Say Anything’s …Is A Real Boy 20th Anniversary Tour in Los Angeles
Words & Photos by Natalie Ryan | View the full concert gallery here
July 22, 2024 — Beloved rock band Say Anything celebrated the 20th anniversary of their …Is A Real Boy album with a tour. To start off their Los Angeles show, five-piece shoegaze band Greet Death from Flint, Michigan took the stage. Other than letting the audience know towards the end of their set that their next song was called “Motherfucker”, they didn’t talk to the crowd and let the music speak for itself. Building low, haunting vocals into a deafening, powerful display of heavy guitar and thundering drums, the band was easily making new fans that night.
Next up was AJJ, folk punk band from Phoenix, Arizona. A stark contrast to the brooding energy of Greet Death, AJJ was hyper and eccentric, getting the crowd to jump and sing along with them. They played happy-sounding songs that are lyrically dark, existential, political, and incredibly vulnerable. During their last song, lead singer Sean Bonnette held up his guitar, the words “Free Palestine” written in white on the backside, with the crowd cheering and clapping in support.
Finally, coming on stage to a large middle finger inflatable, Say Anything began their set with “Belt”, the first track on “…Is A Real Boy”. Say Anything’s current lineup is Max Bemis on vocals, occasional guitar and keyboards, Fred Mascherino and Brian Warren on guitar and backing vocals, Alex Kent on bass guitar and backing vocals, Parker Case on keyboards, guitar, and backing vocals, and Coby Linder on drums and backing vocals. Max Bemis is the primary songwriter and founding member of the band, which has a long list of past members. “...Is a Real Boy” was released in 2004, through a tumultuous time period for the band, and was a defining album in the scene. It is featured on many best-of lists for emo and pop punk albums and songs, and 20 years later, it clearly still holds weight for the sold-out crowd at The Wiltern.
Say Anything played the original “...Is A Real Boy” album in full, including two extra songs from the 2005 album reissue. When the album was released, it wasn't trying too hard to be different from the other emo and rock albums that were popular, it just was. It’s a symphony of spoken-word, sarcasm, and outright emotion that is impossible to turn from. Intended to be a rock opera, it deals with themes like mental illness, religion, and sexuality through an angsty and often satirical lens. They played their most popular song, “Alive With the Glory of Love”, which is inspired by Bemis’ grandparents, who were Holocaust survivors. The show ran smoothly until there was an issue with an amp, prompting Bemis to talk to the crowd for a minute, jokingly asking “who’s super depressed right now?” to cheers from the audience. He then said that he was actually “floored” that this album means so much to people after all this time. Due to their technical difficulties, he played “A Walk Through Hell” acoustic, mentioning that he wrote it in Los Angeles. While the rest of the show went on without any more issues, getting an acoustic song was a highlight of the night. They did not play a single newer song, despite just having released an album last month, staying true to the promise of the tour’s focus. The event was also live streamed on Veeps. Finishing the set before the encore with “Wow, I Can Get Sexual Too”, another fan-favorite, I witnessed several strangers high fiving and fist bumping each other during the iconic chorus.
For the encore, to which Bemis commented “thanks for playing along to the fake ending of the show”, he brought out his wife Sherri and their young daughter to sing with him, leaving no hearts unmelted. Experiencing “I Want To Know Your Plans'' acoustic with Sherri’s lovely voice was a special moment for the crowd as well as for the couple with their daughter. After they exited the stage, the full band finished off the show with “Admit It!!”, everyone in the crowd singing/screaming along with abandon. Whether listening to the album for the past 20 years or having just recently discovered it, everyone in the room could feel the significance of the moment and was savoring it. With just a few shows left, take whatever chance you can get to experience this album in full, and have a listen to “...Is A Real Boy” today.
