The Used, Hevenshe @ Hindley Street Music Hall, Adelaide 26/8/2025
Nelly, Vanessa Carlton, Avril Lavigne. All had hits in 2002 and those hits are subtly and cleverly played over the PA while we wait for The Used to perform their own 2002 self-titled hit album.
This is no mere show, it is a week long extravaganza. From that exclusive 2002 PA playlist to a giant screen of the debut album you can get your photo with, the first of an extraordinary three different The Used albums in three nights are upon us in Adelaide. A challenge of endurance, finesse, passion, and entertainment awaits all.
Tonight, night one, is the self titled debut. The challenge is not just for this writer to capture the magic each night; it is also for the band to create that magic for all attending.
The band have already completed the challenge in other cities in our fine country, a country that singer Bert McCracken has finally become a citizen of, so now it is Adelaide’s time.
Along for the shows is Jenna MacDougall’s project Hevenshe. The multi talented singer/songwriter may well be getting the Tonight Alive band back together later this year however for now, she stands devoid of band, relying on her voice, her guitar, a drummer and her undeniable talent.
As this is part one of three shows this week, I will keep this section brief, however if you want your music to cover you like a warm embrace from an old friend, Hevenshe is the band. Mixing alt rock with country, pop and a gentle smile, many in the crowd are hooked.
However, once the hits of twenty three years ago have stopped – cruelly during System Of A Down’s Chop Suey – the screen displays an old TV counting down to the show and the excitement rises. Videos of the band from that self titled time play in a trip down memory lane as the band start to play from behind the curtain. By the time that drops, the excitement has reached fever pitch.
The album is played from start to finish, so the set list is familiar. The stage design looks like guitar cases, the light show extraordinary with the band not too shabby themselves.
The Taste Of Ink has the crowd ferocious in their singing to the point they take over from McCracken, the energy of the band in Bulimic driven like a supercharged V8.
The rocker Say Days Ago has a circle pit open and Dan Whitesides drums are shaking the room. The band are locked in.
McCracken is a natural front man, whether it’s doing a shoey, or cheekily saying the next song is from their debut album, he works the crowd easily into the ocean like sways that appear bathed in blue light during Buried Myself Alive.
The Used have left no detail unturned. The flickering lights reflecting off the room’s chandeliers during A Box Full Of Sharp Objects are magical as is the switch to a outro of Smells Like Teen Spirit. The only none 2002 track tonight.
The beautifully emotive On My Own flows into the dramatic Pieces Mended, the archetypical emo band album closer, before a chaotic ending of hidden track Choke Me. A song that is jagged and a juxtaposition of the previous album tracks yet steeped in the bands spirit, an epic closer.
This is just the first chapter. Will Thursday’s 2004 sophomore album In Love And Death feature a 2004 PA playlist? Will there be 2004 album cover photo opportunities? How do you follow a theatrical performance of lights, music and magic with a totally different set list? Get yourself a ticket and find out.
Live Review By Iain McCallum