Spontaneity and Anberlin

It was late on a Friday morning, and we had tentative plans for that evening. But when Matt called and told me Anberlin was playing in Los Angeles that night, we threw those plans right out the window! See, I'm a total planner and hate not having any plans, but I definitely don't mind upgrading plans when a better alternative presents itself. In this case, one of our all-time favorite bands was playing at the House of Blues on Sunset Strip, and since attending a concert there was on our LA to-do list, it was like killing two birds with one awesome stone. Just five hours after that phone call, we were standing in line at will call on the Sunset Strip.

We had accounted for traffic that was magically not there, so we arrived nearly an hour before the concert started. That gave us plenty of time to scope out the venue a bit. It's such a cool setting and is extremely blue, naturally. I'm actually not really into concerts because I rarely think they're worth the money, and if I do go to a concert, I prefer country (I've seen Tim and Faith, Kenny Chesney, Sugarland, etc.) because A. the singers are actually talented, B. you don't leave smelling like second-hand smoke, and C. you get to sit in your chair and enjoy the music without having your personal bubble invaded by sweaty strangers. Gross.

The lack of "B" and "C" is what I have most definitely not enjoyed at non-country concerts in the past, and I was a bit wary of what the House of Blues would offer. Thankfully, it's a very clean, upscale venue, so "B" was not a concern, and we found the perfect solution for "C" -- a little nook about 1/4 of the way back, right in front of the sound/lighting people, and fully equipped with a "seat/stand," great views of the concert and a rather large personal bubble. Hooray!

The first band that opened for Anberlin was Civil Twilight and we fell in like rather quickly. As in, from the second they opened their mouths and said in full South African accents, "We're Civil Twilight." With accents like that, who cares what their music sounds like?! Except, their music was amazing so it was all the better. It was really funny, though, because my little sister Heidi had told me literally the day before how she found this great South African band and needed to show me their music when I came home. Yep, Civil Twilight. Heidi always finds the coolest bands first.

Matt and I weren't terribly fond of the next band, so it made Anberlin's appearance on the stage all the more welcome. They kicked off the concert with "Paperthin Hymn" and followed it with favorite after favorite after favorite in a very well-chosen set list. The first note of every song had us smiling because we'd hoped they'd play that one. Matt was a little worried beforehand that Anberlin wouldn't be as good live as they sound recorded and would therefore damage his perception of his favorite band. He's loved Anberlin for a long time, and it's kind of nostalgic since he'd listen to them before football at the Academy. Thankfully, his fears were entirely unfounded. They sounded absolutely incredible and delivered an awesome concert that still has us listening nearly non-stop to Anberlin today. (Seriously, all we listen to right now is Christmas music, Anberlin, Civil Twilight, more Anberlin, a whole lot of Taylor Swift's Speak Now, and more Christmas music.)

Moral of the story? Anberlin rocks. Proof below.