Adding a new layer of concept to a concept album is a bold move, but a band like My Chemical Romance can pull it off. Twenty years on from The Black Parade and the sense of unity found in the studio, the “in spite of it all” attitude that Gerard Way and the band used to build a rock opera classic, is replaced. You can find pockets of it at their Wembley Stadium show, where the theme now is a regiment of The Black Parade playing for a dictator, but the change feels more like Way had new ideas and no intention of another album than anything else. It works though. The set design, structure and overall stylishness of The Black Parade come through with new meaning. Nothing is sacred and any band with even an inkling of social commentary is going to pivot into representing their thoughts. A mock-up of Soviet Union-era propaganda, and dedicating themselves to it to this extent, is an incredibly bold move.
You don’t need to release new material to build a big idea, that’s what My Chemical Romance proves here. A whole performance of The Black Parade with new meanings thrown onto songs. There’s some fitting overlap, like the election that comes after Welcome to the Black Parade. It doesn’t affect the music whatsoever, it just feels like a theatre kid has been handed a multi-million-pound budget and the keys to a football arena. Still, all in good fun as Way and the band’s wholly dedicated performance makes a difference for these moments. Hardly a dry eye in the house for the likes of Cancer and Welcome to the Black Parade. Not just because of the memories no doubt associated with these songs for many in attendance, but because Way and the band work with an incredible quality. They sound as good as the recorded material, but that is just the start. They manage to elevate this new concept with some incredible guitar riffs and a stage presence which few can match.
For all the parade-like imagery and often GCSE drama style acting, it’s a great bit of cheesy fun. A concept that, had it taken itself too seriously, would’ve been misread in a similar vein to Roger Waters’ tour of The Wall. Teenagers, Disenchanted, and Famous Last Words are all exceptional, classy bits of rock brilliance. The band sounds rightly proud of their work on The Black Parade and it’s easy to hear why that would be. It’s a concept that has been successfully carried forward, twenty years on from first release. Pyro, fireworks, and everything you could possibly want from a celebration of an all-time great album. Even Blood gets a showing after the band is dragged off stage and prepare for their second act. It’s a solid second act, but the transition doesn’t scream articulate. A chance for the group to go “here’s Danger Days and The Black Parade deep cuts” on the second stage. No other way to do it, really, but a bit of a clunky shift.
It’s there where Danger Days and deep cuts are heard, and they’re backed well by a healthy dose of Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge songs. Helena and To the End are well-placed and so too are the likes of Na Na Na, Summertime, and a bold choice for the show closer with Demolition Lovers. I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love feels like a suitable end to the show. It’s an all-encompassing second half which digs through the band’s back catalogue. It’s proof enough that some bands can survive on quality material that dedicated fans will hardly ever tire of hearing. Even those passive listeners who know the words to one or two, and are there for the theatrics, that’ll be enough to get you through a masterclass performance. A few minor microphone issues in the second half can be forgiven for a show where the band is giving it their all. Few can play as big a show as this and still detail their deep cuts for an 80,000-strong crowd.
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