Posted: by The Alt Editing Staff
The term emo has become a four letter word in recent years. What started as people embracing the music and counterculture they once loved quickly became a way for corporations like Live Nation to make a quick buck. But what about all the bands that made that culture popular in the first place? Do they get their victory lap? Speaking of bands getting their emo victory lap – we must discuss The Used.
To put it bluntly, The Used are the reason half of these “emo” bands exist. When their set at When We Were Young 2024 got cut short, loads of people took to Twitter to say they inspired almost every band on the fest and deserved to keep playing. Their self-titled album features Bert McCracken, and his unique screams could give almost any other screamer a run for their money. While no longer with the band, Quinn‘s guitar work set them apart from all the four chord pop punk bands at the time. They showcased that you could write about relationships without just sounding like another song about a girl. The band has proven they’re still more than capable of making rock and emo music 25 years into their career, but still reward their fans with what brought them in originally. When the tour was announced saying they’d be playing the first three albums in full, we knew we had to be there.
Night two of their three night stop in Boston showcased In Love and Death, which in my opinion is their best record. It smoothed out some of the edges from the self titled record while still having that emotional flare that drew people in in the first place. This was also the start of their new visually distinct era as Alex Pardee was brought in to do the majority of the artwork. Speaking of artwork, an enormous model heart from the album cover was brandished above drummer Dan Whitesides It was an open door for the youth of the 2000s to be weird and find other people who wanted to be weird too. Some might call the fling between Bert and Gerard Way that happened on this album their “gay awakening” (and no, they did not play the cover of Under Pressure). If we had to pick any night of the three as a must see, it’s night two.
Much like people say Jerry Finn is an honorary member of blink, I’d say Alex Pardee is an honorary member of The Used. Though he doesn’t play any music with the band, his art style pushed their aesthetic to its peak during the Lies For the Liars era. This was the height of mallcore when everyone dyed their hair black, wore fingerless gloves, and had gauges that were too big. All of the creatures that Alex made for The Used greatly represent that era of music, especially Chadam, an instantly recognizable mascot. There were those chasing the nostalgia of the first two albums who skipped night three, but equally those who skipped the first two nights showed up and filled the venue out. Those who did were deemed “Bert’s people” for showing love to an inner child that lived through what might have been the last “mall emo” generation. The three night showcase is still happening in cities across the world and tickets can be found HERE.
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Kyle Musser//
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