Straylight Run’s name on Myspace may be ‘Straylight Run is going back to college’ right now, but the Rockstar Get A Life Tour was more like a trip back to high school for me. Not only was the crowd made up of mostly people under the age of 18, but Straylight Run reminds me of how I wish Tell All Your Friends Part 2 had been made, or how My Chemical Romance opened for The Used, who in turn opened for Finch in high school. Wait, what even ever happened to Finch?
The Starcourse event at Foellinger featured Straylight Run and the Used. Foellinger seems like a perfect venue for Straylight, but like the line-up, the venue choice was peculiar for a loud energetic band that calls for crowd interaction like the Used.
Straylight Run opened with “Existentialism on Prom Night” off their self-titled first album. The vocals were turned down too low, so it was extremely difficult to make out the words. Siblings Michelle DaRosa and John Nolan write music, sing, playguitar and piano, and are definitely very into their performance. DaRosa stole the show with tracks like “Tool Sheds and Hot Tubs,” although I found it difficult to watch her without thinking that she really needs to eat a sandwich. The band played a good mix of songs off their 2004 self-titled release and the 2007 release The Needles the Space from “Another Word for Desperate” to “Take It to Manhattan.” The crowd reactions were mixed with half the venue standing and half sitting, a few people singing along, but very little movement overall. The crowd was pretty divided between The Used fans and Straylight Run fans since their musical styles are completely different. They ended their set too soon with “Hands in the Sky (Big Shot),” a mere half hour into their tunes.
The Used came on stage to the cries of “Bert, I love you!” from the women surrounding me. I know I was once their age, but singer Bert McCracken never was and never will be as attractive as they think. The man is extremely skinny with bugged out eyes and long greasy black hair. He constantly spits on the crowd and wore a shirt that said “Jesus owes me money.” Definitely not an attractive young woman’s ideal man. At least his shirt choice was better than the last time I saw them, where it read “My pussy demands attention.” I guess that was played out by the ladies this evening.
The Used opened up with “The Bird and The Worm” off their latest album Lies for the Liars. On stage there was an army of cardboard cut-outs of political figures, army men and policemen. McCracken got the crowd riled up by leading the kids to raise their middle fingers in the air, but there was not enough room in the venue to really jump around or start any sort of pit. The band played a few tracks off their 2002 self-titled record including “The Taste of Ink,” “Bulimic” and “A Box Full of Sharp Objects.” Despite the crowd’s desperate cries, the band did not play “Blue and Yellow.” Some of the other tracks they played included “Pretty Handsome Awkward,” “All That I Got” and “Dark Days.”
To go along with the ladies longing for McCracken, a bra hit him square in the face during their performance. After putting it on and prancing around stage for awhile,he was kind enough to throw her back her dignity. After announcing his butt hole was in bad shape, McCracken asked the crowd, “How do you get a gay friend to have sex with your sister? By taking a shit in her pussy!”
I’ve seen The Used several times and I’d have to say this is the most foul I’ve ever seen them, although I have never been to a performance where women were egging him on with declaration of love and the gift of a D cup bra. He also invited anyone who wanted to come make babies with him after the show.
Besides McCracken’s crude comments, The Used put on a pretty lively, energetic performance as per usual. It was unusual to not see any pits or really any movement in the crowd, but the people seemed to be enjoying themselves none the less. One fan even got his dream wish granted. McCracken took a crowd member he had met before the show and let him live out his dream to scream on stage with The Used. At least someone got to fulfill their fantasy with McCracken.
