Photo credit: Bryce Hall / Jesse DeFlorio
The guys in My Chemical Romance are no strangers to theater – their albums contain storylines and concepts filled with depth and nuance, inviting fan theories and development that other artists can only dream of inspiring. So when they announced the Long Live tour, it seemed only natural to expect that same level of creativity and depth that the band has always carried in their performances and through their music. Last night at Detroit’s Comerica Park, This assumption was right on the mark.
The story of The Black Parade was initially one narrated in the band’s infamous 2006 album. The concept of the album follows a man, “the patient,” who recounts his life, his regrets and his journey through death (where he is escorted into the afterlife by a marching band he recounts from childhood, known as The Black Parade). At the end of the initial tour cycle for the album, My Chemical Romance performed in Mexico City, recording their live album The Black Parade is Dead! At this show, they “killed off” the band, beginning the transition into their next album cycle, Danger Days, and making room for their new concept album to come forward. Because the band “The Black Parade” had already “died” when the band announced a new Black Parade tour two years ago, it came as no shock that there would be new lore to go along with said tour.
This time around, The Black Parade is a band residing in a fascist country known as Draag, where they’re forced to perform over and over again for the country’s Grand Immortal Dictator, in what seems to be a time loop. They all die at the end of the night’s show, and then are revived to do so yet again at the next tour date.
In preparation for this tour, the band didn’t only come up with new concepts to tie into the album, they even created a new language known as Keposhka, with its own characters, symbols, and glyphs, (designed by Nate Pietkos of Blambot). Phrases, “rules”, and advertisements are shown in Keposhka throughout the night on signage, merchandise, and even on the LED screens during the performance. Since the language made its debut, fans have created ciphers to translate what each sign says, and it has become yet another way that the band creates engagement with their audience.
If the creation of Keposhka didn’t make it clear, the band is never afraid to add in new details to their performances and find new ways to catch fans’ attention. On the Long Live tour, there have been new additions to the plot of the performance every night. There are references to other albums (Danger Days specifically), and there are moments that contradict previous ones and leave fans questioning what will happen next. About halfway through the tour, as if they weren’t already throwing fans for a loop every night, My Chemical Romance introduced a new variation of the performance, which is referred to by some as the Phantom performance. This is what fans got to witness in Detroit last night.
In this variation of the performance, instead of performing for the Grand Immortal Dictator, the band is in a government reconditioning facility that parallels an asylum or an old hospital. Here they appear to be surveilled by a floating giant eyeball that watches them, documents them and even speaks to them via text. On the eyeball’s screen, they are accompanied by a woman (Nurse Sylvia) who is dressed very sinisterly in a government branded nurse’s outfit and eyepatch, as well as a few suits (officers from the Ministry of Complimentary Reconditioning) and are there to observe the band.
Even though fans who have been keeping up with the tour know what to expect (loosely) with this performance, there are still plenty of unpredictable, nuanced moments. Barely two songs into the set, vocalist Gerard Way slits guitarist Frank Iero’s throat, and like a moment from a slasher film, Frank hits the ground, spitting up blood in a fountain all over the stage. Shortly thereafter, it appears that guitarist Ray Toro is attempting to revive Frank, while bassist Mikey Way looks on in horror. Ray mouths at Gerard what seems to be “it’s not working, it’s not working.” Eventually, though, Frank wakes up. Does this mean that no matter what harm comes to the band, they will always be forced to revive and continue to put on their show?
During each song, there is another new concept being introduced onscreen behind them – including chiming in from the government of Draag. At one point, before the band performed the album’s namesake track, a man (a Draag Government official, of course) appears onscreen, telling Gerard “Let’s remind you for a moment exactly what you are and the thing that you do best – the lesson is that a man knows how to forgive but a leader knows how to instruct.” Is the implication here that they’re reconditioning him to be turned into the next Grand Immortal Dictator? Only time will tell.
However, even if one strips away all of the lore and production of the set, it could still be said that the band put on a hell of a show. Between the amount of movement and energy propelling each of them across stage, and their marching band uniforms, the only thing dividing this Black Parade from 2006’s is some evolved hairstyles. The attention to detail in their costumes, their makeup (see: Gerard’s white face paint) – every detail fit into place perfectly to pull off a phenomenal show.
On the flip side of that coin, though, the production value of the performance was also worth noting throughout the entirety of the Black Parade’s set. Between the light and set design, added accompaniments, and pyrotechnics worthy of the Fourth of July – what a time.
