October 21-27, 2004

musicpicks

Suzzy and Maggie Roche

by Carolyn Wyman

folk

Fresh discord is marring those cynical Roches' sweet harmonies. Maggie set some of her and Suzzy's earlier issues with Terre to music and created "Hammond Song," a touching plea for her not to run off "with that fella." Their latest rift (of undetermined cause and more than six years' duration) turned the droll trio into, God forbid, a pair of deadly serious Harvard University resident artists.

God forbid because the Harvard project, 2001's Zero Church, was 18 tracks of Suzzy and Maggie singing other people's prayers. One big strength of Roche lyrics has always been their conversational feel. And ex-Marine Bill Barbeau's prayer from Zero Church -- which the gals performed in their opening set for Susan Werner at King of Prussia's Concerts Under the Stars on Labor Day weekend -- is real all right but, like the beheading videos coming from Iraq, a little tough as entertainment.

In the Roches' best work, as in life, the serious stuff sneaks up in the middle of humor or banality, like "Waiting tables ain't that bad/ Since I saw you last I've waited for some things that you would not believe/ to come true," from "Mr. Sellack," a teenager's pitch to get her old job back. Or this bridge -- "Who made the rules/ And why am I such a big rule-breaker/ Always giving the joint away with no taker" -- from an otherwise amusing new Suzzy song about The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People motivational bestseller.

Unfortunately, "The Long Lonely Road to Nowhere" is one of only four songs on their latest CD, the aptly named Why the Long Face (Red House), that is up to the Roches' wit and sophistication (and two of those songs are platter-filling remakes of old Roches gems "One Season" and "Broken Places"). The good news for Roche worshipers? Suzzy and Maggie proved willing and capable of reproducing plenty of trio favorites the last time they were in the area, including the introductory "We," which, thanks to the way they go mute where Terre's name used to be, is actually even funnier now than when the Roches were three.

Sat., Oct. 23, 7 p.m., $17, The Point, 880 W. Lancaster Ave., Bryn Mawr, 866-468-7619.