New York City's Best Buy Theater got a little taste of anarchy this past Friday the 13th as Say Anything's "Say Anarchy Tour" took the stage. The band is currently on tour to promote their fourth studio album "Anarchy, My Dear" which hit stores in March.
Since 2000, Say Anything has remained consistently faithful to their post-hardcore sound, turning out songs that are almost impossible not to jump around and bang your head to. A slew of indie rock bands, Tallheart, Fake Problems, and Kevin Devine and the Goddamn Band, got the crowd warmed up. These groups all have decidedly different sounds than Say Anything, which made them somewhat unconventional choices to open for the aggressive Say Anything. Despite the differences in genre, all three bands delivered solid performances that the audience enjoyed.
Say Anything took over the stage to chants of "Bemis", front man Max's last name. The band's set started with "Spidersong" off their first studio album "...Is a Real Boy" and then transitioned into the pulsating single "Burn a Miracle" off their latest album. At this point, the crowd descended into a mob, crowd surfers' rode the wave of some 4,200 hands, free movement was limited at best, and a few new-comers to Say Anything's concerts couldn't handle the uproar and needed to be lifted out of the crowd by security guards. Bemis is an expert at getting the crowd on their feet, and this show was no exception - Say Anything and the crowd alike maintained extremely high energy from start to finish.
Bemis was joined by his wife, Sherri DuPree-Bemis, lead singer of Eisley, for "So Good", and the chemistry between the couple was palpable throughout the duet.
"Max and Sherri complement each other so well on stage," junior Victoria Haffner said. "Their collaborations are a highlight of any show I have seen with them. The Bemis' are definitely my favorite celebrity couple. Hands down."
One of the staple songs of a Say Anything concert is "Alive with the Glory of Love" off their first album, and the crowd went absolutely wild, as expected, for this song. Probably one of the most gratifying things about a Say Anything concert is that they sound even better live than they do recorded, so everything listeners feel while listening to their music normally is amplified. The ending of the concert was positively electric with "Admit it!" off their first album, followed by the song's sequel (so to say) "Admit it Again" off the band's newest album. Bemis ended the show in style by diving off the stage and into the crowd.
Although this is Say Anything's only stop in New York for the whole tour, the band promised that they would be back in the area soon, which bodes well for Say Anything fans throughout the tri-state area.
Emily Lake can be reached at emily.lake@student.shu.edu
