REAGAN JOHNSON | Go Venue Magazine
The Used headlined The Midland Theatre in Kansas City, Missouri on Monday, September 23rd as part of their fall 2024 tour. The tour is in support of their latest album release titled Medz.
The first act of the night was Raue. The band is led by teens Paige Kalenian and Jax Huckle from Santa Cruz. They brought their driving grunge sound to the stage and impressed the crowd early in the night. Despite their young age, the band engaged with and commanded concertgoers Monday night like pros. Their stage presence was so fun. The band played a cover of Radiohead’s Creep, explaining that they enjoy doing covers so that the crowd can sing along despite maybe not knowing any of their work yet. The two stuck around for the rest of the evening at the merch booth to meet fans and made quite an impression.
Next up was the Plain White T’s opening their set with their song “Feeling (More Like) Myself”. Earlier in the night, lead singer Tom Higgenson walked around the venue handing out stickers with the name of his solo project called Million Miller on them. He took his time saying hi to fans and taking photos with them. Their interactions with him left people excited to see him and the rest of the band take to the stage. They played some of their other hits before asking the crowd if they were ready to sing along to “Hey There Delilah” with them. This question was met with excited cheers and applause. The entire crowd sang along to every word, loving every minute. They ended with their song “Rhythm of Love” and the crowd ate it up. A Plain White T’s show will have you in a good mood in no time.
Setting up behind a large white curtain, The Used kept fans’ anticipation high, ensuring everyone was ready for a night of music and catharsis. I had only just seen the band for the first time one year ago to the day of this show, and that first show made a die-hard fan out of me. I met other fans on the barrier who shared stories about how they got into The Used, and many of them were similar to mine. This band will have you hooked with just one show. They do a stellar job of bringing their songs and emotions to life with the crowd. It’s like a giant therapy session every time, and fans keep coming back for more. Their shows and sound are addictive and always leave you wanting more. Of course, the venue was filled with lifelong fans, reminiscing about all of The Used shows they’ve attended over the years. The setlist consisted of old favorites as well as new hits from the latest album, which I’m a big fan of.
In the middle of the set lead vocalist Bert McCracken asked for fans to form a circle pit, which they happily obliged. He ordered a cartwheel contest in the middle of the pit, sending eager participants flying in all directions, some with perfect form, and some not so much. One concertgoer’s face plant into the ground won her a free t-shirt from the band’s merch booth to soften the blow. McCracken then had to show us how it’s done with a perfectly executed cartwheel on stage.
Toward the end of the night, after the fan-favorite song, “The Taste of Ink”, the band left the stage only to return for an encore amongst chants from fans. They ended the night with their masterpiece A Box Full of Sharp Objects with a small sample of Nirvana’s Smells Like Teen Spirit as the ending. After their set, the members of the band tossed setlists and red roses to fans leaving everyone buzzing and grinning ear to ear after an electric show. I highly recommend catching a show by The Used whether you are familiar with their work or not. I promise you’ll leave a fan.
The Used
Raue
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