Celebrating 25 years of Emo

What a throwback to my Highschool years! The Used is an emo band that hit it big back in the early 2000’s and were popular among high school kids who needed a different kind of outlet. They were one of the original bands to be put in the “Emo” category with a slightly different edge then everyone else that came out at the same time. They hit the road again after touring last year in 2024 to celebrate 25 years for the band, playing 3 nights in each city to play their first three albums in Milwaukee, Wisconsin at The Rave/Eagles Club. I was fortunate enough to attend the last two nights performing the album “In Love and Death” in its entirety on night two, which happens to be my favorite album of theirs, and “Lies For the Liars” on night three was very nostalgic.

It seems the crowd felt the same way, every song being sung back word for word, crowd jumping along with Bert. At one point a mosh pit even broke out! Not something I would expect to see at The Used show. The best part was watching the fans who grew up on them now bringing their children to enjoy such an iconic event. It was hard to tell from the crowd which night was more exciting; the energy was different both nights but still blew the roof off. They changed the set a bit from both nights, each night had a banner under the drum kit with the album name, which I thought was a very simple but effective touch. The light show even changed, which drew me in even more with excitement.

The band sounded just as great as they did in the early 2000’s - energy was high and fans were jumping and crowd surfing. They packed The Rave, which made it a smaller, more intimate show, and there wasn’t a bad seat in the house! Throughout the show, on night two, they surprised us with a few songs from their self-titled debut album “The Used,” which was a great surprise for those that didn’t make it on the first night. Overall, I’m very excited to have been able to be apart of, and witness, this huge celebration for the band - and the fans of 25 years!