My Chemical Romance at Nottingham Arena, February 19
After surpassing their emo expectancy, My Chemical Romance are now stuck between worlds of teenage angst and rock pop. With Fall Out Boy and Panic! At The Disco recovering, MCR have launched full throttle into a world of anthemic chorus’ and pink hair dye.
Opener ‘Na Na Na’ brings boyband chanting and aggressive slogans to the masses, as girls are left fainting in the aisles, while ‘Planetary (GO!)’ wails of rock clichés, bleeding disco pop.
For a band known for their pantomime antics singer Gerard Way is left a tiny figure in huge surroundings as he tries to connect with screaming girls 50 feet away. Dressed in a grotty t-shirt with hair dye streaming down his neck he’s hardly an object of desire but as he screams “so long and goodnight” in ‘Helena’ you can feel the room coming of age. Girls faint in his presence as he attempts to bring a small stage show to the masses.
Posing with each beat on ‘Mama’ he builds the transformation, with each note longer and louder than the last. ‘The Black Parade’ calls for an epic theatre style performance, but instead the band members stand stagnant onstage leaving the climax rather lacklustre. Slowly as fans contain themselves for ‘Cancer’ black eyeliner is left running down hundreds of heartbroken faces.
Now My Chemical Romance have found themselves in a category like many of their fans- the unpopular misfits unable to find a voice. MCR have surpassed their critics so who’s to say they have to fit in?
