Sayreville, NJ – 16 April, 2025
If You Feel Like Dying, You Might Wanna Sing
Nostalgia was in overdrive as The Used was set to take the stage at Starland Ballroom for the second night of their three-day stop at Starland for the 25th Anniversary Tour. For a band that blew up 20 years ago, whose fans years ago traded their carabiners for car seats, this could have easily felt like old hat, but you could sense an energy in the line, at the bar, in the crowd, it was as if we all took a trip back in time and relived the romance of In Love and Death.
Night one was for the legendary self-titled debut,the second evening was for the band to perform In Love & Death and night 3 was to perform the Lies for the Liars. I was lucky enough to get in for night 1, and every moment was wonderful. The self-titled is definitely my favorite record from Bert McCracken and team. Doesn’t matter though, because Saturday was better, thanks not only to The Used, but also because of the crowd and the throwback-heavy openers: In Angles.
Openers In Angles are a New Jersey 4pc oozing gratitude for their chance to share the Starland stage with The Used. I must say it was a bit unsettling that the singer was simply too gracious considering he looked so much like a partially deflated MJF (but maybe I’m face-blind). The quartet kicked the night off and immediately impressed with hook-laden rippers. I’d never seen or even heard about In Angles before tonight, but holy shit, I certainly will be paying attention now. The band showed off an energetic and unbeatable sound, harkening to the sound and spirit of ‘99. For this 43-year-old, that was a welcomed reminder of the era most of us started to really dive headlong into this scene.
It’s not often that an opener shows up and tears grizzled punks and scenesters away from the overpriced IPAs at venue bars, but In Angles left the bartenders with little to do as the crowd was caught up in the enchantment and began to push their way closer to get a look at what will likely be the next favorite act for many of us. I can not stress how much I enjoyed the set from In Angles and look forward to catching them again and again as the opportunity presents itself.
Last night, The Used opened their set with a really cool projection showing clips and interviews surrounding the debut record. It was really fucking cool. Tonight they showed a similar video from the In Love and Death tour cycles, leading in to the album’s opening narration, dropping where the gunshot should be heard before “Take It Away.” Last night’s opening was cool… Tonight’s was fucking epic. If I see any more anniversary tours that don’t start with a similar opening salvo, they’ve already failed their audience.
The band got right to work with larynx eviscerating performances of “Take It Away,” “I Caught Fire,” “Let It Bleed” and “All That I’ve Got.” There were no stops, minimal chatter, just blasting straight through. Not sure if they are just getting down right to business or if they are ready for a night off and trying to get through this as fast as possible. Either way, the performance was pitch perfect. In a twist I never could have seen coming, the longest pause on stage came when crowd initiated a circle pit but at the behest of the charismatic frontman, the audience was encouraged to participate in a cartwheel contest. My sight line was obstructed, but it certainly looked like there were a few cartwheels, tumbles and backflips attempted… to varying degrees of success.
The in-order playthrough of the record led to some stunning peaks and valleys in musicality as the band kicked things off with popular bangers but began alternate slow and hard, fast and mellow tracks showing off the legendarily cathartic album’s range. When it was time for McCracken to recite the poetic introduction to “I’m A Fake” the entire crowd was echoed the stanzas, preparing themselves for the vocal cord shredding that came in the intense chorale of the song. It was this moment that led to my lone complaint of the evening, no encore, no tracks off a different record, just a piped in version of the Bowie/Queen classic “Under Pressure.” Yes, the song The Used recorded with NJ’s My Chemical Romance. Nobody expected MCR to show up for the track, even in NJ. Hell, I don’t even know if the friendship between Bert and Gerard still exists… but we all know you can play the song, why couldn’t we get that 1 extra track for tonight?
I know I’m being entitled and whiny, and I know that the band performed all twelve tracks immaculately and intensely. We were lucky to witness this, lucky to live it… but I certainly would’ve enjoyed just a little bit more. Its also clear that I wasn’t alone, though the majority chose to sing along to the taped song rather than pout about it. Having a night to sleep on things, its clear my grumbling is unwarranted. The band is never a letdown, instead they get better with age, turning this sea of strangers into a sweat-drenched community focused on better living and emotional releases.
Bad Dad (occasionally called Ed) has been on the periphery of the punk and punk-adjacent scene for over twenty years. While many contributors to this site have musical experience and talent, Ed’s musical claim to fame comes from his time in arguably the most punk rock Blockbuster Video district in NJ where he worked alongside members of Blanks 77, Best Hit TV and Brian Fallon. He is more than just an awful father to his 2 daughters, he is also a dreadful husband, a subpar writer, a terrible dresser and has a severe deficiency in all things talent… but hey, at least he’s self-aware, amirite?
Check out the pathetic attempts at photography on his insta at https://www.instagram.com/bad_dad_photography/