The Used Leaves the Lies to the Liars at Starland Ballroom
April 18, 2025 — Sayreville, NJ
Photo credits: Hunter Garrett
Though they hail from across the country, Starland Ballroom in Sayreville, New Jersey welcomed emo legends The Used back home to their stage for an incredible three night run. Their take on an anniversary tour looked a bit different than what has become customary in a world of 10 and 15 year album celebrations — instead of focusing an entire tour on one album, they took to the road this April to celebrate their 25th year as a band. One who has never broken up, taken a break, or slowed down, as Bert McCracken, the band’s lead singer, reminds audiences of every show.
Rather than a single night in each city with the larger metropolitan areas getting two, like most tours are scheduled, The Used went back to the drawing board to commemorate a quarter of a century of being “the best band in the world”. They spent three back to back nights in each city, dedicating one night to each of their first three albums: 2002’s self titled The Used, 2004’s In Love And Death, and 2007’s Lies For The Liars. To so many fans throughout the years, these albums have shaped their lives, and the impact they’ve had on alternative music cannot be understated. Many bands wouldn’t be brave enough to pull out deep cuts from albums they put out almost half a lifetime ago, but there isn’t much that it seems like The Used has ever backed down from.
Another truly incredible approach was taken with the openers for this tour. In each city, three local artists were chosen and highlighted as the only opening act, each performing on a different night. For a band as big as The Used is, paying their success forward in whatever ways they’re able to is a huge boost for these acts. There were plenty of names familiar to me, like Footballhead and Origami Angel in Chicago, and Bury Mia in Denver. In New Jersey, they brought along Family Dinner, In Angles, and MX Lonely.
The atmosphere at Starland Ballroom is always lively, but the crowd on Friday night was buzzing with excitement. On night three of three, two amazing shows had already been put on earlier in the week, and there was more than enough anticipation to fill the 2,500 capacity venue. If you’ve ever been to Starland, you know that it feels much more intimate than the capacity makes it seem. It’s a New Jersey legend for a reason, especially for both fans and artists in the alt scene.
The night started when Brooklyn based MX Lonely took the stage, showing off what homegrown rock music looks like now. Starting off as a self produced act, 2024’s SPIT was recorded in a full studio under the guidance of an engineer. The lead singer, Rae Haas, spoke to the crowd intermittently between songs, reminding everyone that the world isn’t ending and that there still is hope. The band played an unreleased track, “Big Hips For A Boy”, and made it known that trans rights are human rights and that this is non negotiable.
Before The Used took the stage, the audience was taken down memory lane with a reel of footage from the time surrounding the release of Lies For The Liars. It was fascinating to be given the chance to look at the band as they were almost 20 years ago through interview clips and behind the scenes moments, and it did wonders to set the scene for what was about to happen.
The curtain they had been projecting onto dropped, and the action started immediately. Opening their set with “The Ripper”, they dove right into the album with no holds barred and absolutely no apologies. Crowd surfers followed along shortly after as “Pretty Handsome Awkward” revved up, possibly best known to the public for being featured on the Transformers soundtrack, but best known to me for being on every single playlist I made in middle and high school.
Few breaks were taken between songs, though during a lull between songs, Bert made note that, at its core, this is an album full of love songs. The crowd ebbed and flowed as the tracklist did, filling both sides of the spectrum for what shows can look like as we alternated between holding each other close and opening up a circle pit at the band’s request. Even as the crowd’s energy shifted, there was never a dull moment presented by the band. As is customary for the band, they called audience members on stage to dance during “Paralyzed”, noting that there were some real, true fans in the crowd that night.
It cannot be understated what an impressive band The Used is to see live. Every seasoned concert goer has an act or two that they’ll go out of their way to see — The Used is mine. I’ve managed to catch at least two of their shows a year since 2023, though this is the first time I’ve seen them in my home state. There are few bands who sound (arguably) better than ever 25 years on. Jepha Howard should be regarded as one of the best bassists in any emo band, and his screams are as clean as they’ve ever been. Guitarist Joey Bradford, added to the band in 2018, plays effortlessly and lends the backing vocals that make these songs sound as good as they do. Dan Whitesides doesn’t miss a beat behind the drumkit, and Bert’s vocals sound better than they ever have.
The set closed with one of the band’s rare, stripped down songs and a personal favorite of mine. “Smother Me” is a beautiful, heart wrenching ballad that starts with just Bert’s vocals and a piano, steadily building up until the full band kicks in. This was what I had been looking forward to the most at this show, and not a single second of it disappointed. It was a perfect send off for an overwhelmingly wonderful night.
The Used has a legacy that cannot be disputed, whether or not you’re a fan. To open up and show us their roots, to bring us as the audience back to the albums that made them the band they are, is something that few could pull off even half as successfully as they are. Their music has influenced so many, and as they continue to remind people why they call themselves the best band in the world, that number is guaranteed to grow. Cheers to 25 years, and here’s to 25 more.
