When you’re (reluctantly) an elder emo, The Used are like one of the old masters.
They’re Leonardo, they’re Donatello. ‘The Taste of Ink’ might as well be ‘Stairway To Heaven’ as far as I – and the other attendees of tonight’s show – are concerned. Bert McCracken’s on again – off again bromance with Gerard Way was my circle’s Ross and Rachel. And when I say Bert had the best screams… he had the best screams.
But with great screams comes great responsibility and it was inevitable that such a fragile instrument would break… and break it did. Sure, the severe drug and alcohol issues wouldn’t have helped but I like to put it all down to being too damn good. Now, after a recent resurgence, The Used are at SWG3 and I want to know how Bert’s sounding nowadays.
The opener is Honey Revenge. They come on following an interesting selection of tracks playing over the PA… mostly hip hop laced with sexy innuendo and straight up propositions. So I wasn’t sure what to expect. From the first note, my mind screamed “funky!”.
The first song stood out from the others as we get the chunky emocore riffs from the second onwards, but that first track nails this band’s USP to the post. It’s a great flavour to add to a genre that, it could be argued, is getting a bit samey and stale.
This act can preserve the angsty edge to the music, but there’s a flair to the guitar work that’s fresh and unique. Like adding lime to a favourite drink… it’s not a lot but can really lift it. Honey Revenge understood the assignment too… working hard to warm this crowd up… and they needed to. It’s minus 2 outside! They do well here though! Definitely worth keeping tabs on.
The Home Team came on second and gave us the sexiest screamo music I’ve ever heard. Imagine Justin Timberlake fighting over the aux cable with a young Don Broco. It’s not the two vibes combined, it’s more switching back and forth between them.
That can be quite tricky to get the hang of if you’ve never heard the tunes before. You don’t know if you’re supposed to be grooving or moshing and the changes come in with little to no cue. I imagine it is something I could get into with time, but whether or not I’d commit that time to learning the ins and outs of this mix remains to be seen.
Within seconds of hitting the stage, Bert McCracken proves he still has it. His voice in ‘Pretty Handsome Awkward’ was spot on as he bounced around the stage with his pink microphone in hand. Even though it’s not the same voice we had back in the day, it’s still flawless and the crowd are appreciating it like never before.
Bert himself acknowledges the nostalgia of tonight as he struts across the stage with his middle finger in the air. There isn’t much crowd surfing going on tonight… but our lower backs aren’t like they used to be. I swear someone beside me dropped their ibuprofen in the pit. We are unashamedly old and this is our soundtrack.
The set is full of favorites from the start and I refuse to confirm or deny if I shed a tear to ‘I Caught Fire’. Finishing up on ‘Boxful of Sharp Objects’ and a little bit of ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ and I was spent.
Soaked in sweat from myself and my brothers & sisters in the pit with the biggest grin on my face… tonight was such a highlight of the year. It’s been a minute since The Used hit Scotland and I swear it better not be as long for the next time.
Photos by Catching Light Photography