THE USED BRISBANE "IN LOVE AND DEATH" CONCERT REVIEW
- Kirsty Shepherd
- Aug 18, 2025
- 4 min read
if you would had told me at 15 that in 20 years time I would be seeing the used perform my favourite album as media I would tell you that you were crazy and that would never happen:
but here I found myself on Tuesday the 12 of August standing in the VIP line outside of the Tivoli doing just that. living out a teenage dream amongst mY emo peers AT THE LATER ADDED SECOND SHOW of 'in love and death', DUE TO THE HIGH DEMAND. As I watched the QUEUE grow down the hill the anticipation grew ALONG WITH IT; people shuffling around excitedly as they waited impatiently for what was going to be an incredible night. Upon entry, I was greeted with a moodily foggy room, a long merch line and an
'in love and death' photo backdrop.
The night started with a fourty-five minute performance from Canberra five piece, hands like houses. Throughout their perfomance the post-hardcore band played "colour blind", "hollow", "I am" and a cover of "wicked games" amongst others. a more reserved beginning, was met with the statement of "we are about 59.8% the way through our set, time to amp it up", the energy shifted to a bouncier more energetic environment. New lead vocalist
Josh demonstrated throughout the set his ability to transition between clean vocals and fry screaming, while the guitarists roamed the stage making use of the space they were given. I found my attention being drawn to the hair flipping madness of Alexander and honestly impressive drumming skills of Matt,
more often than not as the set progressed. The crowd was pulled into a fit of laughter towards the end as a member of the crowd passed something plastic to Josh to which he responded "I just touched something plastic and it was wet and I hope to God it wasn't a condom. That is going to haunt me in my dreams." While hands
like houses are not a band I listen to on a regular basis, it was still an experience to watch the band as they interacted with each other and the crowd while performing.
The pit filled quickly and packed in tightly during the set change over as the energy in the room became nervous, erratic and filled with
anticipation and joy all at once. From the moment the lights dropped and the projector turned on it was clear that the show was going to be something special. A static filled tv filled the screen before turning quickly into a speech inviting you to witness the best band in the world, changing once more to a countdown
from 10. Cheers from the crowd erupted as footage from the band played. The crowd collectively stood in silence and watched the band talk about their history, holding space for what was about to happen. As the final minute of the introduction played the tension in the room sored as we waited for what was
coming next. Finally the project turned off and the introduction to "Take it away" started, the curtain dropped and the band was revealed, causing the crowd to immediately start bouncing and screaming the lyrics back to the stage. Giving themselves time to catch their breath from the opening mayhem, the
band introduced themselves casually with "of course we are the used" to ruckus cheers. Second and third up for the set was "I caught fire" and "Let it bleed", where a very special event happened. During "I caught fire" A proposal on the barricade took place, where she said yes! during the space for Bert to talk to the crowd
the newly engaged couple made him aware of the situation to which he responded "oh my God, that's so fucking cute. I hope it was during I caught fire and not let it bleed, that would be crazy." He gushed over the couple several times throughout the show saying "I still can't get over this engagement, I'm just so
happy for you." the hour long set ebbed and flowed naturally through the softer and heavier songs, causing mayhem in the form of near feral pit action on three separate occasions, sing-a-longs and high crowd energy. While there wasn't a huge amount of crowd interaction, there honestly didn't need to be.
The energy remained high without the need for calling out "Brisbane" or any of the other usual tricks you will find vocalists using for cheers. instead we were treated with "if you don't know the words, make up your own words", "if you have two feet and an arse, it's time to dance" and "do you want to hear a song
about sex. Because this is a song about sex." the energy in the room truly peeked as the introduction to "i'm a fake" began and the crowd screamed the lyrics so ferociously that the band could barely be heard from my position in the pit. it was honestly such a healing moment for my teenage self to be surrounded
by so many people touched by the lyrics in the same way I was. The pit opened for the final time as Jeph screamed the lyrics into the room. As the song came to its conclusion the house lights came on and the band threw out drumsticks and guitar picks into the crowd to queens/David bowie's "under pressure". the
used's performance was everything I had hoped it would be and was the perfect way to celebrate their 25th anniversary. If you have not got your tickets yet I highly recommend you do so before it is too late. You can buy tickets from the used website at the link below.
For fans of: taking back Sunday, hawthorn heights, story of the year and senses fail
For fans of: crown the empire, dream on dreamer, I see the stars and issues
will you be seeing the used on their historic 25 year tour?
