Live Review: The Used - O2 Kentish Town Forum, London 07/12/2023
The Used were booed at their first London show in over five years – but in their defence, they asked for it, amid an energetic rock show at the Kentish Town Forum.
The band from Utah brought two American openers for their first tours this side of the Atlantic, and The Home Team and Honey Revenge helped to piece the whole night together.
California’s Honey Revenge opened proceedings with a pink-coded 30 minutes. Starting with ‘Airhead’, they rammed through eight songs mostly from this year’s ‘Retrovision’ record. The four stage musicians made a raucous effort in the style of Tonight Alive or PVRIS. Singer Devin yelled “Our job tonight is to warm you up”, and they helped to blow away rainy Thursday vibes as the crowd screamed back the lyrics from a non-album track - “Miss me with the Bullshit”. ‘Are You Impressed?’ had a racing sound, while hands were raised across the room for ‘Seeing Negative (Disappointment)’. There was an early plug for next year’s Slam Dunk sets, before finale ‘Distracted’ continued the fun, as bassist Tay and guitarist Donny played rock, paper, scissors behind the entrancing singer. The crowd were warm - one job done for Honey Revenge, before legging it across North London to headline Camden Assembly later that night.
Remaining in the Forum, The Home Team activated a pit for ‘Watching All Your Friends Get Rich’, the first of many heavy songs showcased from album ‘Slow Bloom’, which saw singer Brian roaming the stage, and the guitarists energetically spinning in circles throughout. New single ‘Loud’, released for this tour, stands out in a good way, with its poppier sound that’s more The Weeknd than Thursday. Brian used a mic stand for the first half of the song, before roaming again – not quite Harry, but bringing his own Styles to pop, via a metal-heavy background. There was even a seamless arena pop transition, when the vocalist took over bassist Ryne’s instrument for the closure of ‘Grievance Pay’. The punk energy saw nine songs pass in a flash, closing with ‘Right Through Me’, which tapped into those packing out a sold-out Forum.
The Used brought the old hits to their headline show, their first in London since August 2018. “It’s been a long fucking time London,” frontman Burt yelled to the crowd. Judging by the crowd, there were a lot of newcomers to their live show, but they’re initiated quickly. “Welcome to the fucking family motherfuckers”.
The quartet originating from Orem, Utah, opened with ‘Pretty Handsome Awkward’ – Burt holding his mic stand aloft – before racing into ‘Take It Away’, which encouraged early crowd participation as they clapped along. The band’s simple staging gave them a little elevation, guitarist Joey on the mini platform on his side of the stage. Dan’s drums barely stop rolling before they dived straight into straight into ‘The Bird and the Worm’.
There’s a ‘Toxic Positivity’ backdrop - and Britney’s 2003 smash played in the build up to The Used’s set – but there’s only two songs from the band’s ninth album, released in May. ‘The Worst I’ve Ever Been’ was played before last year’s one-off single ‘Fuck You’. “Let’s start this thing off right,” Burt yelled. “Everybody put your middle finger in the air. Fuck you, fuck you, fuck you.” The crowd took over. It could be childish, but it feels apt, a beneficial experience for band and supporters. The serendipity meant an ocean of middle fingers could be seen across Kentish Town at the same time as that meme of a BBC News presenter made the rounds online.
It didn’t stop at hand actions, with Burt urging: “On the count of three, boo the fuck out of us.” Who knew there was so much hate for The Used? “Doesn’t that feel good?” It’s a call that could backfire, but it’s a calculated risk, and works perfectly, as the fans booed a perfectly reasonable performance of ‘People Are Vomit’. “Look fuck you all, alright.” There’s no hard feelings though. “I love you very much.” All we needed was a good boo.
The other new song was ‘Giving Up’, performed under a purple light, about Burt’s issues with depression and anxiety – things that fuck with many of us. It’s been 11 years since Burt’s had a proper drink, but he declares his own ability to overcome addiction means “there’s hope for you”. “Don’t give up on yourselves.”
The band have everyone truly on their side. Burt said: “I think we’ve got to the point of the set where we play a bunch of old shit.” He waved a pride flag aloft during ‘I Caught Fire’, and teased the fans during ‘All That I’ve Got’, before bringing the sound back to rapturous cheers.
The stage is bathed in blue light, and the on-form band – Joey, Dan, and bassist Jeph - are coming together, building for a moment. It is ‘The Taste of Ink’, the all-time emo anthem. Burt came down from the stage to the barrier with his long orange mic cord to sing it with the crowd, who didn’t miss a word, from “Is it worth it, can you even hear me?” all the way through to “Savour every moment of this”. Burt on the barrier created one vision – a sight to behold – with singer, photographer, security, the crowd, and one of a litany of crowdsurfers, all together. As the climax came, the frontman was alone on stage after the departure of his teammates, turning the mic once more on the thousands an the Forum. Burt bows before leaving.
The encore, heckled with the cliche “one more song”, but also more booing, is a trio of older tracks. 2004’s ‘I’m A Fake’ was quickly followed up by ‘Buried Myself Alive’ and ‘A Box Full of Sharp Objects’, cuts from the debut record 21 years ago. Before the latter, when Burt calls it “the best show we’ve ever played in the UK”, it’s met with boos and middle fingers. Nothing is amiss - this is The Used, and revisiting the “old shit” still feels fun and fresh. Burt came back to the crowd again in the last track, everyone singing their hearts out one more time. It’s fused into ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’, a big moment for a big ending, before the band’s members handed out flowers to the front row, or lobbed them to the crowd behind. This exit was soundtracked by Whitney Houston’s ‘I Wanna Dance with Somebody’. It’s another unusual step for a band who have been solidly rock and roll all night, but there’s little reason to boo. Quite possibly none at all.
Words by Samuel Draper
Photography by Robert Tilbury
