The Used and Taking Back Sunday’s co-headlining tour is one the hottest tickets in the early months of 2014. With a supporting cast of Sleepwave and Tonight Alive, audiences across America are clamoring for this bill to hit a city near them. With seven shows in the books, the tour made a stop at The Warfield on Tuesday March 25th. A historic building in its own right, opening its doors in 1922, the 2,300 seat theater was sold out and ready to rock.
Starting things off with a bang were Sleepwave from St. Petersburg, FL. With fans saying farewell to Underoath in 2013, they are now saying hello to vocalist Spencer Chamberlain’s new project known as Sleepwave. With Underoath’s final tour concluding in January 2013, Chamberlain unleashed the first Sleepwave tune titled “Rock And Roll Is Dead And So Am I” in the latter part of the year.
Taking the stage with excitement, Chamberlain and company pumped out lively powerful sounds. Chamberlain lit up the stage, showing no signs of slowing down and letting up; even after all those years in Underoath. Singing at a high level, the performance had everyone’s attention from start to finish. The band sounded tight and portrayed the attitude of a those hungry to break out and make a name for themselves. Sleepwave’s single is available for free download on their website so head over there now and familiarize yourself with this interesting new band.
The next act came all the way from Sydney, Australia calling themselves Tonight Alive. Consisting of Jenna McDougall (vocals), Jake Hardy (guitar), Whakaio (guitar), Cam Adler (bass), and Matt Best (drums); their style is a lively mix of pop, punk, and rock. With McDougall joining the band at the young age of 16 back in 2008, she has crafted herself as a formidable lead vocalist with swag and style. Adding to the band’s maturity and development, they have been featured on some of the biggest rock festivals worldwide in recent years including Warped Tour in 2013.
The band took the stage like a house on fire; full of energy and youth bouncing from song to song. McDougall’s voice sounded strong and alive while the rest of the band played together at an elevated level. Playing a series of upbeat tunes like “Don’t Wish”, “The Ocean”, and “Breaking and Entering” kept the crowd moving and interested. With thick guitars, catchy melodies, and memorable harmonies Tonight Alive was spectacular. Plenty of the crowd were singing along with each song and enjoying every minute of the set. This band is an extremely impressive well-rounded package from front to back. Be sure to give them a listen and check out their latest album The Other Side (2013).
It was now time for the first of the headlining acts and that began with Long Island, NY based rock band Taking Back Sunday. Having released their sixth studio album, Happiness Is, in January; Taking Back Sunday’s popularity is rocketing with the album peaking at 10 in the US Billboard 100 and 1 in other chart entries.
Storming out, Taking Back Sunday offered up new and old songs at rapid speed. Lead vocalist Adam Lazzara showed stage presence and vibrance while dancing around and singing each song, note for note, like the studio recordings. New songs like “Stood a Chance” and “Beat Up Car” mixed with older fan favorites like “You Know How I Do”, “A Decade Under The Influence”, and “You’re So Last Summer”. The audience’s response was overwhelmingly positive throughout the performance with singing, cheering, and screaming any chance they had. Taking Back Sunday’s dedication to put on a great live show night after night and year after year is really admirable considering the fierce amount of energy they exert on stage. The set closed out with “Cute Without The ‘E’” and the band’s biggest hit “MakeDamnSure”, which was the pinnacle of excitement for their fans. One thing is for sure, Taking Back Sunday is not to be missed when they are on tour.
Closing out the evening of rock fun was The Used. Colorful and uninhibited, the band has been together now almost fifteen years and built one of the most hardcore followings around. Completing a branding set of shows on The Warped Tour in 2013 only shows how important The Used still is to modern rock music. With a stage setup including massive TV’s with lights in them, anticipation was high at The Warfield, as fans await the set to begin.
Coming out to the intro of their new single “Cry” off their forthcoming album Imaginary Enemy due out April 1st, they then erupted into the whole song. Vocalist Bert McCracken was as animated and entertaining on stage as ever before. His care-free attitude on stage is something fans love and recognize as a release from the stresses of everyday life. Playing through a lot of older tunes from their self-titled debut The Used (2002) and In Love and Death (2004) ignited a frenzy among the cult-like following of fans. Songs like “Take It Away”, “I Caught Fire”,” The Taste of Ink”, “All That I’ve Got”, “Buried Myself Alive”, and “Listening” were a few of the highlights keeping the theater rocking.
Their performance moved on at a relentless pace mixing in songs like “The Bird and the Worm” and “Pretty Handsome Awkward” from Lies For The Liars (2007) with “Put Me Out” off Vulnerable (2012). With only so much time in one set, The Used did an excellent job of keeping things balanced and treating fans to their favorite tunes while offering a good mix of newer songs including “Put Me Out”.
Screaming for an encore, The Warfield received a three song medley which started with the intro to Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” and jumped into “Box Full of Sharp Objects”, concluding with the intro to Rage Against The Machine’s “Killing In The Name Of”. This was an earth-shattering conclusion to an unbelievable performance. There is no question The Used kept this sold-out crowd on their toes until the very last note.
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