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Thursday, March 28, 2024
Abandon
Abandon

Punk-rock quartet Abandon the Midwest is returning to Gainesville tonight, and if you’re lucky, you might catch them throwing the occasional beer can at one another.

The Orlando-based band will perform at High Dive, located at 210 SW Second Ave. Doors open at 9 p.m., and the show begins at 9:30 p.m. Tickets are available for $6.

The members, who are no strangers to Gainesville, said they always enjoy themselves when they’re in town, and they’re looking to expand their Gator fan base.

“We’re really putting an effort in trying to gain some fans in that market,” said vocalist and guitarist Matt Harmon. “It’s obviously a college town, but I think it’s more than that.”

In 2011, the band formed with Harmon, drummer and vocalist Jason Dodaro and bass player Travis Jacobsen. In 2012, the band finalized its lineup when BJ Halls joined the band as a guitarist and vocalist.

“If you are fans of old-school pop punk like NOFX and Lawrence Arms, you will love ATM,” said Pat Lavery, owner of Glory Days Presents.

Tonight, the friends will be on stage to have a good time spreading their contagious energy to the audience. The punk rockers aim to deliver a high-energy performance, granting people something worth watching.

“We’re punk rock, but like we’re happy, fun, sing-along, good-time punk rock,” Harmon said.

The members, who interact with each other and the audience during their live shows, tend to keep an open attitude about whatever happens. Harmon recalled a past show where he hopped off the stage to dance with an older woman during a live set. She bought them shots when the show was over.

Whether they’re singing songs about cheesy movies, zombies, being single or getting drunk and doing crazy things, they write and perform without trying to present themselves in a certain way.

“If I were to say anything about the band and the way that I write, I think the most enduring quality for me, really, is at least we’re being honest,” Halls said.

Their honest approach to all aspects of the band brings them together, making the four-piece a single unit. They emphasized that they’re not just a group of musicians on stage performing, but they’re friends who get to do all of it together.

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Their hidden talent?

 “We tend to be really quick when it comes to jokes with each other,” Harmon joked. “Terrible at naming our band and our record but, like, really good at making fun of each other.”

[A version of this story ran on page 9 on 7/2/15]

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