Photos by Steve McGill
I feel it’s only fair before I gush about last night’s My Chemical Romance show in Toronto, that I take a moment to share my history with The Black Parade, because once an emo, always an emo. I can’t believe we’re getting closer and closer to its 20th anniversary, and the new world that we have all been introduced to through such familiar music shows that no one is doing it like My Chemical Romance, and no one will.
The Black Parade, My Chemical Romance’s (MCR) third album, came out in October 2006, with this “Long Live The Black Parade” tour serving as not only a 20th anniversary tour, but another dip into the creative minds of Gerard Way and co. This album came out when I was in the fifth grade and took over my whole life. I would walk around my elementary school at recess with my Sony Discman (RIP) in hand, listening to the CD over and over again after running to spend my allowance money on the album from my local HMV. The story of The Patient and his journey from sickness to the afterlife and his reflection of all he’s done and seen, the visuals of the album, and the subsequent “death” of The Black Parade itself that ended the album cycle was something I had never seen in music before, and cemented that My Chemical Romance is a once in a lifetime band. I even did an entire school project around the music video for the song “I Don’t Love You”, so it’s safe to say I was beyond excited for this show.
As the thousands of fans descended upon Toronto’s Rogers Centre, the first thing we were given upon entry was a double-sided sign – one side said “Chicken” with a yellow background and the other said “Fish” against a blue background. No explanation is given, but already you know that this is not going to be a usual show. What would normally be a pre-show playlist of songs giving background noise while fans eagerly find their seats, we are treated to a variety of messages on display from the stage’s big screens. A mix of English and Keposhka, a language created by singer Gerard Way and commissioned typographer Nate Piekos as the official language of the (also fictional) dictator-led country of Draag, share instructions and rules for the evening’s show, including disregarding any rules that had been posted at any of the previous North American dates. It’s clear we are no longer here to just enjoy an evening of entertainment, we have now entered a world in which conformity is expected and things are not what they seem.
As the lights go down and the we brace for the band to take the stage, the Draag national anthem is played accompanied by its own music video shared on the band’s socials earlier this summer. The Grand Immortal Dictator of Draag is brought on stage followed by a military drum accompanyment and takes his seat to oversee the evening’s performance. Finally, they emerge. Donning an updated version of the iconic military-style outfits from 2006, My Chemical Romance dutifully come onstage to begin the first half of the evening – playing the entire The Black Parade album through. We begin with “The End”, and thrash our way to the titual “Welcome To The Black Parade”, the anthem of many an emo all over the world. Before the iconic G-note plays, a podium is wheeled onto stage where Gerard Way performs the haunting intro as if he is giving a speech to the crowd. It is a call to action, a spell being placed on us all as the stadium vows to “carry on”.
Instead of starting the next song, we are pulled out of the performance to finally address the signs that we were all given at the start of the evening. Two hooded men are brought onto the stage where our votes of either chicken or fish will determine who will live, and who will be executed by order of The Grand Immortal Dictator. However, even after the votes have been cast and a “winner” is chosen, both the men are executed. We have been given the illusion of choice and are made to sit with what has happened, and Gerard wants us to know he isn’t in agreement either. As the set continues on he defiantly removes his jacket and plays through the next few songs until we reach the ever powerful “Mama”, where we are introduced to a broken vantriloquist dummy that once could sing but his string is broken. Gerard performs “the dagger” as a haunting outro, leading him to be beaten by guards and forced to put his jacket back on – all must conform, and he is no exception. More Draag imagery accompanies hits like “Sleep”, “Teenagers” and “Disenchanted” while other band members Ray Toro, Mikey Way, Frank Iero, and current drummer Jarrod Alexander play with the passion, strength, talent, and power that we have all come to know over the years. Even as they fight to break out of the force of this dictatorship, they rebel with their music and bring an energy that would have you think they’re touring a new album and not songs we’ve had for two decades.
“Famous Last Words” has us watch as the entire stage is set ablaze, a nod to the fiery music video from the hit single, and a reprise of the first track “The End” starts again, until the members are one by one grabbed by guards and ripped from their instruments to disappear offstage. We are powerless to stop this, and the previously seen messenger of Draag emerges on stage in a traditional black and white clown outfit where instead of leading Gerard off stage like the rest of the band, he stabs him and leaves him to bleed on the stage. While we watch helplessly, the clown picks up the dummy from earlier and dances to the morbidly upbeat final track “Blood”, a hidden final song, before revealing he’s wearing a bomb strapped to his chest. After an explosive end, The Black Parade portion of the evening is over.
The lights go up and cellist Clarice Jensen emerges on stage to perform her song “From A to B” as an intermission, we are transitioning into the second act of our evening – a more intimate B-Stage set of songs from the rest of MCR’s iconic discography. The band reemerges in their civilian clothes and remind us that every album they’ve released is just as iconic as The Black Parade. While we did not hear any songs from their debut album, 2002’s I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love, fan-favourite Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge from 2004 was well represented with hits “Thank You For The Venom”, “I’m Not Okay (I Promise)”, and “The Ghost Of You” had many of us remembering the hayday of Myspace and MSN Messenger statuses. As seen from the setlists of previous shows, the group dug deep into their discography and graced us with a surprise performance of “Kill All Your Friends”, a B-Side from The Black Parade on the “Famous Last Words” single. Wanting to bring the party back to the scene, we are treated to a triple-song dance party from 2011’s Danger Days with hits “Summertime”, “Planetary (GO!)”, and the absolute rager “Na Na Na (Na Na Na Na Na Na”. I don’t know who didn’t dance to these songs when the group toured this album in 2011, but safe to say everyone made up for it now.
Unfortunately, the show has to come to an end. I don’t know who was more reluctant to end the evening, us or them, but we all came together to give the evening a proper sendoff – the haunting “Helena” had us all saying so long and goodnight, eager for the next time we’ll be able to sing together again.
Selfishly I hope another tour happens soon. My Chemical Romance is one of those bands where every show feels like it’s the most important show. This is a group that has created some of the most iconic works in alternative music history and has dazzled us with concept after concept. Even during their years-long break, the passion of their fans never waned and only grew over time. Seeing multi-generation fans made my heart ache in the best way possible. Everyone knows what it’s like to be a misfit, everyone has felt like the odd one out before, and My Chemical Romance will always be there to show us there are four guys just as weird as us, and whether you’re okay or not, you will belong. We’ll carry on.
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