It’s been 3 years since the last time My Chemical Romance graced our shores on tour, and unfortunately I’ve grown up a lot since then. Compare: queuing from 7am in the middle of November (cold!) with blankets, food and sing-a-longs galore, to waltzing in at 7.45pm having already missed the first support band... It was so much more fun the first way!
The arena was surprisingly empty when I arrived. They were only using half the seating anyway, but the standing area was eerily quiet. I think this might have been better as two O2 Academy dates. In fact there’s no ‘think’ about it, it definitely would have been.
Anyhow, The Blackout burst onto stage after little ado to the cheesy as hell song ‘Lets Get Ready to Rhumble’ which they probably thought was hilarious seeing as Ant & Dec are Geordies... Despite this small set back they thoroughly impressed me with their first song. Their pure, energetic post-hardcore, is thoroughly addictive. The two frontmen work together exceptionally to own the stage and entertain the audience – from swinging their mics in the air to having to be pulled back out of the crowd by the same mic cables, it was certainly entertaining. The Welsh rockers are definitely a good live act. The music itself may be slightly generic, but the singers’ amazing stage presence helps you to overlook that. Someone commented to me that she loved them until they spoke... Well it’s not their fault they’re Welsh! I found their set a little bit too gimmicky if I’m honest. First with the entrance music, then some sort of strange arm stretching aerobic session in which one of the singers proved he doesn’t know left from right, then making the audience sing ‘I whip my hair back and forth’ in an attempt to wake them up, and worst: trying and failing to get everyone in the standing section down on their knees, in order to jump up and mosh when they gave the signal (I felt it was my duty to inform them that they ARE NOT SLIPKNOT!).
Images on the screens from the new album concept heralded the arrival of the New Jersey rock gods, and as I correctly predicted, they kicked off with the intro track from Danger Days, leading straight into super catchy single ‘Na Na Na (Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na)’. Without a doubt, My Chemical Romance just keep getting better every time I see them. Their performance was outstanding, musically flawless, and Gerard’s vocals have improved a thousand fold since early live performances (of course other factors have had an impact on the quality of their performance in the past). Their performance was technically so tight that we could easily have been listening to a CD.
I had some concerns that they would play entirely new songs, but I was worried for no reason; they alternated smoothly between new and old all night keeping all the fans happy. They even played some entirely unexpected old favourites such as ‘Our Lady of Sorrows’ and ‘Hang ‘Em High’, which made me very, very happy! As the first note of ‘Welcome to the Black Parade’ echoed around the arena the whole crowd broke into an immensely loud cheer – it was an amazing moment.
Gerard Way dedicated one of my favourite songs from Danger Days, ‘The Kids From Yesterday’ to the parents of all the teenies at the front. He said he was very grateful to them for bringing their kids to his shows etc etc. He also commented on their own age, and it was quite a touching moment to realise how far they have come as a band. They’re all grown up and married now. Living the dream. Yet they still care so much about the music, their roots, and their fans. I have so much love for Gerard Way, he’s a genuinely nice human being. As usual he asked the audience to look out for each other, and showed his appreciation to the security guys and everyone else behind the scenes. He also took time to thank everyone who follows My Chemical Romance around when they’re on tour and camp out outside venues. One of the things that make My Chemical Romance special is their connection with their fans and the amount of love and respect they command. One of the sweetest things I’ve ever seen at a gig was everyone making the shape of a heart out of their fingers in salute to My Chem. It’s obvious they deserve the adoration given by their fans.
The diversity of My Chemical Romance’s music really showed at this gig. One minute we all had lighters in the air during the hauntingly beautiful ‘The Ghost of You’, and the next we were all dancing our asses off to ‘Planetary (Go!)”. There was also a huge amount of immense guitar work from the legendary Ray Toro. He actually owned the solos, and he looked cool as fuck doing it. The solo to anthemic single 'I'm Not Okay (I Promise)' never ceases to send fans into a headbanging frenzy. The man’s such a genius, he should really be knighted or something. Ray is such an integral part of the band, his soaring riffs and heavy solos make the songs so brilliant, and as a live performer he’s nothing short of excellent.
They announced the end of their set on a solemn note with a wonderful performance of 'Cancer'. Just Gerard Way’s voice and a piano. It was so heart-wrenchingly beautiful I may have actually cried... I noticed that Gerard chose to not sing the words ‘never marry’ in the line ‘know that I will never marry’, because he’s married now - so damn cute.
It’s safe to say that My Chemical Romance are a great live band. They have proved themselves countless times. This gig was better than perfect, it was incredible. Their touring drummer was talented and very impressive; hopefully he will become a permanent fixture. I’m fairly certain My Chemical Romance have lots of albums left in them, and many more world tours to come. So next time they come to back to Newcastle, go see them! They’ll put on a performance that you’ll remember forever.
