Page 50 - Black Velvet Issue 84

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THE USED / LANDSCAPES / DECADE –
BIRMINGHAM O2 ACADEMY 2, 15.02.15

It’s been nearly three years since The Used
headlined the UK. The last time we caught them was
as support to Evanescence on an arena tour in No-
vember 2012. The band then went away, made a
new album and toured the US extensively. It’s hard
to tell if the arena tour won them many new fans as
they’re back at the O2 Academy 2 – where they’d
played before the Evanescence tour. The good
news, however, is that this show is completely sold
out.
Decade and Landscapes are the two support bands. Landscapes
are a hardcore band that are a little too growl-y and savage for our
ears. Our ears were going arrgghh while they were going raaarrrr. Ag-
gressive and punishing, Landscapes make Decade seem like chirpy
cheeky chappies. Decade’s set sees their album, ‘Good Luck’, come
to life, with songs such as ‘Brainfreeze’, ‘I Don’t Care’, ‘British
Weather’, ‘Callous’ and ‘Coffin’ emanating from the stage. Vocalist
Alex Sears has to speak more than usual when guitarist Joe Marriner
has technical difficulties after a song. The tone of their set gives off a
musky vibe, they seem a little mellower than usual, but they go down
well with the crowd.
Sadly, on this tour The Used have no Quinn Allman, as the guitarist has decided to take
a year’s hiatus from the band. In his place, helping out, is Justin Shekoski of Saosin. Justin
does a fine job and is an excellent replacement. Of course most eyes are on frontman Bert
McCracken, who demands attention. The set features a lot of the band’s well-known singles
such as ‘Take It Away’, ‘The Bird & The Worm’, ‘I Caught Fire’ and ‘All That I’ve Got’, all
sounding glorious. Bert asks the crowd how many consider themselves diehards. There’s
a big cheer when he tells the crowd the band are going to play a lot of old songs.
Bert explains how music has always been there for him in the darkest moments of his life, and how
15 years ago he dreamed about being on stage performing, and how it humbles him that 15 years later
there are still so many diehards following the band and going to their shows. “You are the inspiration in
my life. You keep me going and keep my ass away from the drink,” he says. Bert definitely looks healthier
than he has in the past, and the band (completed by Jeph Howard and Dan Whitesides) put on a solid
set that shows why fans have stuck by them for years. Our only criticism is that the set is only 1¼ hours
long. When you’ve been around for 15 years and have multiple albums of material you could really be
playing closer to 2 hours. That said, it is quality rather than quantity and the crowd are most definitely
happy with their quota, singing song after song loudly back at the band. Before playing ‘The Taste Of Ink’
Bert adds, “I truly believe that people like us can change the fucked up world that we believe in”. He
speaks more about changing the world before newer song ‘Revolution’. It’s always good to see a band
that have intelligence and think about the world rather than just what’s going on in their own lives.
The set ends with ‘Pretty Handsome Awkward’ before they return for an acoustic ‘On My Own’ and ‘A Box Full Of
Sharp Objects’. Bert gets a young fan (called Beth) onto the stage, showing how the band has spanned generations.
Hopefully they’ll keep going, and will never take their music away from their fans and live shows, where it really matters.
YYYY
Shari Black Velvet
Bert McCracken (The Used) Photo By Shari Black Velvet

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