Arriving just in time to see The Getaway Plan walk offstage, the wait for Say Anything seems eternal. Playing their first ever round of Australian headline shows, Say Anything have managed to easily pack out Melbourne’s Billboard; a venue that thankfully has no shortage of excellent vantage points.
To an eruption of screams, the headliner takes their place on stage, led by the formerly troubled genius that is Max Bemis. Looking suspiciously like a cross between Alan from The Hangover and Teen Wolf, Bemis delves back to 2004’s …Is A Real Boy and opens with “Spidersong” much to the delight of the crowd. “We’re called Say Anything from L.A” says the singer and launches into “Burn A Miracle” from 2012’s Anarchy My Dear.
“You guys are something else, holy shit” exclaims an overwhelmed Bemis before leading a crowd sing-along for “Shiksa”. The crowd booms “girlfriend now, I have a girlfriend now” along with the singer as he bounces across the stage and occasionally jumps atop drummer Cody Linder’s riser. Jake Turner, Parker Case, Jeff Turner and Adam Siska give Bemis a run for his money when it comes to frenetic energy, hurling themselves around and gleaming with sweat.
“Hate Everyone” turns the first few rows into a churning mosh and has its inhabitants screaming “I hate everyone” into the faces of the visibly annoyed of security guards. Bemis tosses his microphone into the crowd and reels it in like a fish as punters rush to grab it with the occasional crowd surfer drifting overhead trying to get closer to the singer.
“You guys are fucking beautiful, holy shit! This is one of my favourite shows of all time. Thank you” says the vocalist as the crowd/band mutual appreciation society rolls on. Once again revisiting fan favourite …Is A Real Boy, the band rips trough “Belt” before taking on arguably their best known song, “Wow, I Can Get Sexual Too”. To say the song goes off is an understatement and as far as the eye can see fully grown men are reduced to squealing, dancing fan girls.
Riding on the excitement of the last song, the crowd does not take much coaxing to get into the epic naming and shaming break up track “Eloise” which is still played with the fury it was originally recorded with. The punters in the mosh scramble over each other to reach Bemis’s extended hand. The bond that Bemis shares with the audience is an interesting one. He clearly adores playing music and the fans that have sung along to every single song they have played; in return the crowd sees Bemis as a friend – and with his well known struggles with addiction and mental health problems – they are fiercely protective of him.
Finishing off with “Every Man Has A Molly”, a song which is as hilarious as it is disturbing, Bemis applauds the crowd that is almost hysterically cheering him.
After asking “do you guys agree to come back and see us next time were here?” the band plays an encore of everyone’s favourite “Alive With The Glory Of Love” and “Colourblind”; Bemis once again applauds the masses, who do not seem to believe the show will finish this early, and leaves the stage. Red cheeked punters make their way outside with torn off sleeves and shirts translucent with sweat, eyed off by scantily clad clubbers skulking down Russell Street.
For a band with such a huge and well-loved back catalogue, it is a little disappointing to see them shuffling offstage when there is still so much material left unplayed. Hopefully this means that we will see Say Anything again sooner rather than later for an extended show.
– Madison Thomas
