Brass Tacks

As long as there is Terry Adams, there will be NRBQ. And as long as there's NRBQ, there will be rock ’n’ roll played so effortlessly that the band’s fans will keep wondering what it might take to make NRBQ a household acronym. The New Rhythm & Blues Quartet have been together in one form or another since 1966, and Brass Tacks is a chance for the “newer” members—bassist Casey McDonough, guitarist/banjoist Scott Ligon, and drummer Conrad Choucron—to have as much fun as their forebears once did. Their love of Doug Sahm’s Tex-Mex settles like an undercurrent into their systems, and songs like “Waitin’ On My Sweetie Pie” and “Greetings from Delaware” at the onset fulfill that portion of the show. Their love for country music takes a Buck Owens/Bakersfield turn with “Fightin’ Back,” “I’d Like to Know,” and “Can’t Wait to Kiss.” For hilarity’s sake, there’s the nuttiness of “I’m Not Here.” Country takes a shot at Broadway with the western show tune “Love This Love We Got,” where the jump piano nearly jumps out the window.