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The Bottle Rockets

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By Dave Miller

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Those Darlins had a laugh at their own expense Saturday night. They dressed as if they just escaped from the hospital. Patient gowns, a bandaged head, surgery masks and an arm in a sling were the stage wear for the three young women from Murfreesboro, Tenn. The latter wasn’t a joke, however. The cast on Nikki Darlin’s left arm was the real thing. She suffered two broken bones on May 14, and at the same time sickness sent Jessi Darlin to the hospital, too.

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Well, I’m happy to report the Darlins were alive and kicking during their Ribfest Chicago concert. That should come as no surprise to anyone familiar with their spirited live shows that would be equally at home on the stage of a Nashville honky tonk as a New York City punk club. They sing harmonies with a sneer like they’re the illegitimate children of the Dixie Chicks and Johnny Rotten.            

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It was only the band’s second show together since Nikki suffered her broken left arm. She took the stage after an opening instrumental, looking disheveled a la Courtney Love with her gown in tatters and falling off her shoulders to reveal her tattoos and bra as she joked about her pain medication. While Nikki’s duties were limited to singing, she still contributed mightily with her stage presence and vocal delivery, especially on the group’s epic cover of “Shakin’ All Over,” which was worth the price of admission by itself.

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The band can be sloppy in a good, entertaining way. Nikki is the rock chick of the three even though she’s the one who wears cowboy boots, while Kelley demonstrates the playing discipline found in country. Jessi splits the difference from her center stage position. It’s a good mix that’s greater than

the sum of its parts, a quality of a good band.

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When I last saw the Darlins in February at Schubas, I noted that many of the songs on the their self-titled album sound like classic country on the recording, but veered more toward the physicality of rock when played live. Some were pure, amplified country, but others such as “Snaggle Tooth Mama” came close to parodying the genre. For whatever reason (perhaps just coincidence or the fact that the band is just coming up to speed again with Nikki’s return), the Darlins sounded less country and more punk than they did four months ago. Two new songs were played: “Fatty Needs A Fix” was pure punk and a song called “BUMD” on the setlist rocked without a trace of country. Afterward, Jessi said some other people have also thought the group’s sound is containing more rock and less country, but added that it hasn’t been by design.

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The main set ended with “Shakin’ All Over.” It’s hard to top that one, and the Darlins elected not to try.

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The setlist (* title as listed on Kelley’s stage setlist):

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Hang On*
Red Light Love
Wild One
Snaggle Tooth Mama
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Who’s That Knockin’ At My Window?
Cannonball Blues
DUI or DIE
Ringy*
Prank Call
Fatty Needs A Fix
BUMD
Lonesome Cowboy Bill
Shakin’ All Over

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Start: 6:30 p.m./Finish: 7:18 p.m.
Totals: 14 songs/48 minutes

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The Bottle Rockets headlined Saturday’s eight-band bill at Ribfest. They hail from St. Louis, but frontman Brian Henneman said Chicago feels like home because the city supported his band even when his hometown didn’t.

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The band certainly played like it was eager to pay back its Chicago fans for their support all these years. The four members scorched their way through a blistering 14-song main set with Henneman and John Horton forming a double guitar attack with their Les Pauls. Henneman played a swirling solo out of the gate on “Bad Company” and the band continued charging through its set as if venturing through the eye of a storm. While Henneman alternated between singing his lyrics with passion and stepping back from the microphone to dive into his guitar, Horton, who looks a lot like NFL quarterback Brett Favre, spent much of the night hunched in front of the monitor ahead of him, listening intently to it as if deciphering a code and countering accordingly.

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Meanwhile, drummer Mark Ortmann, who, like Henneman, is an original member of the band formed in 1992, kept the bang chugging at assertive speed with the help of powerful bassist Keith Voegele. Each pushed the song to its limits like a driver seeing how fast his car could take a tight turn. “24 Hours a Day” featured some terrific and tough guitar solos buoyed by the rhythm duo.

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“This is one of those songs if done by Coldplay you’d start jumping up and down,” Henneman said, before doing just that after the band launched into “Comin’ Around.” While concertgoers may have been too filled with ribs to follow Henneman’s jumping lead, many of those lined down Lincoln Avenue showed their solidarity with fist pumps into the air.

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The tempo was finally slowed for “Welfare Music.” Not only was the change of pace welcomed as it demanded subtler playing, but it gave the strong lyrics a chance to be better heard. Then it came time to crank up the crunch again for “The Long Way.” That was supposed to be the big finish as the band left the stage with Henneman taking his guitar pedal box with him. It didn’t take long for the crowd’s response to bring everyone back for one more. Once Henneman reconnected his effects box, a rousing and fitting “Route 66” concluded the night.     
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The setlist:

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Alone in Bad Company   
Every Kinda Everything
Slo Toms
Shame On Me
Kit Kat Clock
When I Was Dumb
Hard Times
24 Hours A Day
I’ll Be Comin’ Around
Give Me Room
Indianapolis
Radar Gun
Welfare Music
The Long Way
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Route 66

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Ribfest Chicago organizers should be applauded for bringing in quality national acts to the neighborhood street festival, which charged only $5 for admission. The one aspect of the bill that can be improved is the time allotted for each band. Hour sets could easily be stretched to 90 minutes. That would probably prove mutually satisfying to fans and bands.

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