So, on this Independence Day weekend, is there anything more American than baseball, apple pie and a great bar band? No? Agreed. And maybe the best bar band of them all is NRBQ.
NRBQ (which stands for The New Rhythm and Blues Quartet) is still around, with about its 27th lineup (or maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration). But, at the height of their limited success and popularity, they had Terry Adams on keyboard, Joey Spampinato on bass guitar, Al Anderson on lead guitar, and Tom Ardolino on drums. And they were so fun. I saw them about a dozen times back during my law school and young lawyer years ('78 to about '90 or so), and they never failed to deliver. Their shows had a totally spontaneous feel to them - - and they seemed to work without a set list. And their cult following would always show up to whatever small venue they were playing.
NRBQ's music is hard to describe. It's part rock and roll, part R&B, part rockabilly, and maybe even part jazz. But, whatever it is, NRBQ makes you want to bop your head and dance.
Terry Adams re-formed the group about five years ago with an entirely new lineup. I've seen them twice, and they're still good. Maybe not quite the best bar band that they were in the late 70s, 80s and 90s, but still good.
Back in their hayday, though, NRBQ was totally underrated, totally under appreciated, but, there's little doubt that they were the best bar band around.
So here they are from 1990: NRBQ with "Wild Weekend."