Orem band The Used came back to Utah recently alongside We Came as Romans, Crown The Empire and Mindflow to support the Take Action Tour.
The Take Action Tour is a tour to promote acceptance and the feeling that you’re never alone, that there is always someone there for you. During We Came as Romans’ set on Jan. 18 in Salt Lake City, their vocalist David Stephens gave a speech about how no one is ever alone and that we are all at this concert for one reason — music.
Stephens went on to say that we are all united and to prove it, he asked us all to go on Twitter, tweet the date of the concert and end with a hashtag saying, “I am Not Alone.”
Finally our home-state heroes, The Used, walked out on the stage at In the Venue with singer Bert McCracken appearing last. The band started their show with the 2007 song that made them a band to watch, “The Bird and the Worm.”
When the song was over, McCracken introduced the band — Jeph Howard on bass, Quinn Allman on guitar, and, finally, Dan Whitesides on drums — and said how happy the group was to be back at home.
My favorite song of the show overall was “Taste of Ink.” The beat is so basic that anyone in the audience could follow it; even if they didn’t know the song, they could still jump along. Another number that was high energy and a lot of fun was “All That I’ve Got.” One thing that I really liked about this particular song was at certain times the band stopped so that everyone could hear the crowd singing along. I got goose bumps every time I could hear all the voices singing the same song.
Before the band did “I Caught Fire,” McCracken said how he was glad that his mother was there and he brought her out to the middle of the stage during the song. She stood proudly next to her son who was singing his heart out to a crowd of people singing along. When the piece was over, the security guards took her hands and helped her down from the stage.
During the middle of the concert, The Used made an announcement that in a few days it would be guitarist Quinn Allman’s birthday. Seconds later two girls appeared with a birthday cake as the band led the audience in a dramatic group singalong of “Happy Birthday.”
After the song was over, Allman playfully picked up the cake and tried to throw it into the crowd but failed when the cake fell behind him.
As soon as that happened, McCracken sprinted to the scene, picked up the cake and finished what Quinn was trying to do, throwing the treat into the crowd, asking if they liked their cake. Moments later, the band played “Blue and Yellow,” a song Bert wrote about his friendship with Quinn.
The show was unpredictable because of Bert McCracken’s uncaring demeanor. At one point in the show, a woman threw her hair extensions on the stage. The vocalist put the extensions on his head and told the woman, “Girl, you lost your weave and your damn mind!”
The Used finished the show with a fan favorite, “Box of Sharp Objects.” The band members said again that they were glad to be back in Utah and joked that this state will always be their “miserable home.”
Katelynn Maes is a junior at Layton High School. She enjoys singing, playing guitar, piano and writing. Email her at daytripper65@hotmail.com.
Watch The Used sing "All That I've Got"
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