In 2002, the self-titled album The Used was released. This was my introduction to the Emocore/Screamo genre of rock music. Sure this type of music was around, but it never enticed me listen. To be honest this album would go unknown to me for another year after its release as well. Then in 2003 I met my future wife, Stephanie and The Used cd found its way into my cd player on a few occasions. At first I wanted to hate it. I just couldn’t get into the whole Emo genre. But the persistence of my then girlfriend playing it and being so into it, something changed. I actually liked the music. It was hard, it was loud and it was interesting. Fast-forward a few months and I actually knew the words to multiple songs. I really liked the breakdown and timing of the tracks on this album. They really show they are talented musicians by building these songs up and then taking them down. The songs would build up and then the tempo would change and I was digging this new style. The guitars, bass and drums were on point & Bert McCracken’s vocals aggressive. Whose was I kidding when I told myself I didn’t like Emo music (did I mention they actually don’t consider themselves emo but just a hard rock band)? At that time, I owned every Tori Amos album for crying out loud! This was just the other side of that coin. A few songs stuck out to me that I truly enjoyed like “The Taste of ink” and “Bulimic”. These would probably be my top choices for this album but the whole album flows together so well. Their first 2 albums built a strong following and that has carried this band strong for the last 15 years.
The second album In Love & Death was named so for the state of being of lead singer Bert McCracken at that time. His ex-girlfriend died while pregnant with his child. This album would also go on to be certified gold. The songs from this album are a different sound than the first. The songs like “I caught fire” and “Lunacy Fringe” really show the broad spectrum of their musical abilities as they play mellower than they did on the first album. They are able to play hard and slow and do so in a unique way that has captured a strong following and allowed them to continue to make new music to this day and know people are still hungry for it.
That brings me to September 6th & 7th. The Used will be performing at Bogart’s for back to back nights. The first show they will play their entire self-titled album. Then the next day follow it up by playing their sophomore album In Love & Death. How awesome is that for fans in Cincinnati! This is their 15-year anniversary tour and Cincinnati was lucky enough to land these shows so do yourself a favor and buy your tickets now. I think this is a really cool thing to do for their fans. People grew up playing these 2 albums over and over so to have the opportunity to hear them played in full in back to back nights is great. I can’t wait for this show personally; I mean how could I pass this up? When these songs are played it will be a flashback to happy times for me. I’d be a fool to not go enjoy these amazing shows with my wife. See you all there!
Enter to win a pair of tickets to the show HERE!
