My Chemical Freak: My Chemical Romance All The Time

Back to the band. I LOVE MCR, and I love their evolving style, but the guys all looked kind of burnt out and ragtag. Frank had a mustache and was wearing a hat that made him look like a small Italian gangster. We hardly saw Ray’s face for his out-of-control fro, and he barely ever looked up from his guitar. Mikey looked kind of creepy with his hair so long, although he was wearing his “Mikey Fuckin Way” t-shirt, which was cool. And he’s moving around a lot more, which is great. Bob looked just plain overgrown and shaggy. He was hardly recognizable, but it was good to see that his wrist has healed. Gerard looked the most like himself, but his hair was so long he spent half the night pushing it back out of his face. Sorry, these guys must all be multimillionaires by now; how is it that they can’t afford a haircut? I don’t know if it is just that they are ragged after seven years of touring, or are rebelling from their uniformed BP look, but someone needs to give them some fashion and grooming advice…

But MCR is MCR, and it was incredible to be in the same room with them in such an intimate venue. Although the show was uneventful in that there was virtually no interaction among the band members, and barely no interaction with the crowd except for Gerard’s occasional banter, they sounded great, and it was thrilling to watch them play. They played every song from The Black Parade except for The End and Disenchanted. They ROCKED Mama, Sleep, and Welcome to the Black Parade–it was EPIC to hear them in person. Cancer was pitch perfect. They played several older songs, including Cemetery Drive, Helena, Kill All Your Friends, and a few others, with the noticeable absence of I’m Not OK, which I would have loved to hear.

Highlights for me were Desert Song, which was eery and magical and dramatic and beautiful. I see someone has a video of it up on YouTube. You can’t imagine how great it sounded in person. Gerard introduced it by saying that they had rarely played it in the U.S., so it was a real treat to hear. Equally special was My Way Home Is Through You, which Gerard dedicated to his “beautiful wife,” who he said was there that night! I looked for her but did not see her. And Frank played blindfolded for a while, which was the only antic I saw him do, but I couldn’t see him all the time, as we were closer to the Ray side of the stage.

The show seemed to go on and on, as they played song after awesome song. I was hoping beyond hope that they would crank out I Never Told You What I Do For A Living, my all-time favorite, but no such luck. A mosh bit finally opened up at the very end during Helena, their closing number, but other than that the crowd was mild-mannered. Although the concert was a little tame and subdued, and the guys seemed tired and disconnected, the music was great, and I walked out of there with my ears happily ringing and a big smile on my face.