Photo Galleries: The Used Celebrates 25 Years at Irving Plaza

Night one was dedicated entirely to The Used, the self-titled debut released in June of 2002. I sadly got there just in time to catch the very end of opening act Awake At Last's set, but from what I did hear, I can understand why they were tapped to be the lone support for this show. At the end of their set, following some gear cleanup, a white curtain dropped to obscure the crowd's view as The Used's team began setting up for their first set.

Just after 9pm, the lights went down and a voice came over the speakers welcoming us to night one before running through a highlight reel of the band's performances from their 2002-2004 era. Then, as the video shifted to someone looking through the packaging that came with the debut album, the lights began to flash from behind, silhouetting the band and signaling to the crowd it's go time. And go time it was, because as the curtain dropped, The Used took everyone back to 2002 with the one-two punch that is "Maybe Memories" right into their big hit "The Taste of Ink". They continued to rip through the debut album, all the way to the hidden track "Choke Me" even including the recording dubbed "Polly" that comes before it. It was a night every elder emo present will remember forever.

Night one's set was made up the entirety of The Used, which includes:

Maybe Memories

The Taste of Ink

Bulimic

Say Days Ago

Poetic Tragedy

Buried Myself Alive

A Box Full of Sharp Objects (With Smells Like Teen Spirit ending)

Blue and Yellow

Greener With the Scenery

Noise and Kisses

On My Own

Pieces Mended

Choke Me (with Polly intro)

Night two was a devotional to The Used's biggest commercial success In Love and Death released in September of 2004. Before they could take the stage though, Atlanta's The Funeral Portrait stole the spotlight for a half hour of kick-ass rock. Putting on a high-energy performance that rivaled that of the headliner themselves, the quintet had the crowd rocking, a hard feat considering they weren't announced until a few weeks ago despite the show selling out months before. Even the people who paid for a VIP meet and greet with The Used that took up the barricade were singing along their entire set. After their time was up, The Funeral Portrait left the stage, the curtain dropped, and the crew went to work once more.

Once again, shortly after 9pm, we were welcomed to night 2 with The Used. This time after being greeted, watching snippets of the band performing between 2004 and 2007, and taking a trip through the packaging for In Love and Death; the spoken intro to the first track "Take It Away" came before an extra dramatic curtain drop with Bert and co screaming "Get down!" What followed was an album that many in attendance will never grow tired of, a true classic in emo history. Compared to the first night, this album has a more high-energy feel throughout and the band delivered just that on stage. While many, myself included, were disappointed by the fact that the only appearance "Under Pressure" made was in the form of the original Queen and Bowie recording rather than covered by The Used live, this was still a tremendous night to start the week.

Night one's set was made up the entirety of In Love and Death, which includes:

Take It Away

I Caught Fire

Let It Bleed

All That I've Got

Cut Up Angels

Listening

Yesterday's Feelings

Light With a Sharpened Edge

Sound Effects and Overdramatics

Hard to Say

Lunacy Fringe

I'm a Fake

Night three was all about their third album Lies for the Liars released in May of 2007. This final celebration of The Used's 25 year legacy was kicked off by High Flying, a local pop punk band with a hint of ska thanks to their use of horns. The group put on a performance that had me convinced they had been touring the world for years, not days away from putting out their first full length album. They were also one of the few bands that actually brought enough music with them to fill their full 35 minute set, while everyone else played it safer and ended early. That extra five minutes, while it doesn't sound like much, I feel really put Keep Flying over for the crowd as by the end of the night I saw a decent amount of people walking around with their merch. These guys are definitely a band to keep your eyes on for the future.

One last time, just after 9pm, the lights went down and the welcome message played before one final montage of memories for the sold out Irving Plaza. With the final drop of the curtain came an absolute Ripper of a show, pun completely intended. Wave after wave of crowd surfers came over the barricade, something the Irving Plaza security team was more than ready for, earning them praise from Bert and the rest of the band, not just for that night but for all three nights of their takeover. About halfway through their set Bert declared that, instead of a more traditional pit during their song "Paralyzed", there would be a dance contest; a change of pace from their tendency to bring fans up during this song on earlier nights celebrating Lies for the Liars. Then, with one last love song in "Smother Me", The Used finished their third and final night at Irving Plaza celebrating the 25th anniversary of the self-proclaimed Best Band in the World.

Night one's set was made up the entirety of Lies for the Liars, which includes:

The Ripper

Pretty Handsome Awkward

The Bird and the Worm

Earthquake

Hospital

Paralyzed

With Me Tonight

Wake the Dead

Find a Way

Liar Liar (Burn in Hell)

Pain

Smother Me

For more information about The Used including tour dates, visit them at theused.net.