When the Director of the music department at 89.1 “The Point” called me up last week and asked me to review the show that the band “Say Anything” was going to do this week, my knee jerk reaction was of course “Hell Yeah”. I mean come one, the word “free” was put before “tickets”, and if college has taught me anything, it’s take advantage of anything that’s free.
However after the phone call was over, I had a realization; I knew nothing about the source material, and this particular flavor wasn’t even on my musical palette anymore. Say Anything, if I was remembering correctly, came riding on the tail end of the “Fall Out Boy” Indie/Emo/Pop-Punk/ wave that hit kids across the country in the middle of the last decade. Around that same time I was transitioning from awkward middle schooler into a more awkward high schooler, and was heavily invested in what became known as the “scene”(so you know my opinion is semi-valid). Say Anything had always been one of those bands that had always been on my list of acts to check out. Sadly they fell to the wayside as my taste developed more urban sensibilities before taking a sharp U-Turn back in time. Despite my fickle fanaticisms their single from their first LP, “Alive with the Glory of Love” had stuck around my iTunes library since that time. Plus I had never gotten to see any of the bands I liked back then live and, the word “free” was still bouncing around in my head. So I decided to go through with it anyway.
Fast forward to the night of the show, I drive out to Rochester to the familiar Water Street Music Hall, a venue big enough to fit 1000 people, but intimate enough to feel like it’s a local bar show (I’m convinced it’s the hardwood floors…and the bar). The line for tickets was around the block. I smiled to myself, reveling in the fact that the scene I left behind is still alive and kicking. It was after I had gotten into the line, and was (foolishly) shocked to see the third girl with highlighter inspired neon hair, that I remembered that these angst-y kids would not be welcoming me back to them with open arms. I would have blended in amongst the fan base easier if I had grown a thick mustache, my jeans were tight as yoga pants, and wore thick rimmed black glasses. My first mistake, was wearing Jordan’s and a NorthFace jacket, a big one at that. I reeked like a “poser” and they could smell it for miles around. However my natural hipster attitude and fluency in left-wing discourse won me over a few followers in the line. After the hour wait, my female companion and I got inside and mingled amongst the few people who would talk to us, and the show started. The first band on was “The Front Bottom’s”, my favorite of the three openers. They were reminiscent of the “talk over half the song” part of Taking Back Sunday, I recommend checking out “Swimming Pool” and “Beers”. The next band “Fake Problems” sounded like an American version of Franz Ferdinand (not in a good way). The final opener Kevin Devine and the GodDamn Band, was just “okay”. They sounded kind of like Train sat on the lead singer of the Smashing Pumpkins head. I digress.
After three hours of opening acts, and such a long time that I almost why I forgot why I had come, Say Anything comes out. It turns out that good things come to those who wait. The crowd immediately exploded with a thunder of approval. The band easily matched the crowd’s energy, with hyperactive (and Bi-polar) front man Max Bermis, four guitarists, arena-inspired drums, and amps cranked up to 11. As they began tearing through a set list that included their hits like “Shiksa” “Hate Everyone” “Eloise” “The Spider Song” and “So Good”, amongst others, I began to remember my fondness of the genre, however you want to classify it. The songs, written mostly by Bermis reflect his mental affliction, but they also mirror lots of the same feelings I had as a 15 year old. They contain those spitefully poetic lyrics that paint the world in the extreme ups and downs of adolescence. Tempo changes in the songs happen frequently, that also convey the changes in mood of the guy who writes the stuff. I imagine this appeals heavily to high schoolers whose problems are about only 40% real, but whose hormones exponentially increase their stress to “end of the world” proportions. This is the type of band you want to listen too when you found out you’ve been cheated on. These genuine, albeit hyperbolic feelings, wrapped in catchy hooks, and poppy melodies, create quite the sensation for the ears. The crowd was jumping, and singing along with every witty line, making it easy to get caught up in the moment. Halfway through the set, I had my fist in the air, chanting back what few lines I knew. I even got a few high fives showing I had become one with the “cool kids”. They closed out the show with the only song I knew before that night, “Alive with the Glory of Love” and the house was literally jumping. Though at the end of the set my ears were ringing for hours, I felt alive. Say Anything had taught me to remember what it felt like to be in tenth grade again, as well as helped me to re-connect with the hipster tribe, and I couldn’t have been happier.
Three and a half out of five stars
orignially published on 891thepoint.com