Source: Album Artwork
The Used‘s Live And Acoustic At The Palace is a commemoration of the band’s 15 year long career. As frontman Bert McCracken states before ‘Yesterday’s Feelings’ “I won’t stop doing this, not for anything”, and this album upholds that statement. Live And Acoustic At The Palace is beautiful, emotional and epic, and features a string quartet, a harpist, a pianist, percussion and gospel choir like any great acoustic live album should. The Used aren’t a band to put in half the effort with any of their music, but there’s something about Live And Acoustic At The Palace that makes it feel like the band stepped up their game tenfold.
The setlist was unusual for sure, with the band playing songs they don’t normally play live. While the main feel of the record is emotional and liberating, there is room for fun with an acoustic rendition of ‘Paralyzed’, embracing a jungle theme with dominating drums. However standout tracks such as ‘Overdose’ (written about Bert’s daughter, Cleopatra Rose) and ‘On My Own‘ somehow manage to capture the pure intensity that comes with a live The Used show. The album is filled with mini monologue’s from Bert about the story behind the songs, and you can physically feel the wavering in his voice during these parts. That’s how emotional this record is.
Live And Acoustic At The Palace is a perfect celebration of where The Used are now, they’ve come a long way since the naivety and unpredictability of youth, and are in the best place they’ve ever been in their entire career.
