Some unforgettable times at Toad

Billy Beard called watching Patty Griffin perform at Toad "riveting." (WIQAN ANG FOR THE BOSTON GLOBE)

If you've ever been to Toad, there's probably that one night you'll never forget. Here are a few. - JONATHAN PERRY

"There's many memorable moments, so many starts for different bands of mine, as well as solo. I played with a 12-year-old cellist once. Her whole family and friends showed up. I was so nervous afterward I bussed the table like a robot. I also got the first song on my new CD out of watching a friend of mine on that stage. I wrote the lyrics on a napkin. It's called 'John Lennon's Nose.' It's just a great place, a true home to true music."

- Rick Berlin, singer-songwriter

"Some of the best memories for me? Dennis Brennan doing [the standard] 'A Cottage for Sale,' which was just chilling. Shivaree, with Ambrosia Parsley, doing a month-of-Mondays residency. The opening acts were Joe Henry and the Wild Colonials - unbelievable. The first time I saw Tim Gearan play was spectacular. Of course, Patty Griffin in that room, early on in the early '90s, was just riveting to watch. The early Mark Sandman stuff. Jimmy Fitting, who many people don't realize is one of the two or three best harmonica players in the world. As the guy who books this stuff, I equate it with [the feeling] you get when you're a kid, and you find a new record and all of your friends come over and you turn them on to it." - Billy Beard, booking agent and musician

"I spent a wonderful afternoon at Toad one time - a 2 p.m. unannounced Patty Griffin show. It was in the middle of a work day. She sat and played an electric guitar, trying out new songs and things. It was brilliant. There was an older gentleman in the room at one point. It looked as if he may have had a little too much to drink. He shouted at Patty to sing 'Pretty Woman.' Being the pro she is and obviously feeling comfortable in Toad's warm environment, she switched gears and sang him a bit of the song. Billy stood beside the bar, grinning. I will never forget it."

- Lori McKenna, singer-songwriter

"There are these wonderful, little serendipitous happenings that somehow get to urban-legend status. Certainly [Pearl Jam's] Eddie Vedder and [Red Sox general manager] Theo Epstein getting on stage last year with [Buffalo Tom's] Bill Janovitz was huge. That was a pretty cool night. One of my favorite nights ever was a Sunday night early on. We had a new group that was doing a residency, with a really great, young kid who was so earnest and sincere. He came up to me and Charlie [Christopher] before the show and said, 'I just want to tell you I am so grateful to you for giving me this chance.' He was incredibly charming. And then he got on the stage and started singing and I said to Charlie, 'OK, this is going to be the shortest residency in history' because this guy just blew us away. It gave me shivers when he started singing. Sure enough, in about two weeks he was signed and was long gone. It was G. Love & Special Sauce."

- Holly Heslop, Toad co-owner

"I can't think of one special Toad moment. It's more the feeling of knowing that you can go there without a plan any night of the week with a good chance of seeing someone you know and hearing some good, or even great, music."

- David Champagne, the Heygoods