My Chemical Freak: My Chemical Romance All The Time

Here is the only photo I have so far of MCR at Tempe Music Festival. 

More to come, check back often!

Performance Summary By:  Nicki Escudero

Gerard Way may not be a fan of Fergie, but he sure knows how to shake his hips.

The My Chemical Romance vocalist shimmied his way across stage, busting a move much like the pop singer who is headlining tomorrow. That doesn’t mean he’s into her pop music, though.

“You guys going to get Fergalicious tomorrow?” Way asked the young crowd, which populated much of Tempe Beach Park by the time the headliners took the stage at 10:30 p.m. “I am already Fergalicious. I was born Fergalicious…but not really.”

Still, MCR was quite catchy and got the crowd singing and dancing along to tracks from all three of the band’s albums, with most of the tracks coming off their most recent disc, The Black Parade.

While the band was definitely rocking throughout the set, and Way did his fair share of screaming throughout the night, he also provided some very humorous banter in-between songs.

“I see you may be noticing how white my arms are,” Way said, after taking off his jean jacket. He told the crowd the models in the fashion show before their performance stole the band’s clothes, leaving them with the black attire they all wore.

He also got the males in the crowd to take their shirts off and wave them helicopter-style.

The engaging crowd interaction was great, considering Way announced this is the last tour the guys will be on for awhile, since the band will be taking a break before they record their new album next year. Maybe it’s because more than half the band is married, including newlywed and guitarist Frank Iero.

It was nice to see bassist Mikey Way back with the guys, too, since he took a break last year after some emotional exhaustion.

The band’s performance was top-notch, enhancing the albums’ sound with more energy  but the same precision. Gerard’s vocals were also strong, and he hit all his notes with ease.

The band closed their set with Cancer, then came back on for an encore of Helena, in which Gerard sings, “So long and goodnight,” fitting lyrics for the show closer. Though the band may not be back for awhile, they sure gave the audience a quality show they won’t be forgetting any time soon.