The Bottle Rockets; July 23, 2009; Cranky Pat’s, Neenah

If a band hasn’t been around as long as the Bottle Rockets have, filling an entire night yourself might be a problem. As it was, there were still songs I wanted to hear at the end of two terrific, and lengthy, sets. They’ve been making Neenah a destination on their last several tours, even skipping Madison on occasion in favor of the pizza place with attitude. Cranky’s has even gone smoke-free on show nights, despite the fact that the state-wide smoking ban is still a year away and the rest of Neenah is still smoke-full. Oh yeah, and the pizza is delicious too. I can’t believe we almost weren’t going to go to this show. What were we thinking?

What matters is that we did go, and were not disappointed. The Bottle Rockets shine in venues like this- small dive-y bars packed with drinkers and yellers, a place where you can still play an un-ironic cover of “Freebird.” Which is exactly what they did. They returned to the roar of the crowd, only to silence them with that familiar question, “If I leave here tomorrow, will you still remember me?” Awesome. The band has always had more than a touch of southern rock in them (it’s no surprise that one of their former members, longtime bass player Robert Kearns, is now playing with Lynryd Skynyrd), and I’ve seen them rock more Neil Young covers than any band barring Madison’s Neil Young cover band Shakey, but this may be the first time I’ve seen “Freebird.” Let me repeat, awesome.

For years I’d been forced to beg for “When I Was Dumb” which is quite simply the best song Brian Henneman has ever written (don’t listen to him). It seems I have now won them over and usually get to hear it whenever they know I am there. “Yep, sometimes it really is that easy,” Brian claimed as he played the distinctive opening notes. Other songs don’t require begging. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Bottle Rockets show that didn’t include “Indianapolis,” “$1000 Car” and “Radar Gun.” Tonight they all came back to back like a mini greatest hits medley.

Other highlights came from their upcoming record Lean Forward (which is better than falling back according to Henneman). No Depression says it keeps their streak alive and who am I to argue. My favorite song “Get on the Bus” (about riding the bus of course) didn’t make the set list, but other catchy tunes did. In fact, opening track “The Long Way” was the set closer. Of the same mindset as Uncle Tupelo’s “Long Cut,” the song is a reminder in these days of Mapquest and GPS that sometimes it is OK to get a little lost. “The long way isn’t the wrong way, and a wrong turn isn’t the end, if it’s understood that something good is waiting for you ‘round the bend.”

Sometimes we need those reminders. Just like sometimes you need an unassuming, small town, kick ass rock show to remind you how good life can be.