Right on Q: Terry Adams' rock 'n' roll anarchy

Like the Marx Brothers on a mission of musical anarchy, Terry Adams and his Crazy Trio stormed the stage at Alligator Alley Saturday night, launching right into a hayseed-gone-haywire rendition of "Hey Good Lookin'" that combined the fractured bebop of Thelonious Monk with the sourmash hillbilly stomp of Hank Williams. Among the small but mighty crowd of NRBQ die-hards who had come to see the cult band's founding pianist, a way-jazzed Bonefish Johnny suggested the term "Thelonious Hank" to describe the tantalizing mashup.

Joined by original NRBQ drummer Tom Staley, who lives in St. Pete, Chicago-based vocalist and guitarist Scott Ligon and central Florida-based saxophonist Gene Oliveri, the idiosyncratic piano wildman slapped, pounded and caressed a pair of electric keyboards, and seamlessly traded off on vocals with Ligon, who played bass for most of the show. (And yes, even though the "trio" had four members, Adams proved he could count when the group gleefully launched into the Q classic "12 Bar Blues." ) The absence of guitar put the emphasis squarely on Adams' antic piano work, as he provided his own take on boogie-woogie, blues and honky-tonk, filtered through the avant-garde sensibilities of Monk and Sun Ra and performed with the elan of showmen like Jerry Lee Lewis and Little Richard. Oliveri hung fire on tenor and soprano saxes, peppering the proceedings with old-school rock 'n' roll bravado.

Staley's relaxed demeanor and seemingly effortless time-keeping belied his righteous snare-drum crack, while the sweet-voiced, baby-faced Ligon proved the perfect foil for Adams's Kentucky twang. The vocal pairing was particularly effective on NRBQ classics such as "Wacky Tobacky" and "Rain at the Drive-In," and the infectious new Adams gem "My Girl My Girl," which leads off his latest solo recording, Holy Tweet, also featuring Ligon. Also from the new album, they performed "Feet," an ode to a lovers' tootsies that somehow doesn't come across as freaky, and "Not Tonight, Hon," in which Adams screeches the familiar lament, "Not tonight, hon, I've got a headache!" Versions of "Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone" and "When You're Smiling" captured a surreal early-jazz vibe, you know, back when the music was still dangerous and fun. Adams did actually play a Monk tune, but as Bonefish pointed out, just about everything he did started off as if he were going to launch into "Misterioso."

Although the now-defunct NRBQ boasts roots in Miami, having formed here in 1967, they split for points Northeast soon after. However, Adams is currently staying with friends in South Florida, and rumor has it, he may be looking to return to the area. A bit of luck for local rock 'n' roll fiends, if that means more shows like Saturday's.