Everything Is Alright
by Anthony Monroe Feb, 02 2026
Since stepping into the world of photography after helping my brother, Photographer and contributing editor, Randall ‘Hanka’ McNeill, with Wrestling and promo shots, I’ve gotten to exercise this creative itch that I have been nursing for years. I never thought it would get me anything more than another hobby, something to keep my mind busy and occupied as I navigate through life. I need expected whatsoever that this road would lead to me actually getting gigs, especially for one of my all time favorite bands.
Fast forward to the day before the show, one I had purchased a ticket to weeks prior, as I wasn’t going to miss out on seeing Motion City Soundtrack, and their special guests, Say Anything, for the first time. I just so happened to check for my media access, through the fine folks at LiveNation, and lo and behold, I had been approved! Never in a million years did I expect that to happen, let alone even get a rejection. I just figured I would be ignored, no skin in the game and all that. I immediately hit up my brother, told him he was coming along, since I now had a free ticket, and he was going to give me the real time advice I so desperately needed. I’ve shot wrestling events before, but never a concert. I’ve helped him out with various tasks, but this time, it was me in that press pit. I was a nervous wreck to say the least.
Sincere Engineer
Well, anyway, on to the review! I was told that the lighting at The Fillmore in Charlotte could be pretty bad, depending on use of house lighting, and the rig that the bands were using, thankfully I lucked up, and this was one of the times that the lighting was fairly generous, especially since there wasn’t a lot of the dreaded red light being used. I found the opener, a band by the name of Sincere Engineer, to be a lot of fun. They brought a very fun, energetic punk styling to my emo show. I immediately added them to my Spotify afterwards, as they made me a fan this day. Unfortunately as far as the actual show went, they had to cut their set short due to some unforeseen circumstances. We did get a nice 6 song set-list with the following:
- Anemia
- Dragged Across the Finish Line
- California King
- Fireplace
- Corn Dog Sonnet No. 7
- overbite
My fave performances being that of Anemia, and Fireplace. This band has a pretty sizable fanbase, and I am glad that now I am one of them! I got to shoot the first three, and they definitely made them well worth it! Great energy, fast music, and a good fan reaction. Can’t say enough good things about this band, and hope to get to shoot them again soon!
Say Anything
Special guest Say Anything was up next, and Max Bemis and the crew showed up ready to rock Charlotte. They brought their 25 years of sonic goodness to The Fillmore. A great selection of their catalog was performed, and fan favorites were a big part of this. They had a few technical issues here and there. Still, these issues caused no delays or sound quality problems. I would have never known, if Max hadn’t mentioned it before playing his solo acoustic song.
They’ve been doing this a long time, and it shows in the stage presence and energy they bring to the show. There were a couple songs I was hoping for as a fan that I didn’t get to see, but what we got was still a great set. Songs included:
- Spores
- Shiksa (Girlfriend)
- Chia-Like, I shall grow
- So Good
- About Falling
- Joel On Other Planets
- Woe
- Eloise
- Every Man Has A Molly
- AUTO-HARMONIC ASS FIXATION
- Wow, I Can Get Sexual Too
- Belt
- Baby Girl, I’m A Blur (Acoustic)
- Alive With The Glory Of Love
I got a lot of great shots, even with the choice of backlighting for the first song trying its best to stop me in my tracks. Standouts for me were Eloise, which included a fun little crowd interaction moment. Wow, I Can Get Sexual Too was another highlight. Of course, the closer was Alive With The Glory Of Love, I was glad I wasn’t in the photo pit for it, because you couldn’t stop me from belting it out along with everyone else there. All in all, even with the technical issues, it was a great set and a great lead-in to the main event!
Motion City Soundtrack
What a main event it was! MCS came out with all the energy of their synth-pop emo albums, and didn’t let that energy drop the entire set. I was working this show, but this was still a personal one for me, as I was going regardless. Getting to shoot one of my favorite bands as my first concert gig was just icing on the cake. She Is Afraid was super fun to shoot, and a hard one for me to concentrate on as I wanted to belt it out in the pit and dance it out. I was dialed in by this point, and the shots came out great. I also got to see three of the songs I wanted to see most, but I think it was You Know Who The Fuck We Are that got me bouncing the most. Lighting was phenomenal, sound mixing could have upped Justin’s voice a bit more, but the energy and music easily made me not care about the few issues too much. Setlist as follows:
- Some Wear A Dark Heart
- Capital H
- She Is Afraid
- My Favorite Accident
- Her Words Destroyed My Planet
- A Lifeless Ordinary (Need A Little Help)
- You Know Who The Fuck We Are
- Make Out Kids
- Particle Physics
- Timelines
- This Is For Real
- Things Like This
- Your Days Are Numbered
- L.G. FUAD
- The Same Old Wasted Wonderful World
- Attractive Today
- Everything Is Alright
- The Future Freaks Me Out
A great set, and a phenomenal main event to close out the show, they did have to cut one song from the setlist, so not too bad for a city that is notorious for making sure shows are closed out by a certain time. I highly recommend that any of our readers check any of these bands out, as they’re all well worth the price of admission. Which is admittedly, a lot less expensive than a lot of acts these days. I would like to close out by saying MCS merch was amazing, and I walked out with entirely too much money spent, and I only wish Say Anything had brought some vinyl, as I love picking up tour variants and rare vinyls I haven’t added to the collection yet. As far as the venue and staff goes, five stars to the staff. From the ease of picking up my press credentials, to the gate staff, to the bartenders, and especially to Matt, a member of the LiveNation Security team, and the man who ushered all the photogs in and out and is just an all around cool dude. Now that my first (and hopefully not last)event is in the books, I’m gonna get some rest, and look forward to many more to come! See you guys next time, from behind the lens, and the keyboard!
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