Two bands, one diary of feelings

Setlist guesses and small nerdery

Say Anything came up out of the mid-2000s emo wave with sharp wit, messy romance, and big pop-punk hooks. Their identity balances confession and comedy, and after pauses in activity they have tightened the live unit again. Co-heads Motion City Soundtrack bring bright keys and anxious charm built on Commit This to Memory and more. Expect anchors like Alive with the Glory of Love, Wow, I Can Get Sexual Too, Everything Is Alright, and The Future Freaks Me Out. The crowd skews mixed-age, with patchwork denim, clean sneakers, and lyric notebooks, and you will hear careful listening as much as shout-alongs. Deep-cut note: ...Is a Real Boy began life as a stage-style concept with input from Stephen Trask, while Commit This to Memory was produced by Mark Hoppus. For clarity, the song selections and production touches here are inferred from past tours and may not mirror the exact show.

Patches, Polos, and Punchlines: Say Anything Crowd Rituals

The look, the jokes, the heart-on-sleeve chorus

Little rituals you notice by song three

You will see vintage band tees next to thrifted polos and tidy hoodies, plus enamel pins from old tours. People trade line-sung one-liners between sets, and the room often erupts on the first word of The Future Freaks Me Out. A common chant pops up before Everything Is Alright, with fans clapping the snare pattern to cue the band. Merch leans on bold type and classic colorways, with anniversary vinyl for ...Is a Real Boy and Commit This to Memory moving fast. Couples and friend groups tend to keep the mood kind, waving in new voices for the call-and-response bits. After the songs fade, folks compare favorite lines and point out tiny synth runs they caught.

Snark, Synths, and Singalongs: Say Anything Under the Lights

Hooks first, then the hit to the chest

Small choices that change the room

Vocals swing from near-spoken lines to tuneful shouts, keeping the stories front and center. Guitars favor crunchy mids with tight stops that make the punchlines hit harder. The co-heads contrast well, with Motion City Soundtrack laying candy-bright synth leads over brisk drums while Say Anything leans on jagged strums and start-stop breaks. Several songs arrive a notch slower than record so the choruses land heavy, then ramp to fast tags for a sprint finish. A recurring live quirk is to strip one mid-set piece to voice and guitar so the room can carry the final refrain. Keys often double guitar hooks an octave higher, which cleans up the blend and makes parts feel glued. Visuals stay color-blocked and brisk, with strobes saved for the big kick-ins and softer washes during monologue sections.

Kindred Hooks, Shared Diaries: Say Anything Adjacent Artists

If you like this, try that

Overlapping scenes and sensibilities

Fans of Taking Back Sunday often click with this bill thanks to sharp lyrical back-and-forth and big crowd shouts. Saves The Day shares the bright melodies and sardonic edge that make bittersweet lyrics go down easy. The Midwest roots and open-hearted choruses of The Get Up Kids map closely to the nervy warmth here. If you lean toward precision and glow, Jimmy Eat World offers similar emo-pop craft with steady live polish. TBS and Saves fans tend to crave kinetic pacing, while JEW listeners appreciate dynamics that swell without fuss. All four acts prize hooks that tell a story rather than just fill space. That shared aim makes this pairing feel familiar even when the textures differ.