The Used Celebrate 25 Years in Salt Lake City at The Union Event Center
May 8, 2025
Emo icons, The Used, returned to where it all began this past weekend, for a three-night celebration in Salt Lake City marking 25 years as one of the most influential bands of the emo movement. For three nights The Used took over The Union Event Center in Salt Lake City to celebrate their first three albums that shot them to stardom and cemented their place in music history. Saturday’s kick off show saw them revisit their self-titled debut, an album that ignited a generation and helped define the emo genre.
A crowd including elder emo’s and younger fans descended on the venue eager to celebrate a band that had defined some of the most important years of their lives. Seeing grownups who went through their teenage years and all the angst that those years brought, bring their kids to this show and having them experience the music that defined our youth was an emotional experience.
Local openers Blindlove opened the evening and wasted no time in setting the tone. If they were nervous opening for this crowd and for such a meaningful show it never showed as they put together an incredible set.
After Blindlove finished their performance and between the set change anticipation grew in the crowd as a white sheet was raised to block the stage from the fans’ view. After the crew had completed their work and the lights went down, archival images of The Used throughout the years began to spill across the sheet to the roar of the crowd. Seeing the glimpses into the past was a powerful nod to the roots of the band and it resonated with the fans who cheered on as the scenes played.
When the sheet dropped and The Used emerged the venue erupted in cheers and cries. Fans knew exactly what to expect in terms of the setlist as the album would be played in order in its entirety and when the opening notes of “Maybe Memories” hit the speakers fans started a sing along that would last through the evening. When the band launched directly into “The Taste of Ink” next cheers filled the venue before another sing along happened.
It was clear that this was more than a concert happening, it was a time capsule. The crowd shouted along to songs that never see the light of day at a usual show, reliving our first experience hearing this album and all the feelings that it brough along with it.
When it came time to perform “A Box Full of Sharp Objects” frontman Bert McCracken loudly declared it the “best song ever written,” a sentiment that the fans shared as they belted out every lyric along with him. After the song McCracken addressed the crowd saying “We’ve been a band for 25 f***ing years. We’ve never broken up, never took a break.” The crowd applauded their thanks for that fact recognizing that the band had never let them go just as they had never let the band go.
The night wasn’t just about a performance, it was a reunion between the band, fans, and those weird awkward years we all spent trying to navigate life and the music that got both the musicians and fans through it. It was about the album that introduced so many to the world of Emo and rekindled all those emotions and experiences but with a newfound strength that we had all made it through it together. Night one was a testament to the power of their music and the lasting impression that The Used made on us and our world.