The Used 25th Anniversary Tour Kicks off in Chicago

^{Article and photos by Jessica Martens}

Iconic rock band The Used began their 25th anniversary world tour at Chicago’s House of Blues. Over the years, the band has gained a cult following and established themselves as a quintessential pillar in the emo and alternative rock scenes. Current band members include vocalist Bert McCracken, guitarist Joey Bradford, drummer Dan Whitesides and bassist Jepha Howard–all beloved by die-hard fans who sold out the tour’s opening night. 

This celebratory tour is taking a unique approach. The band is performing three albums (The Used (self-titled), Maybe Memories and In Love and Death) in full over three nights in each city. Starting in Chicago, the band played the albums in order of release on March 30, 31 and April 2. Each night in Chicago featured a different supporting act. Night one opened with local alt-rock band Demo Division. The four piece includes vocalist and guitarist Carlos Jimenez, drummer Geovanny Zavala, guitarist Eric Centeno and bass player Luis Flores. The band’s post-hardcore and emo influenced sound was perfect for livening up the crowd. The band gave it their all on every song, clearly energized by playing what they announced was their largest show yet. Their talent especially shined as they rocked out to track “WASTING ALL MY TIME” from their 2024 EP SUNKEN SHIP. By the end of their set the already packed House of Blues was wall to wall with concert-goers. The Used was next to take the stage. 

The turnover of the stage between bands ended with the rising of a white curtain. Shortly after, a projector cast a video on the screen introducing the main act as the ‘best band in the world’ and played audio clips of the members discussing the group’s history. The video concluded as flashing lights illuminated the silhouettes of the band members appearing behind the curtain. Moments later, the curtain fell, and The Used began playing “Maybe Memories,” the first track on their self-titled album. After saying hello to the crowd, the band continued to play songs from their first record in chronological order. About halfway through the set, the crowd was pleasantly surprised when the band’s performance of “A Box Full of Sharp Objects” turned in to a rendition of Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” The audience sang every word to every song as crowd surfers passed overhead. Eventually, after playing the album’s last song, “Pieces Mended,” the band left the stage. Luckily for the audience, they soon returned to perform a couple more bonus songs, including track “Choke Me” from their 2008 album Shallow Believer. Finally, vocalist Bert McCracken told the audience the band would “see you tomorrow” and the night came to its true end.

This show was special not only because it was the first night of the 25th anniversary tour but also because it brought together self-proclaimed elder emos and fans born after the band’s formation. The love for the music united everyone in attendance from the first song to the last. The Used 25th Anniversary tour will return to Chicago in late April for another already sold out three-night stint before concluding the North American leg in San Diego and heading overseas.