Pop Music : Judds Celebrate Linkage Between Music and Heart

You say “Roseanne,” “Married . . . With Children” and “The Simpsons” are undermining traditional family values? Not to worry--we’ve still got the Judds.

The warm and loving interaction between the mother and daughter duo at their Greek Theatre concert on Friday often seemed, in this era of dysfunctional relationships, too good to be true.

Applying their uncannily close harmony to a string of hits including “Why Not Me,” “I Know Where I’m Going” and the current “Born to Be Blue,” the Judds--who also played Saturday at the Pacific Amphitheatre in Costa Mesa--worked with an almost intuitive receptivity to each other.

Mother Naomi, all crinoline and lace in a party dress perfect for the Sweetheart of Sigma Chi, flitted across the stage, rotating around daughter Wynonna with the intensity of a gypsy moth circling a bright flame.

As the principal musical force, Wynonna remained in the spotlight, sometimes blending her voice with Naomi, sometimes breaking out into hard-rocking, Bonnie Raitt-like solo excursions. But the connection between the two always remained--a linkage between music and heart that is the very essence of Judd music.

McBride & the Ride, a promising new Nashville band, opened the show. They were followed by the Highway 101, playing an energetic country-rock set.