MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE AT WELLS FARGO CENTER IN PHILADELPHIA

I remember the day tickets went on sale like it was yesterday. I was on my lunch break at work hopelessly refreshing the Wells Fargo Center page, desperately trying to snag any ticket I could. It took me a whole break of constant refreshing, but I finally managed to score them. Fast forward two years later, some reschedules later, and the day had finally come: My Chemical Romance, on tour in the U.S. for the first time since 2011 (their last show in the U.S. was Bamboozle in 2012). As I pulled up to the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, I witnessed exactly what I expected - tons of emos gathering to see an iconic band that has been very well loved in the scene. 

Prior to the band hitting the stage, the large screen on the sides showed the buzzing fly pile as seen in the video for My Chemical Romance’s newest single, “The Foundations of Decay”. The crowd started an “M-C-R!!” chant and once the lights went out, it was go time. The arena full of fans started screaming and the band took the stage to start off the night with the newest single. Each night of the tour thus far, Gerard Way has painted a word or phrase onto the head of the bass drum, and tonight’s painted word was “Bloom”. Right from the get go, the band performed as if they had never left the stage. Bassist Mikey Way made his way back and forth across the stage in bursts of energy. Guitarist Ray Toro jammed out with his hair wildly flipping back and forth. Guitarist Frank Iero absolutely killed backing vocals and rhythm guitar, and vocalist Gerard Way had the crowd singing along to every song with him. At times, he could be found on the floor of the stage, giving it his all. His outfits this tour have been a topic of conversation amongst the fanbase, as he always seems to sport something interesting. Tonight he wore a shirt that read “POOL BOY AT THE VAMPIRE MANSION” and shorts that were on the shorter side.

Setlists for each show have varied, and there have already been some surprises this tour, with Philly being no exception. Fans jammed along to favorites such as “House of Wolves”, “Thank You For the Venom”, and “Welcome to the Black Parade”. They sounded incredible, track after trac and their live sound was spot on. The intensity and passion from this band is strong and very apparent, and the audience matched that intensity as well. 

Prior to the band performing their encores, they played “Famous Last Words” and briefly left the stage. Fans immediately started cheering for their encore and lit up their phones. This is when the surprise came. As the band came back on stage, they expressed that the next song would be one off their first album I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love. The band ripped into a performance of “Vampires Will Never Hurt You”, which hasn’t been played yet on this tour and hasn’t been played since 2012. The crowd went absolutely wild. They ended their set with “The Kids From Yesterday” and left Philly MCR fans screaming for more. If you have the chance to catch a date on this tour, be sure to put on your darkest eyeliner and be ready to jam out.