BlindLove was the first band to take the stage on Saturday, October 7th at the Showbox SoDo. They played a short yet exciting set, getting the crowd riled up for The Used, who would headline later that night. Their sound blends between alt-rock and grunge with both clean vocals and screams - which you would not expect from lead singer Brogan Kelby. The band kept things exciting with a very energetic performance. Brogan made sure to move around the stage and interact with both his bandmates and the crowd. Their set was over quickly, but Brogan noted, “You may not know our music yet, but you will.” And I think he’s right, their commercial looks but genuine sound could take them far!
Next on stage was Cove Reber’s band Dead American. Most notably, Cove is the singer for the California-based band Saosin. Dead American’s sound was giving post-hardcore influence with a modern take. The crowd responded to the band's enthusiastic energy onstage with headbangs and moshing. The bassist, Josh Latham, was thrashing about onstage and interacting with the crowd while Cove screamed the words to “Choke,” a track from their debut album New Nostalgia. Dead American showed up and left it all onstage, gearing up for Sleeping with Sirens who played after.
When Sleeping With Sirens came on stage, the energy shifted and the crowd screamed and rushed forward to the sight of drummer Matty Best (Tonight Alive) beginning to play their opening song of the night, “Break Me Down.” The entire band moved together in unison to each song. Bassist, Justin Hills, went from stage left to stage right often to play with guitarist Nick Martin. You could visibly tell that the band was having so much fun on stage, smiling and making funny faces to each other and the photographers in the photo pit. Their set was only nine songs, but it felt like a full headliner. The crowd screamed joyfully during their entire set, singing every single word back to lead singer, Kellin Quinn. Kellin had noted during the set that the band has always loved touring through Seattle because of the collective energy that the crowd always shares with the band - he went on to say that this was one of the best shows all tour.
Finally, the time had come for headlining band The Used to play. The crowd waited patiently singing along to the house music before The Used took the stage. They opened with a fan favorite, “Pretty Handsome Awkward.” This set the tone for the entire set to be absolutely electric. The crowd was rowdy and the band responded back with an incredible performance. Singer, Bert McCracken, took off one of his famous fingerless gloves and threw it into the crowd - a new-to-him fingerless glove was thrown onstage. Later in an Instagram post from the band, Bert shared that the glove he had thrown into the crowd had been worn every time the band had performed - for the last 13 years. This goes to show that Seattle was giving it their all for The Used. Their set consisted of 12 songs with an extra three-song encore which ended with “A Box Full of Sharp Objects” featuring special guest, Kellin Quinn. Over the entirety of the set, the energy grew and grew within the crowd - making the floor vibrate with jumping, moshing, and dancing.
All photos of The Used & Sleeping With Sirens via AJ Press.
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