Anberlin LIVE!

I got introduced to Anberlin thanks to the exposure to Alvin Ting's music video collection way back in March last year. Anberlin is not exactly mainstream stuff but the Florida rockers are well-known in America and they are one of the names that stood out when I browsed through the list of bands who are coming to perform in Leeds. I had been searching for company to follow me to the concert in Leeds and once I heard that Kington is going for it, I booked my tickets straight away. So since it's a Tuesday, my lectures end only at 6pm. I whisk off quickly the moment it ends and met up with Kington to head off to pick up his friend from the train station. The venue of the concert is at the Rock club (The Cockpit) and apparently they have a history of lots of other bands coming to play there before including the Ting Tings, Franz Ferdinand, Panic in the Disco and The Killers.

While I was at the club, I was fairly surprised when a local Brit student tapped me on my shoulder and said that he saw me playing drums in the Christian Union the night before. Before I continue, I'll illustrate a little on what happened in CU meeting on the Monday before the concert. As you've known, the CU does not have their own drum equipments but it so happened that the Monday is actually a combined meeting with 4 other CUs from Hull, Huddersfield, Bradford and Leeds Met. I was asked to play drums for the meeting which I happily obliged and that was my maiden service in England, playing in a room filled with 100 over other Brit students. The drum set was on the verge of falling apart though and the high-hat was missing, so I had to substitute it with the stand instead (which reminded me of The Offspring). Well, I thank God for giving me that rare opportunity to serve through drums because I'm pretty sure that I won't be getting the chance to do that again anytime soon. Of course, it is even more of a major surprise that I made some form of impression on a few of the local Brit students there. Anyways, the dude who recognised me studies in Bradford.

Back to the concert - There are gonna be two opening acts, one by Xcerts and the other one by Hawthorne Heights. Anberlin is not scheduled to play until around 9pm. We went off to have dinner first before coming back just in time to see a few songs Hawthorne Heights. They are quite good and I enjoyed them better than So does it offend you at the Linkin Park opening. Their style is a mixed screamo hybrid of Yellowcard and Breaking Benjamin. There's around a 20-30 minutes interlude after the end of their performance for Anberlin to set up their equipment. During that period, the three of us took the opportunity to move forward to the frontlines of the stage while the crowd disperse to go to toilet or get drinks. So at around 9.15pm, Anberlin kicked off with "We Owe This to Ourselves" and followed by one of their trademark songs of all time - "Paperthin Hymn". And they did end off with a bang, leaving their two best songs "Impossible" and "The Feel Good Drag" to the last. With a standing position and being so near the action plus a mosh pit for the last song is one the best experience for a rock concert that one could have with all the sweat and the heat..haha.

As with many concerts, band members may throw some of the stuff that they use on stage to the standing crowd in front. Kington and his friend managed to get the picks. Then one of the crew kinda threw the sticks into the crowd and I managed to grab one of it. However, it was also caught by another fellow standing in front of me and we were engaged in a brief tug before he released his grip, to my delight! Woohoo! If only the drummer had customised his sticks to the band or his name, that would be a real deal since the picks themselves were actually customised. Anyways, as a drummer, I'm happy with my "loot" which I can proudly display for many years to come! Overall, it was a fantastic rock night experience to remember!