Pop-punk powerhouse, Say Anything, brought their “…Is a Real Boy” anniversary tour to the MGM Music Hall last weekend. Celebrating 20 years of their massively successful debut record, the band is on tour with AJJ and Greet Death to bring an exciting mixed bill to each city.
As the brainchild of Max Bemis, Say Anything has been cutting their teeth in the scene for over two decades. Founded in 2000, the group self-released a couple bodies of work before ultimately reinventing their sound, taking a big swing with their debut LP. 2004 saw the release of “…Is a Real Boy,” which was described by Bemis as a “punk rock musical,” and it proved to be exactly what the scene needed to shake things up. This fresh perspective on punk rock livened an already-booming scene and cemented Say Anything’s status among the greats.
Naturally, the album begins with a spoken word introduction for the first thirty seconds of “Belt,” which played over the speakers until Bemis and company formally began with his iconic line “…and the record begins with a song of rebellion.” The crowd immediately began bouncing and dancing to match the energy Bemis was bringing out of the gate. The pacing of the album was meticulously thought out upon its creation, and that translated incredibly well to a live performance as the band transitioned into the bouncy ballad, “Woe.”
The group played through the rest of the album’s original release, including a brief acoustic interlude where Bemis performed “Wow, I Can Get Sexual Too,” one of their biggest hits despite its unconventionality. The encore completed the original album run with the campfire singalong “I Want to Know Your Plans” directly into the fiery, rebellious closer, “Admit It!!!” The stark difference of these two tracks proved to be an incredibly worthy encore between the emotional singalong into the cathartic explosion of frustration and anxiety.
Say Anything’s anniversary tour continues through June, wrapping up in Austin, TX, before they perform the album again in full at Las Vegas’s When We Were Young festival.
Say Anything online: Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Spotify | Apple Music
PHOTO GALLERY BY: Cam Cavagnaro