In the realm of lighting – the use of red and blue strobes during “Sleep”, one of the most haunting songs on the album… incredible. The Black Parade was initially branded and designed in blacks, grays, sepia tones – and the band’s stage shows frequently favoring warm yellow, solid red, or white lighting. The inclusion of a red and blue flash sequence felt disorienting, was a complete shift in energy from the rest of the performance, and emulated the disorienting and nightmarish intro of the song phenomenally.
Similarly, the way some of the noise distortion between songs mimics the distortion on Danger Days’ “The Only Hope for Me is You” creates another intriguing detail, as well. (Perhaps confirmation that the albums’ characters exist in the same universe? Perhaps not?)
Aside from the sound effects and noise distortion, the supporting musicians onstage also carried some of the most magnificent highlights of the night. Vocalist Charlotte Kelso (Nurse Sylvia) performing incredibly rich vibrato as she sang the part of Mother War was breathtaking, and so was (Draag Auxiliary Band member) violinist Kayleigh Goldsworthy’s solo during “Mama”.
The most cathartic moment of the Black Parade’s set, however, without a doubt, belongs to “Famous Last Words”. It’s very common for the band to perform said song with pyrotechnics, but last night’s version of this was surreal. Towers of flame growing across the stage, fireworks shot out into the sky of Detroit and traveling on wires over the crowd… it was a stadium-wide spectacle that amped up the energy in the room tenfold.
And of course, following this catharsis, there had to be a bit of closure for The Black Parade – and there was, as the band finished out the album onstage, performed “The End.” for a second time, and then Gerard… cut open a Ministry official’s stomach and pulled out his intestines! Complete with the spurting of blood (during the song “Blood”). What does this mean? one may ask. The answer? No one knows.
Needless to say, the Black Parade is quite a band to see – and their less-fictitious counterparts, My Chemical Romance, are, as well. So when they magically transform back into their real selves (finish the Black Parade set, and head out to the b-stage in the middle of the floor), the crowd goes wild.
Not many bands will play for well over two hours, but this one, splitting their show into two sets a night, absolutely does. As the stage goes dim in Detroit, cellist Clarice Jensen begins to play “Romance” on her cello on the b-stage, and by the time she has finished, the band is onstage in their street clothes, and they’ve gone straight into “Honey, This Mirror Ain’t Big Enough for the Two of Us,” which sends the fans and the band into a frenzy. Ray is absolutely shredding on his guitar, hair going in a thousand directions as he hits every note. Frank moves his way across the stage (which is set up in the round), and so does Mikey, as they both knock out every note of a song that’s older than some of the fans in the audience, as if they wrote it yesterday. Gerard provides the biggest shock though, doing the grittiest growls and screams throughout the song – and again on the next one when they play “Bury Me in Black,” another fan favorite.
Throughout the next hour, the band moves through each of their other albums, playing a few songs off Danger Days (“S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W” dedicated to the late Lauren Valencia, “Na Na Na”, “Zero Percent, etc), two fan favorites from Three Cheers (“I’m Not Okay” and “Helena”), and a few others. Not pulling punches, they know what the fans want. “You rolled snake eyes, motherfucker. Double vampires!” Gerard exclaims, making the crowd go wild knowing that they’ll get the privilege of hearing both Bullets’ “Vampires Will Never Hurt You” and Danger Days’ “Vampire Money.” Outside of this wild mix of their own tracks, they even make time for a very rare cover – Morrissey’s “Jack the Ripper” – a song they haven’t performed in the US in over twenty-three years.
Another special thing about My Chemical Romance is that they do not take a single moment onstage for granted, and it shows by the way they interact with each other, with fans, with their crew. At some point, they mention their first time playing at St. Andrew’s Hall, another staple Detroit music venue, and the crowd erupts into screams. The band knows where they started, and they see how far they’ve come, and they don’t hide that gratitude. Gerard makes it a point to acknowledge how much work has gone into this tour, and how truly significant and wonderful it has been for them. They thank the Draag Auxiliary Band, the light designer, the crew, the set designers and costumers and everyone under the sun. They acknowledge the fact that having nearly 80-year-old punk legend Iggy Pop open for them is something they will never get over. And then they acknowledge the fans – the ones who truly make each show what it is.
By this point, the band closes out with “Zero Percent,” and then, as the lights come on, the realization hits for the whole stadium that it is really and truly over. The crowd shuffles out, everyone makes their way to their prospective transportation home, and it is an unspoken truth that every person who shared that warm summer air and that 20+ year anthology of music will carry the memory of the night with them forever.
