It’s been 19 years since My Chemical Romance released their iconic album, ‘Welcome To The Black Parade’ and the songs still resonate with audiences new and old. That was clearly evident during the band’s second stop of their “Long Live The Black Parade” North American Tour in San Francisco this past Saturday night, July 19th. Playing the album in order from start to finish, all the members of the band were dressed in the same militant marching band outfits that fans remember from their original tour and music videos. Accompanied by pyrotechnics and all the theatrics, frontman Gerard Way was in character of a political madman throughout the set as bandmates Ray Toro, Mikey Way and Frank Iero were energetic and engaging.
The audience was dressed for the occasion as it was observed that much more than half the audience were dressed in various outfits representing the Black Parade and just the emo era of the mid-late 00s. As has been the case with many legendary bands that have been touring, it was a heavy mix of elder emos who were there when it was happening and Gen-Z, who are now new fans. From the start of the album’s “The End”, shrieks and screams emanated throughout Oracle Park and even moreso when they played the album’s title track, which came in right in order as the fifth song. Afterwards, “The Election” took place as a mock execution of four “candidates” followed after the audience voted ‘Yea’. The band then continued with the show, following the album’s next song, “I Don’t Love You”. There were plenty of singalongs during the album’s performance, especially with “Teenagers” and “Famous Last Words”, both of which were radio hits during the band’s heyday.
Once the album performance completed MCR emerged on a second stage towards the front of the pit, dressed more casually and ripped into a second set that was a show its own. Way was more personal during this portion of the show, sharing the band’s feelings of gratitude and speaking to audience members. “I’m Not Okay (I Promise)” had the audience fist-pumping and dancing, while tour debuts of “Summertime” and ultra-fan favorite “It’s Not a Fashion Statement, It’s a Fucking Deathwish” elicited ear-piercing singing and screaming. Taking a moment to talk about how much the band meant to Way and his brother Mikey, the band surprised everyone with their first-ever performance of “Bullet With Butterfly Wings” by The Smashing Pumpkins, a band that the Way brothers were heavily influenced by. The performance was so epic, that a fan was overheard jokingly saying that the performance alone made them forgive Gerard for saying the locally-despised “San Fran” during the set. Wrapping up with “Helena” and “The Kids From Yesterday”, My Chemical Romance endeared themselves to the emos of the Bay Area in attendance, whose black hearts were more than filled with adoration.
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