My Chemical Romance Revives The Black Parade

by Onome Uyovbievbo

SAN FRANCISCO – On a gloomy summer evening at Oracle Park Saturday night, My Chemical Romance ushered in a tempest wave of epic portions beginning the evening performing the Black Parade in its entirety. Marking the 20th anniversary of the album, the group introduced themselves before the masses donning the black and white matching band attire and an ensemble band. Standing across the DRAAG rock opera stage harked back to a theme reminiscent of the Cold War of the last century. 

My Chemical Romance met those among the crowd and sprawled across the parkway, welcoming them with all-too-familiar introduction of The End. In a ghoulish fashion, the iconic quintet comprised of the front man Gerard Way, his brother Mikey Way on bass, Frank Iero on rhythm guitar, Ray Toro on lead guitar, and Jarred Alexander on drums, gave way to 26 song setlist with appearances on the main and b stage for the ladder half of the night. 

“San Francisco, it’s so nice to see you [and] it’s so nice to be with you”, Way shouted out to the thousands in attendance. 

Marking their first stadium tour in the breath of their 25 year career, the group did not disappoint when it came to performance. The piercing vocals of Gerad were as prevalent as the first time I experienced the album in youth. Mikey and Frank delivered shrilling and electric riffs and as fans thrashed around in their seats. As a treat to the SF crowd, they performed “Sing” from their Danger Days era which has been just a handful of times including a surprise cover “Bullet with Butterfly Wings” by Smashing Pumpkins. Truly giving the fans a night to remember.

Opening the night was the duo from Los Angeles, 100 gecs, comprised of Laura Les and Dylan Brady. They performed songs from their debut album 1000 gecs such as “Hand crushed by a Mallet” and “stupid horse”. They also included trucks from the sophomore album release, 10,000 gecs , and fan favorites like “Hollywood Baby”, “Dumbest Girl Alive”, and “757”.

Setlist

1. The End.
2. Dead!
3. This Is How I Disappear
4. The Sharpest Lives
5. Welcome To The Black Parade
6. I Don’t Love You
7. House Of Wolves
8. Cancer
9. Mama
10. Sleep
11. Teenagers
12. Disenchanted
13. Famous Last Words
14. The End (Reprise)
15. Blood
16. Thank You For The Venom
17. I’m Not Okay (I Promise)
18. Summertime
19. Na Na Na (Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na)
20. Deathwish
21. Sing
22. Bullet with Butterfly Wings (Smashing Pumpkins cover)
23. Boy Division
24. Helena
25. The Kids From Yesterday