Review of Roches concert 13Jul91

[kurtzman@pollux.usc.edu (Stephen Kurtzman)]

13-Jul-91 Roches Concert at the Coach House in San Juan Capistrano,
California.

David Roche, the Roches' younger brother, opened the concert with a
solo, four-song set. David has obviously inherited the musical talent
which seems to run in the family. His sound was folk/acoustic. One of
his songs (which is likely titled "Won't You Give Me a Break") showed
some of the same ability for observing the human condition that is
found in the songs written by his sisters [Won't you give me a break;
can I have the day off; better yet call me next week, when my vacation
starts]. His final song of the set was called "Yearning". It has a
commercial sound to it and it seems as if it will be used to promote
him. (At the end of the concert they played a studio version of this
song over the PA system).

In between a couple of songs, David took the time to answer a
frequently asked question: "Why don't you sing with your sisters?" The
answer is simply "Because the Roches is a girl group."

After a short break, the lights dimmed and they showed the TinyToon
cartoon in which the Roches appeared. In this cartoon, the Roches did
the singing voices of three roaches who gave a concert in Hampton Pig's
kitchen.

Finally, the Roches came on stage. They played a 17-song set followed by
three encore songs. The order of the concert was:

Song                       From Album
----                       ----------
Speak                      Speak
Big Nuthin'                Speak
Cloud Dancing              Speak
One Season                 Nurds          
Anti-Sex Backlash          Speak
You're the One             unrecorded new song
You're the Two             unrecorded new song
The Hammond Song           The Roches
Ing                        unrecorded new song
The Troubles               The Roches
Zoom                       unrecorded new song
Fairfax County             Keep on Doing
Nothing to Hide            unrecorded new song
Broken Places              Speak
Angry Man                  Another World
Hallalujah Chorus          Keep on Doing
Everyone is Good           Speak
Mr. Sellack                The Roches
Daniel                     cover of the Elton John song
Momma                      unrecorded old song

(The names of the unrecorded songs are my guesses based on a prominent
phrase in the song.)

As you can see from the list, they stuck mostly to recent work with a
smattering of early songs. Suzzy's introduction to the new songs
implied that they were still being worked on. "You're the One" is a
ballad singing the "You're the love of my life" type of sentiment. By
contrast, "You're the Two" is a humorous song, with the Roches singing
the pleasures of having two men. It has a fast-tempo, country style.
"Ing" (my favorite of the new songs on first hearing) is a song which
asks many questions about the status of a relationship. Of all the new
songs, it uses unique vocal talents of the Roches the most. "Zoom" did
not really stick with me as well as the others. "Nothing to Hide" is a
nice upbeat song. "Momma" is a bizarre half-song/half narrative about
taking the wash off the clothes line. (I don't mean bizarre in a
negative sense.)

Of special note about the new songs, they seem to be a return to a more
acoustic sound. The country feel of "You're the Two" reminded me of
some of the songs on Maggie and Terre's "Seductive Reasoning" album.
There were also touches of country in "Nothing To Hide".

The cover of the Elton John song was done with David Roche
participating. The song wasn't the best suited for the group, but they
did get to it in an amusing fashion. They just sort of stared out into
space trying to think of a pop cover song to play. They were hoping
their family telepathic powers would help them. And then without
noticeable warning they all started playing the song at the same time.

At previous concerts, it has always seemed that the Roches needed a few
songs before they got used to the acoustics in the room. They had no
trouble this night. They were right on target from the very start.

All three looked well. Maggie, in particular, looked better than she
has in the past couple of years. In contrast to her recent tired and
depressed look, she seemed in good spirits and she looked great (though
I still wish she'd put on a few pounds, at least she didn't look
anorexic this time). Both Terre and Suzzy also looked happy and well.

So, the good news from the concert is that the Roches appear happy and
well. They are singing as good as ever. And they have some good
material for a new album (with a couple of songs having GREAT
potential).

-- 
Stephen Kurtzman          | "I would like to be a person who does not judge
kurtzman@pollux.usc.edu   |  Free to be me whatever that might be
                          |  I don't want to hold a position,
                          |  don't want to hold a grudge"    -- Terre Roche