Review: The Used – Live and Acoustic at The Palace
Hearing your favourite songs live is great. Attending the live acoustic gig of your favourite band is even better. And having a record of said performance in another format than crappy videos from your phone? Priceless… April Fools jokes aside, The Used definitely did release such album, in celebration of their 15 years as a band, today.
One thought I had throughout listening to ‘Live and Acoustic at the Palace’ was how lucky those attending this special event were. It’s not every day you get to hear a band like The Used play a stripped down set, with gospel singers and a string quartet, featuring some of their biggest hits AND ‘Imagine’ by John Lennon. ‘The Bird and the Worm’ sounds especially awesome this way. It’s one of those you-had-to-be-there moments in life.
The best quality of a live album is how it makes the listener travel back to the moment of the artist’s performance, and re-live it over and over again. It’s especially true for this one, and thanks to Bert McCracken’s emotional commentary in between songs, it sounds even more intimate. Who would’ve thought these tough-looking men can put together such an authentic performance in a style they don’t often get to play? All hail the new kings of live-acoustic rock!
