TIMBUK 3 HAS A BLAST AT THE ROXY

“I’d like to take a minute--or a second, actually, is all it takes--to introduce the band,” quipped Timbuk 3’s Barbara K. MacDonald, introducing the group’s sole other member--husband Pat MacDonald--at the Roxy on Friday.

Though just a duo (a revelation that seemed to surprise some of the more recent converts), Timbuk 3 does have a third partner on stage: a ghetto blaster that supplies the bass and drum machine tracks.

Would a meager beat-box be enough to help the Austin-based couple sustain the energy level necessary to engage a full house through an entire set? No problema . Pat’s understated sense of humor and harmonica and Barbara’s skill and economy on lead guitar hooked even those onlookers who knew the couple only for its misunderstood fluke hit “The Future’s So Bright I Gotta Wear Shades.” The set achieved friendly intimacy and rockin’ forward momentum--if anything, Timbuk 3’s lack of a live backup band made the show even more of an unqualified delight.