Max Bemis of Say Anything performing at Slims in San Francisco, CA. April 2016.
Say Anything
w/ mewithoutYou, Teen Suicide, Museum Mouth
Slims
San Francisco, CA
April 27, 2016
I have only seen Say Anything once before, and it was for a mere four minutes: the band were performing on the Vans Warped Tour in 2008, in support of their album In Defense of The Genre (a two-disc monster featuring a list of guest vocalists so massive that it would probably take an entire issue of Alternative Press to list them all out). I was a teenager at the time, and in ADD-enhanced stupor, I only watched the one song I knew, "Shiksa (Girlfriend)", and immediately moved on to the next stage.
I'm happy to say that I finally got to see a full-on set from Say Anything. I wasn't sure what to expect; it was a Wednesday night and the show wasn't sold out. I didn't know what kind of crowd would be in attendance, as their songs have crossed over so many different sub-genres and categories of rock music. From the moment Max Bemis and co. took the stage, the energy in the room was electrifying. It was a pure rock show for their entire hour and half set.
Say Anything took the stage around 10:45 that evening, and this show ran late for a Wednesday evening. None of the fans cared though; the fact that the band were standing right in front of them was all that permeated their minds. The band are touring in support of their newest offering, the surprise-release I Don't Think It Is, which hit the Internet and record stores with no formal announcement whatsoever until the moment it was released. While the set comprised of a bulk of content from the new album, hits from ...Is A Real Boy were at the core of the set, much to the delight of all the fans in attendance.
The show also featured a near-hour long set from mewithoutYou, the Philadelphia-based indie/experimental rock band that has been captivating fans in the scene for years. Their interesting mix of spoken word and indie rock was proved for a compelling and interesting set, perfect for getting everyone's attention towards the stage prior to Say Anything's performance.
Two newer openers took the stage prior to the two artists: Teen Suicide, a band from Maryland that I couldn't really place any kind of genre on other than "rock", and Museum Mouth, the raw punk act and newest signee of Equal Vision Records. Both did a good job of warming up the crowd and getting everyone in shape.
By the time the show ended, fans left in an exhausted heap, perfectly content from screaming along to the emotionally-fueled lyrics from Bemis that blasted through their headphones during their teenage youth. Hopefully the band will come back for another round in the future very soon.
www.facebook.com/sayanything
www.facebook.com/mewithoutyou
www.facebook.com/teensuicide09
www.facebook.com/museummouthband
This has been another Shameless Promotion.