Unlike other big-name acts that tour through, there’s a deeply personal connection between this band and this city, one that goes back to their nascent days in the late 2000s.
As befits their status, American Aquarium pack out the large venues when they come to town now. But their path on the way up ran right through the small rooms of Mills Avenue, where they were regular fixtures for years.
Of course, there were those incredibly up-close performances on the stages of the Peacock Room and Will’s Pub. But you’d also see them on the barstools deep into the night mixing it up with the locals.
I still remember that time way early on when bandleader BJ Barham came over from the merch table and gave me their first couple of CDs to check out.
The attendance at those first shows started out small, but the heart was big. Most importantly, it was reciprocal. The passion that BJ and the band poured into their songs was beamed right back at them from the floor. So they kept coming back, the band and the fans. That’s how it happened here. Thankfully, that gospel ended up spreading everywhere else, too.
Well, the boys are back in town and I hope the Abbey’s stocked up on whiskey, because it’s gonna be a goddamn homecoming.
7 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 3, The Abbey, $25.
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This article appears in Nov 20-26, 2024.
