Since his days in Trip Shakespeare, Matt Wilson has been the rare rock musician able to write songs that reflect a wry sensibility without collapsing into preciousness. Following a stripped-down but still band-driven solo album, Wilson has in recent years recast himself as a troubadour, and his acoustic performances have showcased a stage presence as droll as his songs. His new partnership with John Munson of Shakespeare spinoff Semisonic announces itself with a low-key live album that emphasizes the guitar-bass-voice arrangements more than the stage patter. But when the Flops land Saturday, the full Wilson-and-Munson treatment is a certainty. (The duo's eponymous Web site, its content a study in hilariously ironic grandiosity, pledges as much.) Not that chuckles are all the pair have to offer. The dandy Ooh La La (a cover of the rowdy Faces song is a highlight of the disc) is all-acoustic, but it's not a postcard from a couple of buskers or a grim missive from stoolbound folkies. Wilson's hummable songs still cling to a rock skeleton, and his and Munson's singing is elastic and forceful.
