The Used and Sleeping with Sirens Bring Emo Night to Buffalo

Buffalo Riverworks has become one of my favorite local spots to catch a show here in Western New York. The venue is a massive open space with a wrap-around balcony surrounding the entire floor space. Most notably, when the place is sold well, the stage is essentially surrounded by fans, creating a truly engaging experience. This tour, featuring The Used, Sleeping With Sirens and Dead American, was a great example of this.

Heading into the show nice and early, I could tell this was sold well. Parking was already backing up and the line to get in was extensive. To me, this is typically the sign of a good night ahead!

As I entered the venue, it was already packed. The stage was crowded, the line for merchandise was probably 100 people deep and the balcony upstairs was already lined with fans. Great to see this many people out for a show on a Wednesday night!

Dead American's Cove Reber at Buffalo Riverworks

The first band to take the stage was Dead American. I'm not especially familiar with this group, but I enjoyed their set. They were definitely a change of pace from the rest of the lineup, as their act was more alternative-grunge driven, but they certainly warmed up the audience just fine.

Next up was Sleeping With Sirens. I don't believe I've caught them live before either, but they put on an insane live show! Right from the start, the band took to the stage with a frantic assault during their nearly hour-long set. The entire performance was a start to finish adrenaline rush, with "Kick Me" as the absolute stand out to this new listener. I'll admit, I've been playing this band fairly heavily in the last several days since the show. There's no doubt, the packed venue was in large part there to see Sleeping With Sirens just as much as they were there to see The Used.

Sleeping With Sirens in Buffalo

Finally, The Used took the stage at approximately 9:30pm to what appears to have been a sold out crowd. They opened their set with "Pretty Handsome Awkward." For this Transformers fan, that was a nice treat (the song was used in the 2007 film soundtrack during a cool chase scene).

The stage was for this tour is incredible. It's completely covered in pink flowers but in front of the immediate stage as well as the back wall where drummer Dan Whitesides is positioned. Additionally, the microphone stands were each adorned with the same flowers as the rest of the stage, completing the mood.

The Used's Bert McCracken in Buffalo

The rest of the show consisted of a number of career-spanning hits including "The Taste of Ink," "The Bird and the Worm," "I Caught Fire" and "A Box Full of Sharp Objects." At one point, during "Paralyzed," the band brought several kids up on stage to dance during the song. One thing that really stood out at this show was the amount of crowd interaction. The singing along to seemingly every word was unavoidable. I've seen The Used before, and I've enjoyed their live performance, but it wasn't until this show that I realized just what an intense following they really have.

The current tour runs through October 11th, where it will wrap up in Paso Robels California. Whether you're a fan who hasn't seen The Used in a while, have never seen them or if you catch them on every tour, make sure you don't miss this one. They put on a fantastic show and Sleeping With Sirens was a huge first-time bonus for me on this package. I'd love to catch both of these bands at a future date! Check the banner below for the remaining tour dates and click it for a direct link to tickets!