My wife, the lovely brookiellen (of brookiellen designs), and I are big Say Anything fans. They are easily a top 2 or 3 band for both of us right now, so when we finally had the opportunity to see them live, we were quite excited.
They had 3 bands touring with them through Philly, two I'd never heard, Moving Mountains and Eisley, and one I saw years back but didn't quite remember, Moneen. After seeing the bill some months back, we decided it would be worthwhile to check out Eisley before the show, since they sounded like something we'd dig, we were going to see them, and Sherri was married to Max. We weren't disappointed. I liked what I heard and my wife enjoyed them quite a bit. What we weren't sure about, however, was how theit softer indie rock feel would fit in at a live show with a band as full of energy and angst as Say Anything.
The short answer to our question is, "They fit in quite well."
The longer answer is the Eisley's softer album presence was replaced by a much more powerful rock experience live. This isn't a huge surprise, as many bands rock harder live (Death Cab for Cutie comes to mind) and Eisley's music certainly has the structure to be played harder and a bit faster. Whether or not they live show always featues loud guitars and a thumping rhythm section, I don't know, but their ability to impress the masses of Say Anything's fans was key on Sunday night in Philly.
All 4 acts of the evening played great sets. Moving Mountains opened the show, making their case for a great label to pick up their self-released EP and share it with the world. Moneen kept the crowd moving and singing along. Eisley came up and hit the crowd hard (and me, harder than expected). Then, Say Anything played for over an hour, just rocking one song after another.
A fantastic show by all. The first tour featuring the marriage of Sherri Dupree (Eisley) and Max Bemis (Say Anything) is a success in the eyes and ears of this fan.
