The Used in Flagstaff, Arizona
All Photography By Devon MunroOn Wednesday, September 27th, The Used made a stop in Flagstaff, AZ on their Fall North American tour with support from Dead American and Sleeping With Sirens. The show took place at Pepsi Amphitheater at Fort Tuthill County Park which was a nice change of pace for those who had traveled from the valley for the concert. Despite the cold weather and smoke from a nearby forest fire filling the air the crowd raged on all night and sang along to each bands songs as loud as they possibly could.
Starting the night off was Dead American and they did not disappoint. Lead singer, Cove Reber was constantly interacting with the crowd to get everyone riled up and at one point said “I like your guys vibe, you’re too kind. I’ll keep yelling!” Before launching into a heavier song. Reber also called the crowd the “Swifties” of the emo community which many took as a compliment seeing as how dedicated that fan base is. The group had the crowd dancing around and the air was buzzing with anticipation for what the rest of the night was going to bring.
Next up was Sleeping With Sirens, who never fail to put on a good show. Opting into a heavier set, they kicked off their performance with “Break Me Down,” the crowd immediately knew what to do as they formed a mosh pit that did not stop once throughout their entire set. Between breaks in their songs, lead singer Kellin Quinn took advantage of the “spooky woods” atmosphere and made stories behind their songs with statements like “On a night like this, in a venue like this, under a moon like this” as it was almost a full moon which thoroughly entertained the crowd. They ended their set with classics such as “If I’m James Dean, You’re Audrey Hepburn,” which was released back in 2010, and “If You Can’t Hang”. At the beginning of their performance, Quinn had informed fans on the lawn that their tickets included an agreement that they had to roll down the hill, and during their final song, he told them he would not break his promise and took the opportunity to roll down with them as guitarist Nick Martin lead the crowd through the end of “If You Can’t Hang”.
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Finally, The Used took the stage, which was decorated with pink flowers that caught fan’s attention as soon as the lights came on. Starting the set off strong, they sprayed red heart confetti and bright, colorful streamers into the crowd as they began their performance, which fans had been waiting for all night. Having been together for twenty-three years with no breaks, lead singer Bert McCracken spoke with pride of their time together as a band. This day was also the nineteenth anniversary of their album, In Love and Death, released on September 27th, 2004. This album was a stepping stone for a lot of the youth in their early 2000s on their journey into the punk rock scene. Performing older songs such as “I Caught Fire” and newer ones like “Worst I’ve Ever Been” gave every fan in the crowd a song to sing and dance along to, no matter when they began following the band. They even performed a cover of Nirvana’s “Teen Spirit” at one point in their set. The stage presence that McCracken had was very impressive as he was constantly interacting with fans, one of whom being a four-year-old who had squeezed her way up to the barricade. Before their encore, they walked off as the crowd sang their hearts out to “The Taste of Ink” and came back on smiling while flipping the bird. It truly was not a night to miss, and everyone should try to see The Used at least once while they are out on tour.
