Say Anything (Band) at Hofstra

Having been a fan of Say Anything’s music since the release of their album “…Is A Real Boy,” I jumped at the chance to see them at a small venue. Hofstra University in Long Island, NY hosted an intimate performance at their Adams Playhouse theater on Saturday, September 26, 2009.

But first the opening acts. I didn’t bother seeing the first opener, but the second one was awful. They were far too excited for my taste and they sounded like Fall Out Boy. I hate Fall Out Boy. I didn’t even bother to find out their name and I moved from my seat in the 5th row to the back by the sound board to try to get away from their drivel. Mercifully, Say Anything entered before I lost hope in everything.

Hitting the stage with a spot-on rendition of Woe off IARB, vocalist Max Bemis and company sounded truly amazing. I give tremendous credit to the sound crew because the drums, bass and vocals were immaculately mixed, which is quite rare in small venues. Now we can get to a few sparse criticisms.

First, guitar solos were largely drowned out by the two other guitarists. I was only able to make them out because I am so familiar with the music to begin with. For anyone who wasn’t expecting every note, those solos may just as well have not been there. No place was this more obvious than during the subject of my next criticism, the performance of Baby Girl, I’m A Blur from Say Anything’s most recent album, a double-disc effort called “In Defense of the Genre.” The primary problem with this song was that it was recorded as a delightful mix of of electronic and organic sound, and the drumming wasn’t tight enough live to keep it from sounding awkward. My apologies to drummer Coby Linder – you’re a great drummer, but that song was a miss for you.

I’m almost done with my complaints, and the last one is nestled in with a compliment: the set was too short! According to my tally, there were only 15 songs. I had been hoping for 25. Of the 15, 8 were off “…Is A Real Boy”/”…Was A Real Boy,” 5 were off “In Defense of the Genre,” and 2 were off the upcoming self-titled album. Of particular note were the songs This is Fucking Ecstasy and Mara and Me, which according to Bemis had not been performed live before. One of the last songs, Belt, the opener from IARB, was the clear standout to me as far as sound and performance. Unfortunately absent from the setlist was the scathing Admit It, which is a personal favorite of mine.

So the ultimate anaysis is as follows: the band mostly sounded great, Bemis is a great performer and solid vocalist, and the performance left me wanting for more. And perhaps most importantly, the two new songs left me wanting more from the new album. I only hope it lives up to my expectations the way their live show (mostly) did.