S.L.R. Magazine

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LIVE REVIEW: The Used 25th Anniversary Tour

With MX Lonely at The Starland Ballroom in Sayreville, NJ on April 18th, 2025 The Used is celebrating their 25th anniversary with an epic tour featuring three-night performances in each city playing the band’s groundbreaking early 2000s albums in their entirety. Albums played in their entirety include The Used (2002), In Love and Death (2004), and Lies…

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With MX Lonely at The Starland Ballroom in Sayreville, NJ on April 18th, 2025

The Used is celebrating their 25th anniversary with an epic tour featuring three-night performances in each city playing the band’s groundbreaking early 2000s albums in their entirety. Albums played in their entirety include The Used (2002), In Love and Death (2004), and Lies for the Liars (2007). On Friday night I was able to witness Lies for the Liars.

Written by Andris Jansons

Promotional poster for The Used's 25th anniversary tour featuring album covers, tour dates, and key information about performances.

On this night the alt rock band from Brooklyn, New York called Mx Lonely had an honour to open up for The Used. As it was an ntroductory experience for me I can’t really pinpoint their music style, as online we can find few descriptions to me they varied between alt rock, indie and grunge. So I’ll stick with alt rock. Vocals are split between Rae Haas and Jake Harms, with Rae doing some serious screams. This male and female duo lately is gaining popularity amongst new bands, and while sometimes it might feel artificial, here at MX Lonely it combines naturally and seamlessly. As this was my first time seeing and hearing them I will dwell much in their songs. You look them up online or check the links below, and you be the judge. Personally I found this band very interesting and worth a time looking into their music. Don’t miss out !

MX Lonely links

https://linktr.ee/mxlonely

Photo Gallery of MX Lonely performance. Photos all rights reserved by Andris Jansons

A musician playing an electric guitar on stage, illuminated by blue stage lights, during a live performance.
A musician performing on stage at the Starland Ballroom, playing a keyboard with the phrase 'YOU HAVING ANY FUN?' visible on it, wearing a striped top and a skirt with fishnet stockings.
Drummer of MX Lonely performing on stage with a focused expression, illuminated by red stage lights. The bass drum features the band's logo.
A musician playing bass guitar on stage with dramatic lighting during a performance.
A guitarist performing on stage with long hair and a patterned shirt, illuminated by red stage lights.
Drummer performing on stage with vibrant lighting during a live concert.
Drummer from the band MX Lonely performing on stage, passionately playing the drums with a focused expression, surrounded by blue stage lights.
A female musician performs on stage, playing a keyboard with the words 'YOU HAVING ANY' illuminated. She has shoulder-length wavy hair and wears a striped shirt. The background features colorful stage lights.
A performer from the band MX Lonely singing into a microphone while playing a keyboard adorned with the phrase 'YOU HAVING ANY FUN?' during a live concert at The Starland Ballroom.
A musician performing on stage with a keyboard, wearing a striped shirt. The audience is visible in the foreground, and a text on the keyboard reads 'ARE YOU HAVING ANY FUN?'
A performer from the alt rock band MX Lonely singing into a microphone while playing a keyboard on stage, with a drummer visible in the background, under colorful stage lights.
A musician performing on stage, playing an electric guitar under colorful lighting at a live concert.
A male musician with curly hair plays an electric guitar while singing into a microphone on stage. Colorful stage lights create a vibrant atmosphere.
A male and female duo from MX Lonely performing on stage, with the female vocalist playing a keyboard that displays the text 'ARE YOU HAVING ANY FUN?' while the male guitarist looks focused on his performance in a dimly lit venue.

The Used kicked off the tour on April 3 in Detroit, MI, and are making stops in major cities such as Boston, Chicago, New York, New Jersey, Salt Lake City, Denver, and Los Angeles, before wrapping up in San Diego on May 17. While it may sound ambitious to play three shows in a row in these densely filled with all sorts of the events cities and states, apparently it is not as crazy an idea as it may seem at first. All three nights in New Jersey were sold out.

The Used consist of their two founding members Bert McCracken on lead vocals, piano and Jeph Howard on bass, backing vocals, as well as Dan Whiteside on drums, backing vocals who joined the band in 2006 and Joey Bradford on guitar, backing vocals who joined the band in 2018.

To the deafening sound of screaming fan-girls while the white curtain covering the stage displayed countdown to the excerpts from the interviews with the band from the time of 2007 release of Lies for the Liars. And as soon as the curtain dropped to the sound of the opening song The Ripper, fan screams reached the whole new level. All three first songs were proper bangers with Pretty Handsome and Bird And The Worm getting opening honors. The following songs included Earthquake, Hospital, Paralyzed, With Me Tonight, Wake The Dead, Find A Way, Liar Liar, Pain and finally to end the night Smother Me.

