Say Anything delivered everything I expected from them at Friday night’s sold out show at Slowdown. The six-piece band played an hour-and-a-half long set of songs from 2004’s “…Is a Real Boy” and last fall’s “In Defense of the Genre.” Frontman Max Bemis has a gift for performing, and he asserted that Friday’s show was the first in a while that the band had been close to the audience. Whether true or not, Bemis made the most of the short distance between band and fan, wandering to the edge of the stage to let fans sing along or shake his hand.
What impressed me more was the quality of the two opening acts. When I spoke to Landing on the Moon drummer Oliver Morgan last week, he told me the band was preparing extra hard because every mistake would come through on Slowdown’s sound system. Honestly, I have no way of knowing if that was true or not because all three bands on the bill — Omaha natives Malpais rounded out the night’s trio — played phenomenally. Malpais had a few equipment problems, such as cords coming unplugged and mic stands being uncooperative, but they definitely made the most of their half an hour and delivered a solid set, especially considering that a cold was ravaging the members. Having listened to the band’s EP after the show, I realized that in its unhealthy state it was far from its best, but Malpais’ performance still set the table for the rest of the evening.
Likewise, Landing on the Moon raced through its set. They sounded good, and by the time the headliners hit the stage, the crowd had already been on its feet, energetically fist-pumping for a good hour-plus. All told, this was easily the best show I’ve seen in 2008, and probably the best I’ve seen for some time before this year, too.
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