Timbuk 3 Tries the Human Touch

It isn’t often that an opening act has a more elaborate stage show than the headliner. But that’s the way it was Saturday at the John Anson Ford Theatre when Semi-Twang, a Milwaukee quintet on the Creedence/Mellencamp axis, opened for Timbuk 3 (just the laconic couple Barbara K. and Pat MacDonald and their pre-recorded rhythm tracks) and solo troubadour Peter Case.

That contrast pointed out the quandary in which Austin’s Timbuk 3 finds itself. The strongest elements of the act are very much human: Pat and Barbara’s earthy guitar interplay added grace and punch to the Texas groove of “Rev. Jack & His Roamin’ Cadillac Church,” and the couple’s low-key presence helps put across the wry ironies of tales of the times like “Dance Fever” and--yes--”The Future’s So Bright I Gotta Wear Shades.” It was no coincidence that the best moments Saturday came when the pair plied their smart, modern folksiness on several numbers without benefit of taped backing at all.

So maybe it’s time for Timbuk 3 to go all-human, especially if the MacDonalds are going to keep playing settings like the 1,200-seat, open-air Ford Theatre, where the interactive possibilities of a flesh-and-blood band would help the act reach the back rows.