Show Review: Taking Back Sunday and The Used @ Kool Haus (Toronto, ON) on April 8, 2014

On Tuesday April 8th, Toronto’s Kool Haus was swept with a wave of nostalgia with The Used and Taking Back Sunday’s co-headlining tour taking the stage. The show was sold out; leaving room for only diehard fans that aged and grew with songs from both iconic bands since the early 2000s. The openers were former Underoath singer Spencer Chamberlain’s new band Sleepwave and Australian five piece pop-punk band Tonight Alive. Both openers killed it.

Sleepwave’s performance proved that Spencer can successfully close Underoath’s last chapter and embark on an enchanting new music project that rocks hard and accentuates his unique vocal talents. Tonight Alive’s set brought a youthful energy that connected with younger fans in the venue. Lead singer Jenna McDougall’s monstrous vocals filled up the place as they played both new and old favorites.

The Used came on next and the crowd screamed with excitement. They made a daring but smart move-opening up with their latest single “Cry”. I thought it was great that they played new material before going into the fan favorites. As The Used played their legendary anthems, “I Caught Fire,” “Buried Myself Alive,” “All That I’ve Got,” and “Pretty Handsome Awkward” the crowd broke out into one big sing-along. They played “Revolution,” a new song from their latest album Imaginary Enemy, for the first time live on the tour. During “On My Own” I could see and hear each fan yelling each lyric with such great amount of emotion. It was such a beautiful moment that nearly brought me to tears. You could see the genuine gratitude in lead singer Bert McCracken’s eyes when he saw each fan singing his words back to him. Their performance proved that The Used is like a fine wine that only gets better with age.

Taking Back Sunday closed the show with an incredible set. Lead singer Adam Lazzara still has his youthful charm and charisma. He swung the microphone is his classic-fashion as the band played both new and old hits. Their set played a fair amount of songs from their classic discography and their newest release Happiness Is… Tell All Your Friends is one of my favourite albums, so I was very happy to see them play “Timberwolves At New Jersey” and “You Know How I Do” live. When they played “Cute Without The E,” “Liar” and “You’re So Last Summer” live, the place went crazy. There was not one still body in the room. They closed the show with “MakeDamnSure” and it was a perfect choice. The crowd sang loudly with whatever ounce of voice they had left. As a fan of both co-headling bands, this was one of the best shows I’ve been to. The 16 year old inside of me is now complete after watching two amazing sets by the bands I grew up with.

Check out the song “Stood A Chance”