Venue: Scottish Exhibition & Conference Centre
City: Glasgow, Scotland
Unpublished
In order to fully appreciate a live production like this, one must cast aside any preconceptions that are tied to this band.
My Chemical Romance are undeniably the unchallenged gods of the 21st Century ‘Emo’ movement. When ‘Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge’ hit the shelves angst ridden teens all over the world went berserk for the rebellious Goth-Punk hybrid sound, and in a matter of days red eye shadow was literally uniform for the masses. Fast forward three years and The Black Parade hits the shelves. The same craze ensues. Few believed that the band could top their earlier achievements but naysayers were silenced beyond doubt as soon as the title track hit the airwaves.
Leading the young army that follows this band to the hilt is an inspirationally tight song writing unit in the form of lead singer Gerard Way. Frank Iero and Ray Toro add some of the catchiest guitar hooks and melodies on the planet right now, and Gerard’s brother Mikey and drummer Bob Bryar are a solid backbone upon which this musical chaos is placed. Give ‘The Black Parade’ one listen and I defy anyone to call it poor, cheap, ‘commercial-over-quality’ or childish. The elements combined in their latest release state to the world in black and white why MCR reign supreme on the rock music food chain. So to experience it live, one would assume, would be breathtaking. One would bloody well assume right.
The SECC is buzzing tonight, and the hysteria that sweeps the arena when the lights go out is at fever pitch. A lone spotlight pierces the stage to reveal Gerard Way on a hospital gurney as the opening strains of ‘The End’ emerge from behind the huge black stage curtain, barely audible when set against the now overflowing emotion of the crowd. 7,000 people feel the hairs on their arms stand on end and know that something very, very special is about to happen.
Way, like a truly great front man, commands a sold out arena as if he was in London’s notoriously tiny Barfly. The band mercilessly tears through tracks from The Black Parade, clad head to toe in their signature army uniforms. The stage production is second to none. However, a spectacular light show, tonnes of ticker tape and some huge pyrotechnic explosions only just live up to the sheer energy being thrown into the performance onstage. The fireballs that erupt during ‘Famous Last Words’ transport the crowd right into the song’s music video. We are in the zone, with arms pumping, screaming the battle cry chorus that serves as a defiant middle finger to the sensationalist sections of the media that misunderstand this band so gravely.
It comes as a surprise that the highlight of the show is an altogether more quiet and sombre one. Gerard, alone on the stage and silhouetted by a huge white light introduces the next song simply as ‘Cancer’. It is a simple piano and vocal piece written as a tribute to victims of the diease and those that are left behind. It is a unique and moving spectacle to witness thousands of people uniting in grief, reflection and hope through this one song.
As the band’s alter egos ‘The Black Parade’ close the show, Gerard Way spits into his microphone; “My Chemical Romance are up next….if you’re into that kinda sh*t!” What follows is a lesson in the art of the encore. The band re-emerges in their classic bulletproof vests and black jeans. Without so much as a pause for breath they proceed to aurally assault every ear in the building with cuts from the awesome and energetic debut album ‘Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge’. The stage is transformed into the band’s older red and black artwork and once again, united by nostalgia and raw emotion, the crowd lap it up. Two full sets later and the band end the show with the anthem that is ‘Helena’. At that moment in time, there is nothing else in the world apart from hall 4 of the SECC in Glasgow. Gerard Way snaps one final breath before venomously delivering his final line; ‘So long, and Goodnight.’
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