Anberlin: 20 Years of NTFP in KC!

Story and Photos: Spencer Fleming

Last week (3.24.25) I had the chance to catch one of my favorite bands play one of my favorite albums live in KC! I first heard Anberlin on my local radio station 89.7 The River many moons ago. I had a bit of Mandela affect when doing some research for this post. I could've sworn I heard Anberlin's song "Paper-thin Hymn" back in 2002, but it didn't come out until 2005! The album that spawned the hit was called Never Take Friendship Personal. The album is solid from front to back and includes an early version of Anberlin's biggest hit to date "Feel Good Drag".

I've had the pleasure of seeing Anberlin twice before on festival dates but I was never able to catch one of their headline shows. When they announced they would be doing a tour for the 20th anniversary of Never Take Friendship Personal I knew I had to make the drive to KC. The day before I was supposed to leave our family SUV hit some turbulence in the form of a worn battery and a fried alternator. Never fear, we piled into the Honda Accord and everyone got to be a little bit closer, literally, ha!

I had never been to the Madrid Theater before but it was a pretty nice venue. With a balcony for table seating and a very spacious floor it was cool to see Anberlin bringing several hundred die-hard fans in for the evening. After warm up acts The Dangerous Summer and Copeland, who were also doing a 20 year album anniversary, it was time for Anberlin to light up the stage....well sort of. This was one of the hardest photo shoots I've ever done. Instead of using the very capable stage lighting, Anberlin had total darkness save for some tube lights with harsh tones of red, blue, green, and magenta. These colors are hard to nail down even with full brightness. With low light it can be very challenging.

I know very few people care about the lighting rig but it was stressing me out! I moved around the room and tried different angles in hopes of capturing some of the action. No matter, the crowd was singing along with every word just living it up like it was 2005, they could care less about the stinky lights.

It's been about a year since Anberlin lead singer Stephen Christian announced he would be taking a break from touring and Memphis May Fire singer Matty Mullins would be stepping in to take his place, but I was still getting used to the idea. I had heard Matty sing on some re-recorded tracks and a new single that Matty penned called "High Stakes". I had liked what I heard but seeing it live is a whole different ball game. As soon as the band stepped out and tore into the opening song "Never Take Friendship Personal" I knew Matty was up to the task. The thing I loved about Matty's performance is he never gave off the attitude of "I'm the hot new singer". He was just as big of a fan of the band as most of the crowd. He mentioned several times how he followed Anberlin growing up and was so blessed to be in his position. You could tell he was really enjoying the ride.

Anberlin played Never Take Friendship Personal in full before taking a short break. The band came back out for an encore of "The Resistance", "High Stakes", and "Impossible" before closing with the banger "Godspeed". I stood in the back taking it all in. I was so pumped I finally got to see a headline set and to hear one of my favorite albums in full. A few days later I received my 20th anniversary repress of Never Take Friendship Personal. I can't wait to put my setlist from the show in the sleeve and keep it forever!

If you ever get the chance to see Anberlin make sure you go. They're one of the best live bands around. I hope I can see them again soon. Thanks for reading and we'll see you at the next one!

Special thanks to Mammoth Live and Anberlin management for photo access.