My Chemical Romance has recently started their “Long Live” the Black Parade stadium tour, and I had the pleasure of attending!
My Chemical Romance is a legendary band from New Jersey. Formed after the lead singer, Gerard Way, witnessed the September 11th terrorist attacks, they’ve been a powerhouse in the punk-rock scene.
I originally purchased tickets for their most recent tour back in November of last year. On July 27th, the members of My Chemical Romance—Gerard Way, Frank Iero, Ray Toro, and Mikey Way—performed their third studio album, The Black Parade, in its entirety at Dodger Stadium.
The whole first half of the concert was more of a theatre performance than anything else; it played along with a story that changes and varies from show to show. The set opened with a performance of the national anthem of “Draag”, which is a fictional state set somewhere near Russia. The government of Draag actually draws a lot of inspiration from many real-life dictatorships. Their national band is called The Black Parade, appropriately named after My Chem’s third studio album.
While performing, the members came on stage in their classic Black Parade costumes, which were essentially glorified old-school marching band uniforms. In one segment, the band even threw “Dodger Dogs” into the crowd, citing that The Black Parade is their official spokesman, and that the Grand Immortal dictator never had a hot dog.
A major part of the storyline revolved around the role of this “Grand Immortal Dictator”, who initiated the tour to celebrate aspects of their country’s culture, as well as to showcase “great demonstrations of power and resolve.” When we first walked into the stadium, they handed us a sign with “YEA” on one side and “NAY” on the other. You got to use that sign to vote on whether or not certain characters on stage were executed. But your vote didn’t actually have any merit, because they ended up getting executed anyway.
Gerard Way stated that their crime was collective because they dared to “question the vitality of their Grand Immortal Dictator.” At one show in Arlington, one of the people miraculously “survived”, and Way joked that they “should’ve gotten somebody from Dallas to do it.”
During a lot of the first half of the concert, there was a character coming up to Way and occasionally bringing him notes. He usually read off the notes and advertised some sort of product coming from the country of Draag. But at one point, Way refused to deliver the message, and the messenger proceeded to try to slap him a couple of times. After this moment, Way was “killed”, and the rest of the members were taken away with bags on their heads
As this portion of the concert is intended to convey a message about today’s current political climate, many “fans” have resold their tickets in retaliation. This is a little interesting to me because why did these people buy tickets for a My Chemical Romance concert in the first place? This is a band that was formed after Way witnessed the 9/11 attack on his way to work. The band’s last full-length album, Danger Days, is about the four members battling an evil corporation. Whether you like it or not, they’ve always been political.
Many people believe this storyline has something to do with the plot of a possible, highly-anticipated fifth My Chem studio album. This might just be hopeful thinking, but I believe so, too. There are some interesting new concepts that are introduced and explored during the concert, and as all of the band’s studio albums are concept albums, it’s not too far-fetched to believe that this could be the building blocks for another album.
The firing pyrotechnics were a show to behold, especially during the songs “Mama” and “Famous Last Words”. Many fans had organized a group project, which included passing out differently colored pieces of construction paper to create a rainbow in the crowd. The plan was to hold them up to their flashlights during the song “I Don’t Love You”, which created a spectacle to behold during this somber song.
During the song “Welcome to the Black Parade”, which is famous for its instantly recognizable first note, you could feel the emotion from the crowd. In the middle of the show, there was a small break while the band was switching to the B-stage, and a beautiful cello soloist performed as well.
I was very happy with my concert experience and their choice of B-stage songs, which vary from show to show. But my favorite album from this band is their sophomore album, Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge, and we got to hear them perform five of the songs from that album.
One particular bone I have to pick is not with the band or the performance itself, but with Ticketmaster. When I originally purchased tickets back in November during the presale, which is typically cheaper, both tickets were around $300. When I checked online about a week before the concert, tickets closer to the stage were LESS expensive than the ones I had bought!
Then, when I attempted to exchange them, I was unable to do so. Apparently, Ticketmaster has a policy that, when exchanging tickets, you cannot exchange them for cheaper seats. I could write a whole other article about Ticketmaster and all of its issues. Fortunately, after arriving at the venue, I had the pleasure of speaking to the head of guest services, who told me it was my “lucky day” and gave me tickets that were two sections closer than where I originally was.
Ever since the concert ended, I’ve been experiencing major PCD, or post-concert depression. Any live music is a magical experience to be held, and this is especially true for My Chemical Romance. They captivated the audience with an interesting storyline, all while embedding political commentary, their top-tier stage presence, and their ability to bring fans together in a classic way. I’m excited to see where they go next with the storyline.
Long Live The Black Parade, indeed.
