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My Chemical Romance
RDS Simmonscourt
1 April 2007
My Chemical Romance brought their “Black Parade” show to Dublin, where they graced the stage in front of 7,500 of their adoring fans and many, many parents. The average age of the crowd being 14 and with strict age restrictions enforced, the more mature person was needed to sign people in.
The band were supported by UK punk outfit “Lostalone”. There was a Queen-esque feel to the night as Both MCR and Lostalone are fans of the iconic foursome.
Lostalone took to the stage and were well received. They played a short 30 min warm up gig, as they got the crowd going with repeated requests to put arms in the air. Despite this their set was somewhat lacking. Their songs took the same three chord format and sounded very samey. Although the lead guitarist looked like Joey Ramone, the similarities stopped there though.
MCR took to the stage as their alter egos “The Black Parade”, being led by their charismatic front man Gerrard Way. He was wheeled in on a hospital trolley, as the eerie beeping of a life support machine rang out through the venue. In a very over the top gesture a flatline was heard as he ripped the wires from his body, he was dead and the main show had just begun. They started at the “the end” and worked their way through their set list much to the delight of their fans.
The theatrics for their stint as the Black Parade where second to none, perfectly timed explosions and the spreading of confetti really added to the show, but it somewhat took from the actual musical performance. MCR are a band formed on aggression, anger and pure adrenaline and their Black Parade performance just let them down. Although it had to be said that the crowds reaction wasn’t even close to disappointment.
“I Don’t Love You” ,”Moma”, and “Disenchanted” where among the many Black Parade songs belted out and sung back to the band by the audience. “Gerrard” asked for the house lights to be turned off and asked the audience to take out their lighters as they played “Disenchanted” and I have never seen as many kids produce lighters to light up the night. The highlight of the first half of their show was the raucous anthem “Famous Last Words” in a somewhat Freddy Mercury style, Gerrard positioned himself in the middle of the stage and punched the air to the beat of the drums as the place exploded.
At the end of the set Gerrard announced that up next were “My Chemical Romance”, and added “if you like that kinda shit”. For me this is where the night really started, they came back in their own clothes and really went at it. Their first song was “Honey this Mirror isn’t big enough for the two of us” and they really let loose. It really showed up “The Black Parade” for what it was, and possibly My Chem would be better off running on anger from now on.
They played 30 mins of their older stuff which included “Helena”, “Cemetery Drive”, “You Know What They Do To Guys Like Us In Prison” and “I’m Okay I Promise” Overall it was a good show, but if the personas had been flipped and they had just been MCR for the majority of the show, it would have made it a great night.
P J Murray