April 19, 2015
The Danforth Music Hall was the place to be as The Used played a near sold show on Sunday night. The Utah based band are currently out on a co-headling tour alongside Every Time I Die, in support of their latest album Imaginary Enemy.
With the crowd filled with 20 somethings poised to relive their youth, the energy in the room was palpable. As the lights went down, fans eagerly poured forward towards the stage where a mountain of TVs displaying the band’s latest album art flashed brightly emanating hues of red, white and yellow. Then suddenly The Used took to the stage and jumped right into their first song of the night, “Maybe Memories.”
A few songs in, Bert McCracken addressed the crowd the best way he knew how.
“We are…The fucking Used, obviously.”
The band then went on to play a full set, primarily consisting of older songs like “All That I’ve Got,” “The Taste of Ink,” and “Take It Away.” McCracken stopped a few times throughout the show to let the crowdknow just how happy the band was to be back in Canada. He also spoke of his distaste for government.
“I’ve gotten a lot of e-mails lately about how things have been here and how Stephen Harper has been running things…I’m so sick of seeing these elements of racism and homophobia and I want to let you know that even though they have the power, fear will always win. You make sure you put fear in them!” To which the crowd enthusiastically cheered and applauded.
Prior to playing their most well known hit, “The Taste of Ink,” things got a little sentimental. McCracken gave his sincerest thank you’s to the crowd, expressing his appreciation for how fans have supported The Used since the band’s beginnings.
“I had one dream when I was a little boy, and you’ve helped to make that dream come true.”
The band then closed things out with 2007’s “Pretty Handsome Awkward,” but quickly returned for an encore. Instead of playing older songs as most bands do, The Used stepped it up and did a Rage Against the Machine cover mash-up of “Killing In The Name Of,” “Bulls on Parade,” and “Know Your Enemy,” before finishing the show with their song, “A Box Full of Sharp Objects.”
As the night drew to an end, fans couldn’t take their eyes off of the stage. Cheers and applause filled the room, and it was clear that even after all these years, The Used still possess that extra something that made them one of the seminal screamo / post-hardcore bands of the early 2000’s.
*This was previously posted on Anchorshop.com