Used frontman Bert McCracken plans to return to the stage tonight in Orlando, Florida, after acute pancreatitis forced him to cancel appearances in Detroit and Cleveland over the weekend.

The illness first struck before a May 27th show in Cincinnati. "Right before we went on," says Used drummer drummer Branden Steineckert, "he was like, 'I don't know if I can do this.' We decided we'd open with 'On My Own,' which is a really chill song, and he'd sit down to play it. He was like, 'Alright, let's do it.' Our manager literally picked him up and carried him from the bus to the building and by the end of the song he was lying on the stage."

McCracken was rushed to the emergency room, but the cause of the illness wasn't diagnosed there. He continued to feel bad throughout the week, prompting him to return to his home state of Utah for hospitalization Saturday.

"He had weird chest pains, his stomach was hurting, he was throwing up, and when he was trying to eat he felt like the food was lodged in his chest," says Steineckert. "They put him on some really good antibiotics and as far as the future, we're going to go forward as if he's fine for the most part and hope the drugs do what they're supposed to do."

According to a statement from the band's management, "Acute Pancreatitis . . . is a condition that is not life threatening and is curable. [Bert] is being treated with prescription drugs and rest. He needs to eat better and take better care of himself."

The Used are scheduled to tour most of this summer, including a two-month stint on the Warped Tour, in support of their upcoming CD/DVD Maybe Memories. Due July 8th, the collection features a disc of live and unreleased tracks and a DVD of early and pre-Used footage.

"There's baby pictures of us and family pictures," Steineckert says. "Old stuff of me when I was like sixteen in my first band ever, a couple random shots of me skateboarding. There's a photograph of Bert singing into this ghetto old microphone when he was first auditioning for the band, with helicopter pilot headphones on, just classic stuff."

The live tracks on the disc were recorded in March at the Henry Fonda Theater in Los Angeles, while demos of songs like "Bulimic" that wound up making the Used's 2002 self-titled debut will give fans a chance to hear how the band sounded to the Reprise Records execs who signed them.

"You'd be surprised," Steineckert says of the demos. "It sounds exactly the same but much worse quality. I have a little digital eight track that was in my bedroom. I'd do my drum track, then we'd do guitars and bass, and I'd record Bert singing in my closet."

Maybe Memories track listing:

Maybe Memories (live)
A Box Full of Sharp Objects (live)
On My Own (live)
Say Days Ago (live)
Just a Little (unreleased)
It Could Be a Good Excuse (demo)
Zero Mechanism (demo)
Bulimic (demo)
Alone This Holiday
Sometimes I Just Go for It (unreleased)

The Used tour dates:

6/13: Mountain View, CA, Shoreline Amphitheater
6/14: Irvine, CA, Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
6/19: Nampa, ID, Idaho Center Amphitheater
6/20: Bozeman, MT, Gallatin County Fairgrounds
6/21: Salt Lake City, Utah State Fairgrounds
6/22: Denver, Invesco Field at Mile High
6/23: Wichita, KS, Greyhound Park
6/24: Bonner Springs, KS, Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
6/25: Maryland Heights, MO, UMB Bank Pavillion
6/26: Cincinnati, Riverbend Music Center
6/27: Noblesville, IN, Verizon Wireless Music Center
6/28: Somerset, WI, Float Rite Park Amphitheater
6/29: Tinley Park, IL, Tweeter Center
7/2: Calgary, AB, Race City Speedway
7/4: Vancouver, Thunderbird Stadium
7/5: George, WA, The Gorge
7/6: Saint Helens, OR, Columbia Meadows
7/8: Pomona, CA, Fairplex
7/9: Ventura, Ca, Seaside Park
7/10: Chula Vista, CA, Coors Amphitheater
7/11: Long Beach, CA, California State University
7/12: San Francisco, Pier 30/32
7/13: Marysville, CA, Sleep Train Amphitheater
7/15: Peoria, AZ, Peoria Sports Complex
7/16: La Cruces, NM, New Mexico State University Practice Field
7/18: Selma, TX, Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
7/19: Dallas, Smirnoff Music Center
7/20: Houston, Reliant Center
7/23: Atlanta, HiFi Buys Amphitheater
7/24: Orlando, Central Florida Fairgrounds
7/25: Tampa, FL, Vinoy Waterfront Park
7/26: Pompano Beach, FL, Pompano Beach Amphitheater
7/27: Jacksonville, FL, Fairgrounds
7/28: Charlotte, NC, Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
7/29: Virginia Beach, VA, Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
7/30: Bristow, VA, Nissan Pavillion
7/31: Brockton, MA, Brockton Fairgrounds
8/1: Montreal, Parc Jean-Drapeau
8/2: Barrie, ON, Molson Park
8/3: Pontiac, MI, Pontiac Silverdome
8/4: Milwaukee, Marcus Amphitheater
8/5: Cleveland, Tower City Amphitheater
8/6: Burgettstown, PA, Post-Gazette Pavillion
8/7: Darien Center, NY, Darien Lake Six Flags P.A.C
8/8: Camden, NJ, Tweeter Ceneter
8/9: New York, Randalls Island
8/10: Asbury Park, NJ, Asbury Park Lot

COLIN DEVENISH
(June 3, 2003)