timbre; this one is the imitator, the voice is set, forced to come out with this style. Even the imitation reaches Gabriel’s particular way of placing vowels. I don’t like it, but we move on. “Can Utility and the Coastliners,” again low keyboards, the chord solo and the monophonic solo almost invisible, and the guitar exceedingly high. I tend to get used to the voice; I think closing my eyes, perhaps, the effort (even facial) to produce the imitation wouldn’t be noticeable.
Fortunately, from the first rows, someone shouts to raise the volume of the keyboards, and even the band thanks them. I find this approximation in performing the service increasingly intolerable.
The concert continues, and things improve: “Firth of Fifth,” despite some very slight inaccuracies, goes well, two of the band’s own tracks make a good impression, even though their composition is a bit too pedestrianly Genesis-like. Very good “Robbery, Assault and Battery,” decidedly excellent the suite “Supper’s Ready” despite a (I believe technical) hole in the keyboard solo of the 9/8 part, also great the instrumental “Los Endos.” Very good also the two extracted from Nursery Cryme “The Fountain of Salmacis” and “The Return of the Giant Hogweed.” For the encore comes “The Knife,” which—I don’t even know exactly why—is the track I least love of Genesis. Still, it was well received.
In conclusion, I can approve and promote the show in its entirety. Technically very, very good and prepared instrumentists, especially the keyboardist Valerio De Vittorio, whom I found very focused on Tony Banks' style, a little more aggressive than Hackett, the guitarist Giorgio Gabriel, but excellent in precision and execution. Bravo and always present, the drummer Marco Fabbri, although I noticed more than one moment in which he tended to accelerate, particularly in “Giant Hogweed,” already starting quite fast but with a guitar solo before the end, clumsily re-entered due to the excessive speed reached. Bravo but a bit subdued, the bassist Andrea Garbellotto, especially when compared to Rutherford’s giant original role in the Genesis economy. Finally, the singer accomplished a very good performance. Keeping the voice throughout the concert is not easy, especially with a “Supper's Ready” in the middle, there's that imitative style that weighed on me a bit; nevertheless, excellent in intonation, good at the flute, and (almost) perfect in entrance timing.
I greatly appreciated their sobriety, light-years away from masquerades, ostentations, background simulations, and projections, etc., and their human and understated presentation, with humility, warmth, and passion, perhaps also typical of other cover bands, but very evident in them.
In conclusion: if they happen to be around, go see them.
p.a.p. Sioulette
p.s. the photo is taken from the website; I don’t know the author.
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