Say ANything Live Review

Say Anything LIVE REVIEW | “Illusions of Angst & Hopelessness” | The Ritz Ybor, FL | May 25, 2016

by • June 22, 2016

Though my headline is a lyric in one of my favorite Say Anything songs, “Mara & Me,” the first Say Anything song I heard was 2004’s “Alive with the Glory of Love.”  I liked it but I guess bands like AFI & MSI already occupied the fused hardcore-punk-pop/post-punk-emo-rock section of my brain so I never really got into them. However, since the band formed in Los Angeles in 2000, I’d often met devoted Say Anything fans who’d told me I had to experience a live performance to really get them. Then I briefly dated a girl who was in love with their music. That relationship was brief not because of her music tastes but because things turned hectic because she was bipolar. Then I discovered that Say Anything’s lead singer & lyricist Max Bemis is bipolar and outspoken about this condition.

say anything live review - orlando

Max Bemis of Say Anything, Photo by Adam Fricke 2015

Being that I’m nuts (what I meant to say there was that I hold a psychology degree which has made me obsessive about seeing if such disorders apply to me so that I might re-calibrate my personal level of crazy). So, that got me re-interested in Say Anything because, though bipolar disorder made for a bad roller coaster of a romance, I was pretty sure it would make a kick-ass rock band. BTW, the terms “nuts” & “crazy” are not proper psychology terms, not politically correct & likely extremely insensitive, but screw that for now, you’re reading the words of a crazy person writing about nutty punk rock.

Upon listening to Say Anything again, I found I still liked their intense hardcore punk infused with infectious rock hooks yet, I still wasn’t totally hooked. However, when the opportunity to photograph and review their show arose, I finally listened to past friends/fans and jumped on the chance. Now I get it… This wasn’t just a kick-ass rock show, it was more like the band throwing a party for hundreds of its BFF’s. I haven’t gotten the door count but The Ritz was packed from floor to mezzanine with enraptured fans, dance-sway-hug-moshing to Say Anything’s romp. The audience seemed to know every lyric as they sung or at least lip-synced along through a set that went way over an hour. Combine that atmosphere with specific characteristics of the band’s distorted, punk-metal-hardcore sound and it simply is something that must be experienced live. Say Anything has a sound with an energy too overpowering to capture on a studio recording. The phrase “You can’t put lightning in a bottle” is applicable.

Say Anything Live Review

I’m a drummer so I usually comment on drummers and, what I can say about Reed Murray, the band’s drummer on this tour, is that he’s so good that he’s invisible. He’s perfect at seamlessly carrying the band through turn-on-the-dime changes in Say Anything’s modern rock pop song structures and into hardcore breakdowns and breakouts. This is no small task because I’ve found that nearly every Say Anything song has several simultaneous hooks embedded in the lyrics, riffs and melodies. The other thing you may like to know about Reed is that he’s a hometown hitter (a Tampa guy & USF graduate).

The band is so tight that the songs are the stars of the show. Again I’m a drummer and not pitch-informed enough to know, but the bassist was also doing something uncanny with the low end that gives the band an edge that makes them too heavy for indie or emo, even though the lyrics and song structures often fulfill elements of those genres better than any band in them. I’ll have to ask friends who play melodic instruments what key the bassist may be tuning down to. The band grinds away while Bemis prowls the stage alternatively sing-screaming lyrics with a passion that had me thinking that had he not found punk rock to channel such energies, he’d probably be institutionalized, homeless, or dead by now. Thank God for punk rock. Another highlight of the night was when Eisley’s Sherri Dupree (now Sherri Dupree-Bemis) joined Max for a duet which gave the audience one of few moments to catch their breath before the band launched back into their sonic romp and roll.

Say Anything Live Review Eisley

Say Anything ended their marathon set (another thing they are known for) with solo Bemis on guitar performing “I Want To Know Your Plans.” They returned for another full band song and I noticed security wondering how much longer the manic-sonic maelstrom could continue. Click to watch video I shot of one of their encores on YouTube.  The crowd and band seemed like heavyweight boxers in the 15th round; all punch drunk yet reeling for more. All seemed willing and expectant to go on but venues are only contracted for so much mayhem. After guitarist Kenny Bridges crowd surfed into the audience, the rest of the band ground things down to a halt the crowd spilled into the streets of Ybor and backstage toward the tour buses to group hug.

Say Anything Setlist The Ritz, Ybor City, FL, USA 2016, I Don't Think It Is

The openers (MeWithoutYouTeen Suicide & Museum Mouth) all turned in solid, passionate performances in the same general genre as Say Anything, so fans of Say Anything owe it to themselves to keep track of these acts. Thanks to No Clubs Productions for continuing to stage outstanding concerts in The Tampa Bay area. 😎

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: Bipolar disorder is a specific, diagnosable mental/physical illness that responds well to a number of cognitive and pharmaceutical therapies, so even if you’re a straight-edge punk who doesn’t want to entertain the idea of drugs in your flesh, you can get help. If you fit the symptom profile, it is worth your effort to seek diagnosis and therapy. Bipolar disorder can be a debilitating illness but it does not have to be. Seek help or at least start a rock band like Say Anything. Be sure to check their 2016 release which features a slight evolution in their sound and collaboration with Mutemath’s drummer/producer, Darren King.

Say Anything Live Review 2016 by Eric Haase.


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