Catching The Used in Anaheim for ‘In Love and Death’ (Night Two)

The House of Blues Anaheim was revived with the 2000s emo scene as The Used brought their 25th Anniversary Tour for three nights, celebrating their albums that helped shape the entire scene. Each show highlighted a different album: Night One brought forth their deeply personal 2002 self-titled debut, the third night was reserved for their 2007 Lies for the Liars, and — for Night Two — the band performed their 2004 masterpiece, In Love and Death.

It was Night Two that I happened to tag along.

Opening this night of their three-show marathon was The Dark.FM, a rising Los Angeles-based band who combines industrial hard rock with disco elements. Their set featured songs from their self-titled EP and latest single “[zippermouth]”, with sparkling synths that match past and present alt rock aesthetics.

Just minutes before The Used went on, a white curtain covered the stage with a short video showing the making of In Love and Death projected on it. It showcased a countdown clock, motion clips of the album itself, and clips of interviews from 20 years ago. Once The Used finally took the stage, every person inside was thrown straight back to 2004. In Love and Death not only went platinum in its time, written in the peak of the OG emo era, it’s still relatable to this day for so many fans. Some fans were standing in the front row for Night Two, bawling their eyes out to tracks like “All That I’ve Got” (written in memory of vocalist Bert McCracken’s late dog) and the incomparable “I Caught Fire (In Your Eyes)” (about emotional and physical abuse between two lovers).

Two and a half decades later, this album hits just as hard.

McCracken’s voice remains powerful, with every lyric an emotional release. Between the band’s brotherhood and their connection with fans, these three nights were a reunion with the early emo rock scene that was never JUST a phase.

The Used continue their three-night album tour, complete with a two-day appearance at When We Were Young Festival before marathons in Texas, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, Philadelphia, and Canada through early 2026. If you didn’t catch Anaheim, tickets are on sale now for your chance to relive emo history. Click here to score tickets now or see the dates below.

Photography by Celeste Basich

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