LIVE REVIEW: The Used @ The Marble Factory, Bristol
The temperature may have dropped tonight in Bristol, but the anticipation emanating from the queue outside of the iconic Marble Factory is high, because this is the penultimate date for THE USED and their first headline UK tour in over five years to support this year’s Toxic Positivity. With support from HONEY REVENGE and THE HOME TEAM, it’s set to be a great night.
Opening up the show is HONEY REVENGE, who burst into action with fan-favourite Airhead. The band amp up the audience from the moment they set foot on stage, and vocalist Devin Papadol is a whirlwind of colour as she jumps and high-kicks her way through the set, giving a performance that could give PARAMORE’s Hayley Williams a run for her money. It’s a short set, but it is one that sets the perfect mood for the night.
Rating: 9/10
Seattle-based THE HOME TEAM are up next. The self-proclaimed ‘heavy pop’ band bring great energy to the stage with their set. Their new single Loud is a hit with the audience, and the band are clearly having a great time on their first UK tour. At one point, vocalist Brian Butcher even compares Bristol to the band’s hometown of Seattle. In the second half of the set, vocalist Brian Butcher and bassist Ryne Olson swap places for Grievance Pay, providing a surprising and fun twist to a performance that seriously impresses.
Rating: 9/10
After a short set change, the lights dim and THE USED begin their set with 2007 throwback Pretty Handsome Awkward, causing a mosh pit to open up immediately.
Vocalist Bert McCracken lacks the energetic stage presence that the supporting acts possessed, there’s not much in the way of dancing or crowd interaction for the first half of the set, but it doesn’t matter. The crowd continues to scream along to every song, and the mosh pits just keep going and going (including a circle pit to a Shakespeare Soliloquy).
Bert takes a moment in the middle of the set to talk about his sobriety and past struggles with addiction. It’s always warming when musicians open up about their struggles, and Bert finishes his short speech with “if there’s hope for someone like me, there’s hope for you” which warms even the chilliest emo hearts in the room.
Arguably the band’s most loved track, All That I’ve Got generates a cathartic sing-along, after which the set ends with fan-favourite The Taste Of Ink, which makes the crowd combust with emotion. THE USED exit the stage, leaving the crowd hanging for what feels like an eternity before returning with an encore of I’m a Fake, Bulimic, and A Box full Of Sharp Objects (with a snippet of NIRVANA’s Smells Like Teen Spirit thrown in for an added bit of spice).
The show ends on a massive high and is a firm reminder that THE USED have well and truly earned their place as emo royalty.
Rating: 9/10
Check out our photo gallery from the night’s action in Bristol from Serena Hill Photography here:
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