Midway through his set Sunday night at Shank Hall, Graham Parker looked out into the small, appreciative crowd and reiterated a threat he had made on his blog -- that the brief tour that ended last night in Milwaukee could be his last with a full band backing him.

"You could be seeing history tonight," quipped Parker, who has toured for years as a solo act. "This might be it."

Just then, drummer Mike Gent reminded Parker of an engagement Friday night in St. Louis, where Parker will play solo and then be backed by Gent's other band, The Figgs. Parker laughed, playfully tweaked the crowd and returned to a show that will likely make the top-five-concerts-of-the-year lists for the attendees.

Backed by the crack Boston crew led by Gent, who plays guitar for The Figgs, bassist Ed Valauskas (Gravel Pit, Juliana Hatfield), guitar player Brett Rosenberg and keyboardist Scott Janovitz, Parker drew from his latest album "Don't Tell Columbus" and surfed through his impressive catalog for gems like "White Honey," "Glass Jaw" and "They Murdered the Clown."

In a recent interview with a Michigan newspaper, Parker -- who emerged from the same London pub scene as Elvis Costello and Ian Dury, was asked about being called "legendary."

"I don't know why I'm called legendary," Parker said. "I haven't done anything crazy. I thought that was just reserved for people who throw TVs out of windows. But if they call me legendary, that's fine. At least it makes you sound like somebody who has done something."

"Don't Tell Columbus" is Parker's third studio album on Chicago-based Bloodshot Records.