Review by Melanie Brehaut for MPM
London is suffering from its second heatwave in as many weeks, so of course – of course! – rock titans My Chemical Romance are in town to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their much beloved The Black Parade album. As a dear friend remarked: “what a time to be emo, hey?” Indeed…The band are headlining the 75,000-capacity Wembley Stadium for three nights, with a different support act and, excitingly, a different setlist each night.
Friday’s support is rock legend Joan Jett, with the latest iteration of The Runaways. They take to the stage while it is still a punishing 30 degrees and in the blazing sun; not their usual gig surroundings, one imagines. Though the stadium is still filling up, Jett and co put on an absolute blast of a show, packed full of no-nonsense, three-minute proper rock tunes such as ‘Cherry Bomb’, ‘Do You Wanna Touch’ and ‘I Hate Myself For Loving You’.
Although the choice of Jett for support may seem a touch incongruous (she’s been playing rock ‘n’ roll since before Gee and co were even a twinkle in their father’s eyes) there’s no mistaking the effect of her legendary status and direct, riff-laden songs; by the time the band break into their famous cover of ‘I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll ‘ the crowd are roaring with delighted approval.
In between the classics, including “the first song (she) ever wrote” ‘You Drive Me Wild’, the band slip in newbie Make the Music Go Boom! and the slightly lesser-known number ‘Crimson and Clover’, with its still-thrilling pace changes. They end, naturally, with what could be considered to be Jett’s signature track: the defiant ‘Bad Reputation’, which still crackles with her unique mix of insouciance and toughness.
The by-now thoroughly warmed up crowd spend the next 45 minutes pacing impatiently, hydrating and staring with bemusement at the slogans and strange adverts being shown on the screens. You certainly can’t deny that when MCR take up a theme they really do run with it: the story of mammoth album The Black Parade has been updated for this tour and also, it seems, for the current global political climate; Draag is all Soviet-looking product placement and slogans containing veiled threats.
Following a rather maudlin intro (Vera Lynn’s ‘We’ll Meet Again’, followed by the Draag national anthem) and smack-bang right on 8.15pm, a roar arises from the crowd right at the front of the stage: an officious-looking woman in uniform stalks onstage and drags a suited man away, followed by the arrival of a lone military drummer. It sets the tone for what is a highly theatrical night, with a storyline for the ages.
Set 1 is the aforementioned album in full, so the order of songs is of no surprise, but the band still have the capacity to thrill and delight: intro ‘The End’ is all huge beats and an equally huge singalong, while ‘Dead!’ starts with THAT riff and then proceeds to blow the proverbial roof off the place. Following their new introduction (“we are the 57th regiment of The Black Parade!”) they launch into ‘The Sharpest Lives’ and title track ‘Welcome to the Black Parade’ (that G note is all it takes!) before taking a quick break to host a mock election, seeking the advice of the crowd (who have been given ‘yea’ or ‘nay’ signs upon entry to the stadium) and summarily executing the losers.
Despite the theatricality of the night, the best part of the whole ‘Draag’ universe the band have created is that, while it’s fun to watch, it doesn’t overshadow or take the focus away from the songs at all; it’s merely a new way of looking at them. The highlight – judging by the crowd’s reaction – is when officious lady returns to the stage, removes her gloves, and slaps frontman Gerard Way briskly across the face with them!
‘Cancer’ follows this melee, which prompts the biggest singalong of the night so far, followed by the handbrake turn of ‘Mama’, with its polka backbone and sudden use of pyro (flames shooting from the stage! A man runs across on fire!). Then ‘Teenagers’ gets any last sitters up on their feet, and final track ‘Famous Last Words’ sees the crowd joyfully bellowing along to what is surely the ultimate emo track (yes, even more than ‘Welcome to the Black Parade’! A gauntlet has been thrown!). Another appearance of Officious Lady (this time in a clown costume) sees Gerard stabbed and her lip-synching along to hidden track ‘Blood’, followed by a cavalcade of explosions. Phew…and that’s only the first set!
As always, this is a band full of surprises: they abandon the main stage for set 2, instead making their way to the mysterious-looking circular stage in the centre of the floor section. “We’re My Chemical Romance from New Jersey” Gerard announces, as the band launch into ‘I’m Not Ok’, to the ecstatic screams of the crowd. The Black Parade uniforms have been eschewed for more ordinary clothes (although Gee is clad in a skeleton costume that looks part-Jack Skellington, part the Kigurumi jumpsuit from their Revenge era).
The band change the setlist in this section each night, which means two things: one, you hear different songs if you go multiple nights; and two, you don’t know what is coming up next (unlike set 1), which is VERY EXCITING. Case in point: Gee announces “we wanna play a B-side from The Black Parade” before they blast into ‘My Way Home Is Through You’ which goes off like a rocket; many people here would never have heard this one live. So, too, with ‘Zero Percent’, which may or may not be the first time they’ve played it live, ever! (guitarist Frank Iero is the adjudicator and Keeper of the Setlist, and he did not give a full answer…)
“The UK has always been kind to us” Gerard remarks around the mid-point, before singing the praises of TBP costume designer Colleen Attwood and dedicating ‘NaNaNa’ to her. He also takes the time to mention the anniversary of the passing of a friend of the band; a lone sombre point in an evening of celebration. They finish the night with a beautiful rendition of ‘Demolition Lovers’, complete with added violins, before departing sans encore.
This new ‘block’ style of touring seems to really suit the band; they all appear to be having so much fun onstage, without showing signs of the weariness that led to their hiatus in 2012. There’s been no sign of any new music from them since the surprise release of ‘Foundations of Decay’ prior to their last tour post-Covid, but there was no quibbling about that tonight: this was, above all, a celebration of the superb The Black Parade. Three sold-out shows in Wembley (approximately 225,000 people) would seem to indicate that, if the band never release anything new again, they’ll still love ‘em. Just…maybe come when it’s a bit cooler next time, huh guys?
Photography by Matty Vogel
