It has apparently become my mission to take record of bands from my emo youth days celebrating their renaissance. Anberlin is a welcome addition to this ever growing list, marking 20 years since the release of their sophomore—and arguably best—album, Never Take Friendship Personal. A celebration of this caliber deserves the company of other greats from the era as well, so to help revisit this milestone, Copeland and The Dangerous Summer were there to join them! Myspace Top 8, anyone?

Starting things off, A Dangerous Summer set the bar high, opening the night for everyone. The Brooklyn Bowl Las Vegas is personally one of my favorite venues in the city, even more so when you have acts like this firing up the stage. With a sound that can be described as late emo meets east coast attitude, the decades they have been together shone bright, both in their music and showmanship. Front man AJ Perdomo was instrumental in waking up a sleepy crowd, leading singalongs for hits like “Where I Want To Be” and “Gravity.” This was not subtle foreshadowing to just much the audience would be a perfect, synchronized choir the rest of the evening.

Despite a rough start, with tuning issues and an emotional back-pedal, Aaron Marsh of Copeland brought out the best from our early days. Sharing the accomplishment of two decades since the release, we were treated to a performance of their entire album In Motion. I remember how that particular album sounded growing up—every lyric pulling at my teenage heart. This show was a much-appreciated reminder of that. Playing throughout the album, we were privy to moving soul and hard hitting rock from start to finish. You could see that nothing was going to keep these guys from leaving it all out there on the stage.

Now, I’ll be the first to admit—I was more than a little excited to see Anberlin perform again. It had been nearly 20 years since I saw them live. That show was particularly unforgettable. Nothing like seeing a band rock so hard that it caused monitors to catch fire.

Not only was I ready to experience “Never Take Friendship Personal,” “ A Day Late,” and “Paperthin Hymn,” but I was beyond eager to see Matty Mullins fill in for original vocalist Stephen Christian. With a definite difference in vocal styles, I was curious to see how it would translate. Can you say phenomenal?! Just last week, Anberlin had released a new music video for “The Feel Good Drag” featuring the vocals of Mullins, proving his rightful and very well-received place in the band.

Hearing that performed live was an absolute delight and showcased just how talented these guys are. I don’t think there was a single moment throughout this whole set where the entire venue wasn’t either singing right along or jumping with the same enthusiasm as each member on stage. At one point, a small mosh pit even broke out started—possibly thanks to Otherwise guitarist and lead singer Ryan Patrick.

Even after two plus decades of making music and touring, there is no denying their place in music, especially from this Emo Kids’ perspective.

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