"Such a Night"

Way back in the ancient days of live music (1970's?) one of the best live bands around was NRBQ, which I have mentioned here time and again.

One of their more "memorable" shows was one where they were joined late in the show by some special guests.

There are about 27 different accounts of this show, so here we go!

First up, 'Q lister "silverfred"

"I rarely missed a Q show at the Rusty Nail (be crazy not to), but I missed that one.

But a friend of mine who was there told me this, as far as I can recall:
Bonnie Raitt and the Allmans had played a show together in the area (Umass I think) , probably late 1970's, and she brought them onstage. He said Dickie Betts wanted to play Al's guitar but Al wouldn't let him. So they milled around on stage and left...

That's all I remember. Cannot speak to the veracity of the story.....The next week the Rusty Nail had an ad in the Valley Advocate the next week begging for any pics of the Q and Allmans onstage together ..."

The legend continues:

Here is the same story as told by NRBQ's original drummer, Tom Staley:

"The story I got was that The Allmans did get up and play but after a few minutes the audience started booing and the boys took over(actually shooing them off the stage).

I understand Bonnie was upset about it. If I was the Allmans I would have been listening and learning, not wanting to play."

Here's longtime NRBQ keeper of the music "Johnny D's" account:

"I was there. It didn't exactly happen like that. The Q left the stage after their set. Tom was a little late getting back for the encore and one of the Allmans drummers sat behind the drums without the rest of the Q realizing it.

Terry started playing "Shake Rattle and Roll" and he realized something was wrong because the drums sounded really weak. He turned around and saw that it wasn't Tom. Then Tom appeared and they managed to coax the Allmans drummer out from behind the drum set by giving him a tambourine to play.

Greg was also on stage sitting at the clavinet while Terry was at the piano--or maybe it was the other way around. He (Greg) seemed a bit out of it. He kept looking at Terry's hands to try to figure out what key Terry was playing in.

Then after 30 seconds or so, just as he'd get ready to play, he'd turn around and look at Terry's hands again. By the time he figured the key out, the song was over! During the next song, he tried to light a cigarette, but Terry's fan kept blowing his matches out.

By the third song, the Allmans realized that the Q wasn't gonna let them take over the stage and they beat a hasty retreat. I think Dickey Betts was onstage with a guitar, but I was standing on the other side of the stage so I'm not sure. I heard that Dickey was so pissed off that he kicked over one of Al's guitars back to the dressing room."

Q fan David Greenberger was also there, and recalls:

"Probably the weirdest night of music I was ever at was a show NRBQ did in the mid-80's at a roadhouse called The Rusty Nail in western Massachusetts.

NRBQ are both old friends and my favorite, most frequently attended musical aggregation. The weirdness in this case came not from the music itself, but from strange, dark moods at the club. That afternoon there'd been a big outdoor concert on the U. Mass. campus by The Allman Brothers, Bonnie Raitt and Bonnie Bramlett.

Raitt, being a big NRBQ fan, brought the whole slew of them over to the club that night. Arriving midway through the set, word spread through the audience that "the Allman Brothers are here - maybe
they're going to jam!" NRBQ finished their set and left the stage to the
expected ovation.

In the band's absence (they were backstage, pacing the applause for an
encore appearance) Gregg Allman took a seat at the piano, Dicky Betts took up Al's guitar and their drummer took over the trap set. Returning to the stage, NRBQ were surprised to find their instruments usurped for the
purpose of a pedestrian rich-white-guys slow blues.

Terry went over to the unoccupied clavinet and started up a contrary groove at a much faster tempo. It only took a few bars for the Bros to become "insulted" ("we're big stars, we can do whatever we want, we don't even need manners!") and leave the stage. They gathered offstage and appeared to be sulking.

Al, in a generous, conciliatory mood, removed his guitar he'd just shouldered and held it out to them, saying, "Here Dickie, you can play my guitar!" At this point booing was sweeping the room. It wasn't clear who or what it was directed at, but it was becoming an ugly room. NRBQ again left the stage.

In their absence this time, Bonnie Bramlett, a well-known trouble-maker
(ask Elvis Costello) took to the stage and began egging on the crowd with
"well, WE wanted to jam, but I guess THEY don't want to!" Booing continued,mixed with cheering and a general ominous din.

NRBQ took the stage again and this time did play their encore. To her
never-ending credit, Bonnie Raitt brought the crowd around with her
thoughtful introduction extolling the virtues of one of her favorite bands.
She remained onstage, on the drum riser behind Tom, alternately dancing and hugging him. It remained an extremely tense room for the duration of the couple songs they played. The Allman Brothers & Bramlett breezed back out and licked their "wounds" elsewhere.

And about a year later the Rusty Nail burned to the ground."

And finally, here, thanks to Fred Boak, is the account of the same event from NRBQ Whole Wheat Horn Keith Spring, whose other claim to fame was as a player on assorted tunes by Martin Mull:

"Well, it was a long time ago, but some portions of that evening remain clear for me…

The Rusty Nail at that time was a place where we consistently drew packed houses. We had a gig there on the same date that the UMASS Spring Concert had taken place earlier in the day, the featured performers that year being Bonnie Raitt & The Allman Brother Band (there was only one brother by then).

Bonnie of course was a friend and enthusiastic supporter, and she had brought along some of the ABB to hear us that night. In the dressing room after our set, before the obligatory encore, she introduced everyone, and Terry graciously invited our visitors to sit in.

Greg Allman’s response was that it was them (rather than us) that the people wanted to hear. This was presumptuous, not to mention incorrect.

Nevertheless, it was agreed that they would sit in for the encore. The drum chair was occupied by an ABB drummer (the white, less talented one), and Greg Allman sat at the piano, which was as usual at a right angle to Terry’s Hohner Duo, right in front of the horn riser. No one else sat in, although I do remember Al inviting, if not taunting, Dickie Betts to come on up. Perhaps Dickie’s sense of pride, if not survival, wisely prevented him from accepting this offer/taunt (there were times when subtlety wasn’t Al’s strong suit) – we all knew who was by far the better guitar player, and Dickie probably did as well. If he didn’t, he was about to find out.

Terry called “Shake Rattle & Roll” – a basic 12 bar blues that everyone knows, even if they don’t. He counted it off, and the ABB drummer began playing in a sort of wispy 12/8 beat that was typical for him but unfortunately had nothing to do with the song (so maybe everyone doesn’t know the song, after all).

The tune ground to a halt. Terry said, “Boys, it’s a 12 bar blues, in 4/4, in the key of F”, and counted it off again.

During this lull Ardolino had thankfully taken over the drum chair, and the beat was now what it should be when we resumed playing.

The song proceeded without 1) further incident 2) an ineffective drummer or 3) much if any piano playing from Mr. Cher (the bandstand continued to remain a Dickie-free zone).

The second song in the encore was “Get Rhythm”, and it was thankfully incident-free as well. Greg Allman remained a very subtle if not entirely silent musical presence at the piano as, unlike “Shake Rattle & Roll”, the form of the chord changes to “Get Rhythm” is a bit less basic, though certainly not complex.

Of course, having sat in close proximity to Terry during “Shake Rattle & Roll”, Greg may have quickly learned enough to realize his shortcomings in the keyboard department, and therefore may have wisely chosen to refrain from further embarrassing himself.

I don’t remember what (if any) other songs we may have played – I think in those days we usually ended w/the Donnie & Marie “May tomorrow be a perfect day…” song, but we may well have skipped that due to the evening’s circumstances.

I don’t remember any damage being done to any guitars or any other such behaviors. I suspect all of us involved, for various reasons, were glad to call it a night"