Reviews
Show review: My Chemical Romance show Chicago how to fight fascism
*photo from Chris Sweda of Chicago Tribune
Their suggestions include tickle fights, on-stage human combustion, and Billy Corgan.
Check out our video compilation of the performance here.
Rising from New Jersey basements to global stadiums, My Chemical Romance is one of few emo bands who made it to this level of fame. I’d first like to acknowledge that it was us, the emo-blooded and bullied kids, who kept the MCR flame burning so the Gen-Z emo kids could pick up the torch and carry on. If you bullied someone for being emo but like MCR, go ahead and venmo your local emo kid $5 right now.
Despite making a valiant attempt at researching their new DRAAG lore, there’s simply no way to understand what they have cooking. It seems fair to suggest this might be leading to a new album, as they’ve remained consistent with touring and just released another version of Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge. Time will tell, but until then, the band refuses to put on a lack luster show.
Chicago’s show at Soldier Field kicked off with Devo, a lineup chosen by the band with only themselves in mind and honestly I respect it. Many fans sported Devo hats and jammed to the classics, dancing to the legends as daylight disappeared.
The night of MCR began with some intros, including some DRAAG themed music alongside “rules” displayed on the stage display screens (one of which hinted at the surprise performance at the end). Finally, “The End” started and we laid our eyes upon The Black Parade outfits we thought were retired forever. Seeing an aging Gerard Way in the outfit that shot them to mid-level fame back when The Black Parade dropped in 2006 felt like seeing my own father after being away for far too long.
After blasting through some favorites like “Dead!” and “Teenagers”, the stadium lit up like the starry night sky for “I Don’t Love You” when fans threw up their phone flashlights. The classic “democratic” executions took place and Chicago got the “Yea” or “Nay” signs pictured below alongside my insane red eye makeup. The two most insane songs during the main set though, were “Mama” and “Famous Last Words”. The latter introduced a large amount of pyro for a stage that hid the technical aspects of fire so well, surprising fans who hadn’t watched previous show videos. During “Mama”, a person covered in flames runs across the stage halfway through the songs without the band even reacting, which seems to be a part of their “acting” within this DRAAG story.
In-between songs is when the fascist storyline plays out, featuring a Dictator and a “Queen” of sorts who performed in an extravagant dress on the middle stage. The Dictator’s right hand man at one point donned a clown costume and a tickle fight ensued. This portion destroyed a but of the magic for me, since the rest of the show was surrounded by a bad-ass energy.
The encore brought our boys down the center section right in front of ADA, where Ray and Mikey handed out high fives and fist bumps before hopping onto the middle stage for the best encore I’ve ever witnessed. They performed songs from Three Cheers, their 2013 EPs, and brought their honorary dad Billy Corgan up for “Bullet With Butterfly Wings”, resulting in some of the cutest Way brothers photos to ever exist.
The night was truly unforgettable and I feel honored to have witness MCR’s magic once again.