Anberlin’s third show in Melbourne for the long weekend was opened by Central Coast rockers Angela’s Dish. Their melodic rock, in the mould of many pseudo-emo pop-punk bands, was inoffensive to the assembled waiting crowd. While there was nothing awful about them, they’re not the most original band out there getting exposure. I didn’t mind them at first but their far-too-loud sound grated by the end of their set. While this may sound like a grandma complaint, Angela’s Dish, and later Anberlin, really were too bloody loud. Without earplugs to block out the high-end fuzz, it was almost impossible to discern the vocals.

Copeland’s buoyant indie-pop was a welcome respite from the assault of excessive decibels. They started their set with quieter piano-based-songs on the softly-lit stage with minimal movement. This restraint created a deliberate atmosphere and demonstrated their respect for their songs’ form, not in a way that made the crowd bored, but rather enthralled. There was no noisy chatter among punters and the band expressed thanks to the crowd numerous times for their welcome.

The Ben Folds likened paean Sleep started in an unassuming way. The band gradually opened up as the song progressed with singer Aaron Marsh transitioning smoothly between the higher falsetto notes. His voice had a light but strong quality, bearing similarities at various times to Ben Gibbard, Conor Oberst and, occasionally, Matt Bellamy or Brian Molko. Simply put, he has a really good voice. Copeland has the – œindie band rock-out’ perfected in that earnest but unpretentious manner – think late-90s pre-makeup emo. Marsh, later up from the piano and playing guitar, completing the three-guitar lineup, added more of that rock edge. I’m sure Copeland won a lot of fans at this gig, playing songs from all three of their albums.

It was clear that the huddle at the front of the crowd were die-hard Anberlin fans and, in some cases, waiting for a second dose after Saturday’s show two days prior. Anberlin came on stage to eager applause and immediately ripped into A Whisper & A Clamour from their recent Cities album – a worthy opener with its refrain of – œClap your hands all ye children’. The crowd obliged, getting into it with some non-hardcore moshing. Never Take Friendship Personal was transitioned immediately after; a crowd favourite. They played songs from all of their albums with just one number from their debut and a good mix between the other two.

The band played heavy and fast. Unfortunately singer Stephen Christian struggled to sing all of the lyrics. Layered vocals found on their albums, especially Cities , would be tricky for one person to sing on their own. Christian tried yet his efforts resulted in missed lines. One guitarist momentarily offered backup vocals yet were often inaudible or off-key.

An international band naming a song after an Australian city is bound to win some points with punters all over Australia. But as Adelaide was introduced, one lone smart-arse shouted what many were thinking – “I hate Adelaide!” The band obviously didn’t factor in or were unaware of our interstate rivalries. Nonetheless, it went off as did every one of their songs.

Anberlin have a knack for songs that anyone can sing along to. Their quieter songs more so – they performed The Unwinding Cable Car acoustically, showing off their more mellow side and giving Christian an opportunity to thrive on the higher and slower notes he loves. This was also the case with the syncopated Dance, Dance, Christa Paffgen. Christian related well to the crowd, stepping in at one point to be grabbed by dozens of sweaty hands. The kids loved it. Other favourites included Hello Alone, Paperthin Hymn, A Day Late and Dismantle.Repair.

The last song to conclude their set was Godspeed and everyone took the opportunity to rock out one more time. The encore walk-off was a farce with the band staying off stage for less than 30 seconds. Anberlin took the opportunity to play the epic (*Fin) , as opposed to the cover of Radiohead’s Creep from Saturday night. Anberlin may be a rock band at heart but with some of the more versatile songs like (*Fin) , it would have been great to have a small choir sing the choral part of “Patron Saint, are we all lost like you?” instead of a recording playing in the background.

Anberlin put on a good fun rock show – nothing flashy and the crowd love it. If you like their records you’d have loved the show. It was just a shame about the shoddy sound quality. Copeland’s was good, but not on par with Anberlin’s. Needlessly deafening the punters only makes us resort to earplugs, which is so not rock. But singing along and moshing with your friends down the front? That’s rock.