One week ago I saw The Used for the third time, when they came to Chicago for their 25th anniversary celebration at the House of Blues. The band's mini residency in the Windy City lasted 3 nights, each one consisting of a playthrough of their first 3 albums in their entirety. I came in on Monday the 31st of March to witness In Love and Death.

Opener: Origami Button

Chicago's own (not) math rock band Origami Button presented a solid, surprisingly funky set that started off with a reserved crowd, but ended in loud applause and cheering. I had never heard of them and I don't like reviewing a band with superficial knowledge, but I left wanting to check them out. I will do so and come back to report.

The Used

In Love and Death needs no introduction, but the band sure brought one, complete with a projection of a video of someone displaying the album (on CD), interspersed with bits of interviews and shows from the time the record came out. In between takes, one could read "best band in the world" which is The Used's current Slogan.

When the screen/curtain came down, they broke into Take it away, one of the band's biggest hits, and the audience went feet flying in the air, as expected. The stage was all decorated with iconography from that era. After a few songs, Robbie McCracken proudly announces that "they've never broken up", and "they've been here all along" and the appreciation the fans have for this is palpable. This is music one can rely on when you're up and when you're down. This is a love-love relationship. The show continues without ever dropping the positive energy, even during slow songs, when my neighbor in the front row sheds some tears. 

There was a lot of eye contact, sarcastic banter similar to the Toxic Positivity tour (but toned down: no big fuck you chants) and love declarations from the singer to the crowd. Fans lost their voice in the first five minutes, circle pits were demanded and opened, the crowd surfed and chanted the band members' names. When they started chanting "Bert" though (as Robbie used to be known), he corrected them: "my friends and family call me Robbie"-the implication being that the people in the audience ARE his friends and family.

I rarely see such a complete concert experience, with a band that plays confidently, and has a calming presence despite the anger/angst in their music. I think it matters that the audience has a strong EMOtional connection to the musicians on stage. There is also something to be said about musicians that are NOT on a cash-grabbing tour, ready to go back to their "real" lives after they briefly reunite to make money touring. The Used's reality is this, and you can say that makes them truly wholesome.

If there's anything to nitpick about is that this show was as short as the album is. Those like me who couldn't go to the other nights (when they played Self Titled and Lies for the Liars) were left wanting more.

I had the pleasure of meeting the band briefly, and I wish I had had something clever to say to them, but I just awkwardly said thank you. Anyway I'm so glad The Used exists and are rock solid. I hope to be at their 50th anniversary.