MJ Lenderman at Emo’s on February 6 felt like rolling down a dusty highway in the back of a beat-up pickup — messy, loud, and exactly right. The crowd was in early and locked in from the jump as “Six Flags” set the tone: scrappy, wry, and weirdly beautiful.

Lenderman’s songwriting has always balanced humor and heartbreak, and hearing tracks like “Rudolph” and “Wristwatch” live makes that tightrope even more impressive — both loose and razor sharp. “TLC Cage Match” hit like a drunken conversation you never wanted to end, and “Pianos” made the room sway in that perfect, tipsy way.

His band? Effortless. They made chaos sound organized, especially on “Joker Lips” and the emotional gut-punch of “You Have Bought Yourself a Boat.” And man — his cover of “Dancing in the Club” was a mid-set curveball that somehow made perfect sense, like stumbling on a bar at 2 a.m. and deciding to stay for one more round.

By the time we got to “Catholic Priest” and “On My Knees,” everyone in the room was either grinning or glassy-eyed — sometimes both. And the encore? “Live Jack” and “Knockin’” sealed it with the kind of reckless energy that made you feel lucky just to be there.

It wasn’t polished, it wasn’t perfect — and that’s why it was magic.