Some bands are always just a joy to see live, seemingly getting better each time. Anberlin is one of those bands, and their Columbus performance with Morning Parade and IAMWE was no exception to this trend.

Phoenix, AZ is not usually the first city that comes to light in discussion in music breeding grounds, but perhaps it should. As Jimmy Eat World emerged in the 90s from that area (which they still call home, by the way), now IAMWE emerges with a healthy dose of DIY indie rock with plenty of soaring hooks to go around. The band’s performance was far above what I had expected (which, if I’m being honest, I’m not sure what I was expecting). Plenty of soaring vocals, smooth musicianship and beating of floor toms for dramatic effect (when did that become a thing? A lot of bands are incorporating that into live performances these days). Suffice to say IAMWE is firmly planted on the I AM TUNED UP radar.

The UK’s Morning Parade delivered an eight song set of smooth alternative tunes, including the hit “Headlights” which has received airplay on Columbus’ renowned CD102.5 FM. Their frontman seemed especially fond of spastic dancing with his guitar, while his band mates seemed fond of ambient effects effected by the playing around with pedalboards. Like IAMWE before them, they gave a smooth, solid performance, but with the advantage of having fans in the audience singing along. Yep, they are yet another new band to stake out on the I AM TUNED UP radar.

Anberlin played for just over an hour, effecting a simple yet engaging lighting rig to their advantage. The set was, with a couple exceptions, nonstop adrenaline inducing rock. The crowd really lit up in particular during “Never Take Friendship Personal,” filling in the rough vocals for frontman Stephen Christian. Per usual, lead guitarist Joseph Milligan seemed content to exude his prowess whilst remaining stationary and expressionless, while bassist Deon Rextroat and rhythm guitarist Christian McAlhaney showed more animation. As always, drummer Nathan Young was an animal behind the drums, his lanky frame sometimes bending so far forward I thought his nose would touch his snare drum. A highlight of the set was the performance of “I’d Like to Die,” a hard to find b-side. The main set closed with “Feel Good Drag” and current single “Someone Anyone.” Of course there was an encore – Stephen took the opportunity to sing the first verse and chorus of “Dismantle. Repair” completely solo in the middle of the audience, blaming a faulty keyboard for something he said he never done before. Oldies but goodies “Ready Fuels” and “Paperthin Hymn” brought the evening to a fitting conclusion. Stephen later tweeted that other cities should consider the Columbus show the benchmark at which to step things up energy wise. “#Goodluck,” he added as a hashtag. Darn right!

Anberlin setlist: Little Tyrants, We Owe This To Ourselves, Self Starter, Never Take Friendship Personal, The Resistance, Impossible, Pray Tell, I’d Like To Die, Otherside, Modern Age, Godspeed, Feel Good Drag, Someone Anyone, Dismantle. Repair, Ready Fuels, Paperthin Hymn