The band has always been blending many styles and influences in their music. Largely they are classified as emo or simply rock, but they many times lean towards alt, grunge, post-hardcore and punk. All that was evident on this night. Some heavy bangers, followed by melodic songs and playful pop punk. The fans soaked in it all. Crowd surfing and singing along was going on all night. And for many fans this was the third trip to the venue as they wanted to hear all of the three albums. What a thrill !

The Used links

Home

Photo Gallery of The Used performance. Photos all rights reserved by Andris Jansons

Close-up of a singer performing on stage, wearing a black hoodie with 'THE USED 2000' printed on it, with dramatic purple lighting creating a vibrant atmosphere.
Lead singer of The Used performing on stage, wearing a black hoodie with 'THE USED' and '2000' printed on it, illuminated by purple stage lights.
A singer from the band MX Lonely performs on stage, holding a microphone with dramatic lighting in the background.
Silhouette of a musician in front of colorful stage lights during a performance.
A musician playing an electric guitar with long hair, illuminated by stage lights during a live performance.
MX Lonely performing on stage with dramatic lighting at The Starland Ballroom, surrounded by an engaged audience.
Drummer performing on stage with dramatic lighting and a large backdrop featuring an abstract design.
A musician performing on stage with long hair, holding a guitar, illuminated by stage lights, with a crowd visible in the foreground.
A guitarist performing on stage in a dimly lit venue with blue lighting, while fans in the foreground are engaged and cheering.
A performer from the band MX Lonely, wearing sunglasses and a hoodie, sings passionately on stage during their performance.
A musician playing bass guitar on stage during a performance, with focused expressions from the audience in the background.
Close-up of a performer singing on stage, wearing sunglasses and a hoodie, captured during a live music event.
Performance shot of a vocalist from the band MX Lonely, singing passionately into a microphone under vibrant stage lights.
Vocalist from The Used performing on stage, wearing a black hoodie with 'THE USED 2000' printed on it; drummer visible in the background, illuminated by stage lights.
Lead vocalist of Mx Lonely passionately performing on stage during a live concert, with dramatic lighting and an engaged crowd in the background.
A drummer performing on stage with a large '25' logo on the bass drum, celebrating The Used's 25th anniversary tour.
A vocalist from the band MX Lonely performing on stage at The Starland Ballroom, illuminated by blue light with a backdrop featuring the number 25.
A member of The Used performing on stage, singing passionately into a microphone while wearing a hoodie, illuminated by stage lights in a concert setting.
A crowd of enthusiastic fans at a concert, expressing excitement and joy while watching a performance.
A male singer from the band The Used performs on stage wearing a black hoodie with 'THE USED 2000' printed on it, microphone in hand, under colorful stage lights.
Lead vocalist of The Used performing on stage, wearing a black hoodie with the band's logo and the year 2000.
A guitarist performing on stage with long hair and tattoos, illuminated by stage lights.
A guitarist with long hair playing an electric guitar on stage, illuminated by dramatic lighting.
A musician playing bass guitar on stage with red lighting and spotlights during a live performance.
The lead singer of The Used performing on stage with a microphone, flanked by the guitarist and drummer, during the band's concert at The Starland Ballroom. The backdrop displays '25 for the Liars' and the lighting creates a dramatic atmosphere.
A guitarist performs passionately on stage during a concert, with long hair flowing and stage lights illuminating the scene.
A guitarist passionately playing on stage during a live alt rock performance, with long hair illuminated by stage lights.
Audience members enjoying a live performance, with a security staff member assisting a fan crowd-surfing at the event.
A lively crowd at a concert, with enthusiastic fans cheering and raising their hands while enjoying the performance. The lighting is dim, creating an energetic atmosphere.

The Used now are heading to Manhattan and will perform three at The Irving Plaza at the heart of New York City. If you live in the area this is a must see show, just as for all those in the cities below.

Tour Dates:
April 21 – New York, NY – Irving Plaza^

April 22 – New York, NY – Irving Plaza+

April 25 – Chicago, IL – House Of Blues*

April 26 – Chicago, IL – House Of Blues^

April 27 – Chicago, IL –House Of Blues+

April 29 – Denver, CO – Odgen Theatre*

April 30 Denver, CO – Odgen Theatre^

May 2 Denver, CO – Odgen Theatre+

May 3 – Salt Lake City, UT – The Union*

May 5 – Salt Lake City, UT – The Union^

May 6 – Salt Lake City, UT – The Union+

May 8 – Los Angeles, CA – The Wiltern*

May 10 – Los Angeles, CA – The Wiltern^

May 11 – Los Angeles, CA – The Wiltern+

May 13 – San Diego, CA – House Of Blues*

May 15 – San Diego, CA – House Of Blues^

May 16 – San Diego, CA – House Of Blues+

* Playing Self-Titled Record 

^ Playing In Love And Death 

+ Playing Lies For The Liars 

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