Twenty-five years is a great career and The Used have had a career that spans ten albums and twenty-five years.
This tour of Australia is a celebration of their career.
Tonight, they are celebrating their 2004 release “In Love and Death” by playing it in full. This is the third show of the Australian Tour and on the first two nights at The Forum in Melbourne they played the 2002 Debut and 2007’s “Lies For The Liars”
The trifecta of incredible records being celebrated is such a great way to start this tour off and by the time “In Love and Death” was released The Used and frontman Bert McCrackin were not only a breath of fresh air but had a danger about them that connected with so many. Me being one of them. The world had moved on from grunge and the world of emo had taken full flight.
Where The Used struck a different chord was in the way they presented and structured their songs and on “In Love & Death” they had a flex that was fresh and had a broader appeal than the debut. It is a much deeper record lyrically as a lot had gone on in the band’s world between these two records. To hear this album in full is an absolute treat and something that I never thought I would have the chance to experience.
Canberra’s Hands Like Houses I have seen once before and it was on a much different scale. Tonight, they were something else; tight, dynamic, loud and sounded amazing. What I love about live music is seeing a bands evolution.
Seeing Hands Like Houses for the first time in Hobart at The Waratah Hotel in 2018. They played a room that held maybe 300 at a push, back then there was something captivating about the band. Back then my music tastes weren’t as broad or as appreciative as they are now, but even at that show I saw something in the band that made them ones to keep an eye on.
From that support slot to tonight’s support slot there is a huge difference in the band and its performance. This evening, I saw a band that has worked hard at producing an exceptional set. The then to now transformation makes the band worthy and ready to headline their own theatre shows. Sounding larger than life they have perfected what they do musically and performance wise.
They engaged a crowd that wasn’t necessarily theirs but given they are doing the full run of The Used shows and having already warmed up this crowd (or parts thereof) twice fans were engaging, singing along and following frontman Josh Raven who has only been with the band since 2023 is a great addition.
The musicianship is fantastic and the band just gel, it’s tight and precise and again had me at my most attentive by the time they reached the halfway mark of the set.
Their cover of Chris Isaac’s “Wicked Game” brought the house down, although it’s been covered a million times, this version was great.
Three quarters of the way through their set Raven stated that they are only running at 59% and they asked The Forum if it was Ok if they ramped it up, and that’s exactly what they did with “ICU”. The crowd sang along where they could and truly did seem to engage with the band.
Hands Like Houses have this semi-industrial flavoured sound that tilts into experimental and alternative rock vibes. Their sound simply flooded and thumped its way through The Forum. There was enough low end to loosen teeth. You felt it and it grabbed you, it’s great to see a support act get full PA use.
Moved to the front of the stage, there wasn’t a lot of running around room as the back majority of the stage was concealed by a huge HLH backdrop. Hands Like Houses used its space well. In the last half of the set their lighting production took on a new level competing the experience as now a sound and vision whole package. This is what takes me back to that earlier statement. This band is ready to do mid-sized theatre runs on their own and are ready to take things to the next level.
The band bathed its raw onstage instrumentation in lush and huge programming sequences that just blended so well.
This is a jumping song, I want to see you all jump; “I Am” is the song and bounce The Forum did. It’s fair to say that Hands Like Houses had well and truly captured the attention of The Used’s crowd as many would have been here for the two previous performances of the tour. As this tour continues, I am certain Hands Like Houses will gain a whole new fan base. Be sure to turn up early and check them out.
Setlist : Wildfire, Division, Space, Colourblind, Parasite, Hollow, Wicked Game, ICU, Paradise, I Am, Heaven.
Hands Like Houses Gallery
The front of the stage was covered in a white fabric that not only hid the stage while it was being set up. It doubled as a projection screen for a short montage of clips from the “In Love & Death” era with a voice over from assorted media appearances.
As the curtain dropped the stage was lit in an intense red wash and The Forum simply ignited. Frontman Bert McCracken took to the front of the stage and delivered a truly engaging performance as he and the band delivered a mighty fine performance tonight. It’s strange to see McCracken out of his true emo appearance/alter ego from twenty-one years ago. In some ways the danger had gone from his persona of that first six years of the band and a smiling McCracken was not what I was expecting. Having beaten his pervious demons McCracken was a joy to watch as he pointed and engaged with fans from the get-go. We all change as time goes by I guess. He was a man on a mission to deliver one hell of a show as were the band.
By the time we got to “Cut Up Angels”, McCracken exclaims “I am having a better night than last night already”. “And last night was insane, how many of you were here last night?” He questions the audience four songs in. The Forum erupts as they scream back at him. It was evident at-least half of those in attendance were here last night.
Mosh pit’s, bouncing, screaming and singing at the top of your lungs were all essential during tonight’s show. “So it turns out Melbourne can throw down a pretty awesome circle pit” quips McCracken.
As a visual band The Used aren’t the most captivating. But I guess it’s the songs that make this band who they are, it’s the connection of lyrics to your soul that makes them immersive and engaging. The Used are the music and soundtrack to youth that have grown, lived and been touched by the band, their lyrics and stories. The demographic they captured so well a quarter of a century ago have stayed strong and loyal, that was obvious.
‘Hard To Say’ was the song McCracken claimed saved his life at the time of recording the album. The sing-along was incredible with this song. Damn Melbourne you know how to turn it on, tonight you were loud and in fine voice.
“Are you feeling emo now” asks Bert. “We have been an emo band for 25 f*cking years, we are looking forward to the next 25.” It’s a bold statement and I hope we do get another twenty-five years out of this band.
For those familiar with the “In Love & Death” record, tonight was a straight play through, no surprises, no rearranging of the track listing, and that is a testament to how good the record is in the way it was presented to us way back in 2004. The Used’s set clocked in at pretty much exactly sixty minutes. It was a celebration of the record but I would have loved to have had an encore of at least a couple of singles from the albums either side of this album.
The only thing that detracted from tonight’s set was the sound. It seemed muddy and didn’t have the punch of Hands Like Houses set which I thought was strange. For fans these shows are genuinely magical evenings, I wish more bands had the courage to play full albums in celebration of their careers and respective anniversaries. A twenty-five-year career is something most bands dream of and through these shows they are most definitely special. Now to find a time machine and attend the two previous nights in Melbourne. For Brisbane, Sydney and the return to Melbourne these shows are not to be missed.
Setlist : Take It Away, I Caught Fire, Let It Bleed, All That I’ve Got, Cut Up Angels, Listening, Yesterday’s Feelings, Light With Sharpened Edge, Sound Effects & Overdramatics, Hard To Say, Lunacy Fringe, I’m Fake
With special thanks to Dallas does PR fpr the media access
All image credits Shot by Slaidins Photography
The Used Gallery
