Photo credit: Matt Beshear

Say Anything, Best Opening Band Ever

By Matt Beshear
Staff Writer

A few weeks ago, a very ominous warning about the use of strobe lights was displayed on the television during an episode of American Idol. It was followed by a very bizarre performance by Diddy and his new group Dirty Money. And while it did feature strobes, seeing it through the tube didn’t have much of an effect and made me wonder why a warning was needed at all.

The same can not be said for the Angels & Airwaves (with Say Anything) show that took place last week at The Venue, a show that should have had big warning signs everywhere.

Opening the show was Say Anything, fronted by the larger-than-life Max Bemis. With matching white dress shirts and black pants (Max said they looked like waiters), the band launched into “Hate Everyone,” the first single from their self-titled 2009 release. They followed it up with “Shiksa (Girlfriend),” but the crowd stood like statues until the third track “Wow, I Can Get Sexual Too.”

After a few more songs, Max stripped his dress shirt off to reveal a white tank top and a large Johnny Cash tattoo on his left arm. After ripping through an energetic ten-song, featuring three guitar players at most times and Max’s spastic Ian Curtis-like dancing, the band left the stage with the crowd chanting “encore” more than I’ve ever heard after an opening band played.

The people-watching between sets wasn’t as entertaining as Say Anything, but was fun nonetheless. A mostly teenage and early-20’s crowd was well-behaved other than a few problems. The first one was a guy who talked someone into chucking a beer down from the balcony above, but that was snuffed out by security right away. The best, though, was a kid who smoked half a cigarette right in front of security before they realized it was him. Who really thinks the person in front of you is going to be smoking?

One refreshing site, which is often-seen at the all-ages shows the Venue holds, was the amount of young kids with their parents. While I often hear complaints about all-ages shows and not being able to drink on the floor, the all-ages shows I’ve attended have been packed and its great site to see parents and kids being able to share that experience.

After a thirty minute wait between sets, Angels & Airwaves took the stage in total darkness, with effects filling the venue and dressed like priests from outer space. This continued for a few minutes before the white strobes kicked in and the warning signs would have come into play. I can’t remember seeing a light and stage show like that since Nine Inch Nails “Downward Spiral” tour and it fit the energy and emotion of the band well.

Initially known as Tom DeLonge’s (the snarly-voiced guy from Blink-182) band, Angel’s & Airwaves are now on their third disc and Tom had become a very good frontman in his own right. Other than a bit of banter between songs (they must have had a bad experience on the Canada leg of the tour) it was a pretty straightforward rock show. The most recent Angels & Airwaves release, “LOVE,” is their best record to date and is the soundtrack to an upcoming sci-fi movie. It’s their first independent release and is available for free on their website.

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