In an era when 2000s nostalgia is enough to sell tickets, My Chemical Romance goes above and beyond with their new tour. Titled Long Live The Black Parade, the tour reimagines their iconic 2006 album — The Black Parade.
It would be easy for the band to play the album and call it a day, but their show is so much more than that.
For the first leg of the tour, I originally planned to attend only their hometown show, the New Jersey date, but ended up attending their performances in Chicago, Boston, and at the Shaky Knees fest. The show got better each time I went!
From teens who weren’t even alive when My Chemical Romance released their first studio album in 2002 to millennials who witnessed their Warped Tour days, everyone seemed to find common ground and have an excellent time.
As promised, the band plays The Black Parade album from start to finish. While the band has played tons of songs from the album during their Swarm reunion tour, they pulled out some songs they hadn’t regularly played since 2007/2008, including “Sharpest Lives” and “Disenchanted.”
The band starts the show with high energy, playing the introductory songs “The End.” and “Dead!” to get the crowds singing along and waving their arms to the beat.
Their performances of “This is How I Disappear” and “Sharpest Lives” are incredible in their own right, but they also lead perfectly into “Welcome to the Black Parade.” Hearing everyone sing along to that particular set is always an emotional experience, especially in a time when the rallying cry of “We’ll Carry On” seems more relevant now than ever.
“I Don’t Love You” and “House of Wolves” are almost opposites in terms of their messaging, with the former being overtly somber. At the same time, the latter is much more lively and fun as Gerard encourages the audience to howl along at the start of the song.
Their piano ballad, “Cancer,” is beautiful, with the crowd often holding up their phones’ flashlights to illuminate the stadium. However, the mid-set standout is undoubtedly “Mama.”
In addition to adding a new verse for “Mama” that the band only includes in live performances of this song during the tour, the band also introduces a character named Marianne. She is a backup singer who dons a stunning red dress to sing Liza Minnelli’s part in the song alongside the band.
Also, a man on fire runs across the stage!
“Sleep” and “Teenagers” make great use of the stadium screens by offering elaborate video visuals. “Disenchanted” is another tear-jerker and phone flashlight song that perfectly tees up to the album’s final song: “Famous Last Words.”
It makes the most of the pyrotechnics, but among all the flames burning up the stadium, there’s a moment during the bridge when Gerard lets the audience sing the lyrics for him. The sound of everyone’s voices flooding the stadium is the perfect way to conclude their Black Parade set.
Except that the set isn’t officially over yet.
The band starts playing their introduction song, “The End,” again, but this time, the band gets kidnapped by soldiers from the fictional land of Draag, and a clown stabs Gerard with a dagger. If it sounds wild, this is just scratching the surface.
In fact, My Chemical Romance had letterist Nate Piekos, known for his work in comics, to create an entirely new fictional language called Keposhka, the language of Draag. They even hired someone to play the character of the Grand Immortal Dictator, the ruler of Draag, to appear at every show.
Throughout the Black Parade set, the band is dressed in their Black Parade uniforms and play out a storyline that has been changing over the course of the tour.
This elaborate story they crafted is a delightful combination of theatrical performance and a musical experience.
The second part of the show is much more relaxed, but it’s still a great time in its own right. After celloist Claire Jenson plays a piece that lasts about ten minutes, the band emerges in their everyday clothes and walks onto the B-stage, a smaller stage located closer to the center of the floor.
They play about 10 more songs on the B-stage, with three fixed songs (“I’m Not Okay,” “Na Na Na,” and “Helena”) and seven surprise songs that they change from night to night. This perfect mix of deep cuts and crowd pleasers makes the B-stage section of the show a delight for everyone in the audience.
While some might dismiss the new tour as yet another nostalgia act, My Chemical Romance reminds everyone of their incredibly unique style of storytelling through their music and their electrifying performance.
Recently, the band announced a new leg of the tour with dates across Asia, South America, and Europe, as well as additional dates in the United States.
I’m excited by the prospect of reliving this magical show once again on their new tour dates.
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