To anticipate what to expect from the newly reformed My Chemical Romance is impossible. For a band to still have so much charisma with such an invested following to the band’s lore, New Jersey natives, MCR does it naturally. Seeing and also listening to two generations together singing in harmony to the greatest Emo Rock band to ever exist, in a sold-out arena, showed me that punk rock will never die. If it did die, My Chemical Romance has brought it back from the dead.
Emo is Not Dead
Elder and Younger Emos together hand in hand, with bated breath as a distorted, fuzzy synth tone swept over the crowd. Hearing the crowd chant “MCR! MCR! MCR!” From stage left rafters, to stage right rafters almost one side to be challenging the other who had been waiting for this moment longer. Red lights flicker, into the crowd and against a red velvet curtain backstage. Right when you think the current is going to drop, the drive of the synth increases. As if the entire length of the band’s hiatus has been slammed and packed into the 10 mins of punishing electronic bass tone. Then a moment of silence. The hiatus is over. The dead has risen. The melancholy riff of the band’s newest single “FOUNDATIONS OF DECAY” starts and the crowd lets go of everything that’s been weighing them down. You can feel it. The type of joy you feel from pressure finally being relieved. Whether it’s acing an algebra test you’ve been studying for or nailing the interview to your dream job. The two generations all identify the same feeling, together.
Foundations
The band welcomed the fans with new music of 2022, but with no moment wasted decided to send the crowd 18 years back in time with the sound of the iconic intro riff of “I’m Not Ok (I Promise)” while the red velvet curtain dropped to reveal the destroyed, post-apocalyptic backdrop of a city. EVERYONE is dancing, finally tasting what “Emo Nights” have only been able to give a sample of. The table is set, let the feast begin. I see best friends hugging each other singing “Well, I’m not okay, I’m not o-fucking-kay”, laughing and smiling, understanding together that THAT is OKAY.
Twilight Zone
After an hour of traveling through time, and having time traveling backward through you, Lead singer Gerard Way comes back to the stage with a Robert Pattinson tee shirt on complimenting the handsome looks of the vampire act turned brooding “Man-bat” actor. After the blood-sucking hints, MCR encores with “Vampire Money”, “Vampires Will Never Hurt You” and Cancer.
The show is over. The two generations are now one.
Don’t forget to check out MCR on tour in a city near you. Buy tickets here!