American Aquarium

Thursday 1st November, the Borderline, London, American Aquarium. I’m a long-time fan but this is my first AA gig and there is no pun intended given lead man BJ Barham’s past behaviour and recent sobriety. There’s a good turn out tonight at The Borderline early on a Thursday night.
After essentially getting rid of all of the previous incarnation of the band Barham has put together a great set of musicians backing him tonight. Hailing from North Carolina, BJ Barham joins the ranks of other excellent Carolinians such as MC Taylor, HC McEntire (whats with the two letter monikers) and Phil Cook (what went wrong Phil).

Over here promoting their latest album ‘Things Change’ the set tonight also includes a large chunk of arguably their best album ‘Burn.Flicker.Die’. Barham possesses one of those great gravel country voices like Ryan Bingham. His songs feature largely autobiographical, storytelling lyrics and he is equally at home with the band behind him or solo acoustic, the purest form of music for me.
Not afraid to bare his soul, tackle his demons and apologise for his past misdemeanours, Barham is an open honest performer and this only leads to a more emotional attachment to him and his songs.

Another word for the band tonight who seem to be having as good as time as us tonight with an exceptional pedal steel and guitarist both taking the limelight but not forgetting the driving rhythm provided by the drummer and bassist. There’s also a guy on the keyboard but I am sure he only played ten notes all night.
Highlights for me are the heart wrenching ‘Man I’m supposed to be’ Barham’s solo effort ‘Rockingham’ but what a way to end on the title track of ‘Burn.Flicker.Die’ which rocks like the proverbial and leaves everyone on a country rocking high.

If you like your Americana with a heart worn firmly on the sleeve, filled with intelligent songs, great tunes and a rock edge then

American Aquarium is the band for you. A long time waiting for me but can’t wait to see this newly invigorated band again.

Keep on country rockin y’all

This show was fantastic, hosted by MusicGarage-Live!, an intimate venue with very good sound. Timmy The Teeth and Sammy Brue opened the show with stirring and fun solo acoustic sets. Both were entertaining and inspiring - especially 14 year-old Sammy Brue. American Aquarium's show consisted of more mellow, lush landscapes of guitars and pedal steel setting the scene for a night of very good, although slower, more somber songs that only rarely, if ever got over 70 bpm. Overall, a really great show!

It was a fantastic show at the Kessler Theater with American Aquarium! Their first time performing there but hopefully not the last! The Kessler is a great venue with a very intimate feel. It's almost like AA was playing to just their closest friends! The sound was great and energy high. BJ and the guys were in their element and performed the crowd's favorites with lots of fun, personal stories from BJ. He even let the crowd take over on "I Hope He Breaks Your Heart". It was incredible!

Fantastic Show. The new line-up is tight and warm and really what you want from an Americana Rock Group. Pedal Steel FTW. Their sound translates so full to the live setting, and nothing is lost from recording to live. Was particularly impressed by the space within their songs. They don't jam, per-se, rather let sounds linger so they can expand ever-so-slightly on structures. This freedom really translated to the live setting. Also, BJ's storytelling is really engaging in the live setting.

It was an absolutely an amazing show in an amazing venue (The Statler Ballroom)in Dallas. I truly believe that American Aquarium had as much fun as we did. That was the 8th time I've had the pleasure to see them and without question this was the best show. If you haven't seen American Aquarium, you definitely need to get them on your calendar.

These guys are really great. If you aren't familiar with them you'd be surprised to hear these guys play for the first time. Lead singer/front man is really funny and gives some really nice commentary to the songs and meanings. Overall 8/10, only because they didn't play a couple songs I wanted to hear.

A brilliant, brilliant set from American Aquarium tonight. The frontman was extremely eloquent and amusing in between singing powerfully about heartache and desperation. I'm glad I'm going home to a house with an electric oven. Absolutely supurb.

Played to a packed house, the one and only Granada in Lawrence KS. BJ had them eating out of his hand. Every number was high energy and the lead guitar was awesome! Jamie Lin Wilson warmed up the crowd with her powerful voice.

Great band!!! Great front man played all the songs you want best part of two hours and got to meet the band afterwards, really nice guys.... Treat yourself.... Go see them in Nottingham tomorrow!!!

The show in Louisville was awesome! The new band was great. BJ is such a funny guy and a wonderful story teller, he's so nice and grateful. Hope to see them back here soon!