Bottle Rockets – 15th Anniversary Show: Duck Room, St. Louis, MO 5/3/08

In 2002, I saw the Bottle Rockets for the first time, and it was quite a party. Lead singer and guitarist Brian Henneman was still drinking at that time, dressed in a fine suit, and many pounds out of shape. I remember that show as a loud explosion of music that kept on going as long as Henneman could keep drinking. It was an entertaining show, with even a special appearance by Jay Farrar, but I wondered how much longer the band from Festus, Missouri could keep it up.  The pace seemed too frantic, the music pleasingly sloppy, but able to keep up with a room full of people wanting to lose themselves for a few hours.  And that was just fine with the Bottle Rockets.

It was also one of the last shows with Tom Parr, who would later be fired from the band after fighting in an Austin street with Henneman.  The fight, as Henneman recently put it, was probably a draw, but like anything the Bottle Rockets did back then, was a drunken affair.

Fast forward to 2008 and alcohol has been removed from the equation.  The band’s latest album, 2006’s Zoysia, represents some their most focused music with songs like “Better Than Broken,” “Middle Man,” “Happy Anniversary,” and “Mountain to Climb” leading the way.  Besides horror author Stephen King claiming it their best album ever, it also shows the Bottle Rockets have now invested their efforts into the music they create, and not the next shots of tequila waiting during and after the show.

It’s a perfect time to celebrate 15 years of Bottle Rockets songs, which is exactly what they did at St. Louis’ Duck Room at Blueberry Hill, the first of 15 anniversary shows they will be playing this year.

These shows are a little different.  First, the band is encouraging fans to visit their message board to pick their own set list, which has to include 20 Bottle Rockets songs and one cover song that the band will play in the main set.  For each show, the band will pick one lucky set list, and perform it in its entirety—the same way it was listed on the message board.  Secondly, that lucky fan will automatically be entered (20x) into a contest that will give away a custom built Creston "Golden Rocket" Guitar (played by Henneman at all 15 anniversary shows) or a package dubbed “Bottle Rockets for Life,” which includes “all past and future albums, current and future shirts, and free tickets to any show, anytime… for life.”

The winner for St. Louis’ show was a message boarder named Pig Farmer Jr.  Let’s just say the man knows how to pick a set list.

Opening with the ferocious rocker “24 Hours a Day,” Henneman and company raced out of the gates with what be the theme of the night—loud and crashing guitars, with little rest for every ear drum in the packed house.  A slim Henneman raced his way through the next two songs, “Middle Man” and “Gravity Fails” before addressing the crowd and the occasion. “Here’s to 15 years,” Henneman said with a smile.

It’s great to see a focused and energetic Brian Henneman with a guitar in his hands.  He looks like a man who loves playing music with his band, especially trading licks with the multi-talented John Horton, who can play a little himself.  The two hammered out Doug Sahm’s “Floataway” and battled through “Welfare Music,” which wired the crowd for the next two tunes, the stomping “Indianapolis” and rare gem “Dead Dog Memories.”

Drummer Mark Ortman was honored by Henneman as the “only other Bottle Rocket besides (him) who has lasted 15 years,” and bassist Keith Voegele got plenty of action during rockers like “Love Like a Truck,” “Gas Girl,” and “Alone in Bad Company.”
The real highlight of the night though came by way of the cover song that was picked by Pig Farmer Jr.—Neil Young’s “Down by the River,” which featured special guest Eric “Roscoe” Ambel, who produced Bottle Rockets records like The Brooklyn Side and 24 Hours a Day, and will also be producing their next album this summer.  Not like they needed another guitar on this night, but Ambel provided a spark to carry the last three songs into the encores, which were taken as requests from the audience.

The celebration lasted 25 songs, visited almost every Bottle Rockets album, and didn’t cost Brian Henneman a Sunday-morning hangover.  Here’s to 15 more years.

     

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