WINNIPEG -- They've developed a new sound, come up with some exuberantly catchy new songs -- and they're playing with a zeal and vigour they haven't displayed for years.

But as The Watchmen performed before only 700 people at the Walker Theatre Thursday, it was hard not to think that perhaps this band's time has come and gone.

Not because it's not a quality musical act. Not because its fans aren't vocal and devoted. It just seems that, somewhere along the way, the Winnipeg-born quartet hasn't pushed the right buttons at the right times. And if it can't sell out in its hometown, well ...

Still, Winnipeg is a notoriously fickle music city, and if commitment to performing was the yardstick by which groups were measured, The Watchmen would have several feet to spare.

With five albums to their credit, the band -- singer Daniel Greaves, guitarist Joe Serlin, bassist Ken Tizzard and new drummer Ryan Ahoff -- now has a 20-song set which offers all the dynamics and feeling a melodic, guitar-based rock outfit can offer.

Bookended by Together and Absolutely Anytime, the group's set ranged from straightahead early rockers -- Wiser, Boneyard Tree, Run & Hide -- to the mid-tempo, melodic grooves of Say Something and Any Day Now.

With the blend of old and new accentuated by electronic squawks, bleats and swirling beats, The Watchmen's sound is much more dynamic. Ahoff is an energetic drummer who seemed thrilled to be playing on a big stage, spinning on his stool with glee, while Tizzard prowled about the stage in his usual state of entrancement.

Greaves and Serlin were the stars of this show. The axeman has developed immeasurably as a guitarist, evolving from an Edge-influenced kid to a flexible, aggressive player who knows less can be more.

Greaves, meanwhile, consistently soared above the music, growling, howling, shaking with abandon and singing to the heavens.

He brought the house down with a late-set, a cappella rendition of Tom Waits' The Heart of Saturday Night and left the crowd screaming for more.

Here's hoping they get their wish.

JAM! Rating: 4 out of 5 (More on: The Watchmen).