Wainwright/Roche 'All in a Family' Tour at Landmark on Main

“A father, a mother, and a daughter walk onto a stage…" It could be the beginning of a bad joke, but in reality was the start of a wonderful performance. All three musical luminaries who performed on Sunday, December 2, 2018, had been at Landmark before. The patriarch – Loudon Wainwright III – had performed there solo on at least two occasions. Suzzy Roche, of the folk group The Roches, performed with her sister, Maggie, in 2011. And daughter, Lucy Wainwright Roche, was the opening act for Dar Williams when she performed at Landmark in 2015. (Of course, these are not the only members of this illustrious family to perform in Port Washington -- Loudon’s son,Rufus Wainwright, and sister, Sloan Wainwright have also graced Landmark’s stage.)

Suzzy and Lucy (armed with an acoustic guitar each) went on first. The mother/daughter duo have released two CDs together, Fairytale and Myth, and Mud & Apples, and their set was a mix of songs from those albums, their solo work, and a couple of unexpected covers.

It seemed appropriate that I had taken my mom to this show. A mother and a daughter watching a mother and a daughter is a special thing. The women’s voices, though very different, blended in wonderful harmonies. Lucy’s clear high soprano was a great counterpoint to Suzzy’s twangier alto. Lucy comes across as the straight man of the two, but that’s only until you realize that she has an extremely dry and droll sense of humor. Part of the appeal of all this show’s performers was their telling of stories in between songs – the stories were fascinating and often quite personal (as are their songs)

Standouts from the mother/daughter portion of the show included an absolutely gorgeous version of the Beatle’s “For No One” – a very ambitious choice, including a vocal ‘horn’ solo; “Song in G” with its simple yet clever lyrics; and, the title track of their second CD together, “Mud & Apples.” They also did some songs in tribute to Suzzy’s sister and musical partner, Maggie Roche, who died two years ago, including Maggie’s “Jill of All Trades” which Suzzy valiantly played on the piano (which she admitted was not her primary instrument).

There were also a few strange and interesting moments, such as when Maggie did a solo number and Suzzy lay at her feet and seemingly took a nap onstage (see photo), or the song “One Season” which had some very unusual discordance – I’ve never heard ANYTHING like that in a concert before! Fearless songwriting at its best. They closed their set with a beautiful cover of Simon & Garfunkel’s “America.”

After a short intermission, Loudon Wainwright crossed the stage, walked up to the mike and said – “Hi, I’m Johnny Cash.” That should immediately give you a feel for his set. Wainwright is always interesting to see live because his shows are a combination of music, poetry, jokes, and self-psychotherapy. With over two dozen CDs, Wainwright has a huge catalogue of music to choose from (yet still took requests towards the end of the show).

As always, he was funny, self-deprecating, and a truly interesting human being. He doesn’t shy away from the personal, and his songs touch upon all the people and events of his life, starting with “The Picture,” about his sister, to his one-man show, Surviving Twin, which is about his father, to “I Knew Your Mother,” written for one of his children, which includes the lyrics “don’t forget that I knew her when, love was the means, and you were the end.” His set included a tongue in cheek Hanukkah song (it was the first night of Hanukkah, after all), an a cappella number, and a reading from his recent autobiographical book, Liner Notes. He also did several duets with Suzzy and Lucy. My two favorites were “Lonesome Town” written by Baker Knight and performed with Suzzy – their voices sounded wonderful together – and “You Can’t Fail Me” performed with Lucy. There was something touching about seeing father and daughter perform together, and something curious and wistful about seeing two former lovers do the same.

Wainwright also took to the piano for a song (it also is not his primary instrument – but he is a wonderful guitarist). That song, titled “In C,” is particularly entertaining to me (a piano player) because it self-mocks his piano playing by saying “here’s another song in C, when I play piano it’s my key.” (Note for non-pianists – the key of C does not use any sharps or flats (black keys) and is the easiest key in which to play.)

All three musicians came on stage together for the final encores: “Needless to Say,” with its appropriate chorus “please remember my song,” and “When I’m at Your House.” Having played music with my own dad and daughter, I could understand the joy the musicians must have been feeling at that moment.

For information on upcoming shows at Landmark, visit www.landmarkonmainstreet.org.

All photos courtesy of Winifred Boyd - thank you!