My Chemical Romance rock out on their largest show to date – report of the show

Nashville, Tennessee is also known as ‘Music City’ thanks to the city’s rich history with the performing arts. Usually associated with country music stars and the up-and-coming, the city looked a little different on August 13th. Nearly 70,000 black-clad fans swarmed downtown, not minding the extreme heat warnings, as they headed to Nissan Stadium to be part of My Chemical Romance’s largest show in the band’s 24-year history.

Pierce The Veil kicked off our night, causing this stop on the tour to be one of the most sought-after dates. Even resale tickets were hard to come by, because everyone wanted to be a part of this iconic night. Pierce The Veil’s setlist started strong with the opening tracks to their 2012 album “Collide With The Sky,” featuring vocalist Vic Fuentes’ signature prop for “May These Noises Startle You In Your Sleep” – a megaphone with a blindingly bright light on it. Their setlist brought us through some of the band’s most popular eras, featuring hits including “Caraphernelia,” “Pass The Nirvana,” and “King For A Day.” They ended their set with a jaw-dropping move: throwing their guitars across the stage to be caught by the band’s crew members. 

The Long Live The Black Parade tour is sold to the general public as a playthrough of the entire well-loved rock opera album, but what you get when you enter the stadium is so much more than just that. Fans are transported to the fictional brutalist regime of Draag, with rules for behavior broadcast on the jumbotrons before the show begins. The show kicks off with Draag’s national anthem, performed by one of the show’s cast members known as Marianne after the auxiliary band’s drummer, Tucker Rule, sets off a cadence and twin military members lay wheat in its designated place on stage. The band’s entrance is surveyed by another member of the extensive cast, known as the Grand Immortal Dictator, who sits in a throne towards the back of the venue. 

The regime’s brutal nature is further proven throughout the night. It becomes increasingly clear that the band is under surveillance, as there is a woman onstage with a clipboard, as well as her accomplice (known as the clerk), keeping a close eye on how things are running. At one point, vocalist Gerard Way gets into an argument with the clerk, and the woman settles it by slapping them both. The show continues to run smoothly after that. 

The band onstage is not known as My Chemical Romance at this time, rather performing as The Black Parade in full marching band uniforms. This was revealed to us as Gerard introduced themselves as the 52nd regiment of The Black Parade, and we later find out during trivia that several other regiments of The Black Parade died in a fiery car crash. Trivia is then closed out on a crowd vote of whether four captive people with bags over their heads, standing on the B-Stage and surrounded by military members, should be executed. The crowd voted a resounding ‘no’, but it was obvious that our vote did not truly matter as they were shot anyway. 

The heavier elements of the show were not all we got, though. The darker bits rivaled the humorous ones, including the Clerk and Gerard swapping coats and dancing onstage for a bit. In another part, Gerard reads a book about chess to a ventriloquist doll before setting it aside to perform. The Dictator was also seen eating some of Nashville’s specialty food, fried chicken, as he enjoyed the performance of the show. 

The theatricality of the show wasn’t only through acting, though, as watching the stage set itself proved to be just as important. The set flashed images of Draag culture across screens, from advertisements to game shows to blips of the local culture. Bright blue and red lights flashed during “Sleep,” as a bomb is set to a target and the stage went up in flames during both “Mama” and “Famous Last Words.” “Mama” also features a special interlude as Gerard plays with a dagger onstage before having the crowd count in Marianne to sing Liza Minnelli’s part of the song. 

The Black Parade goes out with a bang as the stage is on fire around them, following a quick reprise of “The End.” signaling the rebirth of a new regiment of the band. Pierrot comes onstage to stab Gerard, who willingly offers himself up, and the rest of the band members are dragged offstage with bags over their heads, save for bassist Mikey Way, who shoves his guitar into the hands of the cast member trying to take him and storms off. Gerard crawls, dying, into a body’s chalk outline on stage, pressing a button on a pedalboard as the bomb from earlier detonates on screen. Pierrot then dances across the stage as “Blood” plays over the speakers, before it is revealed that he is a suicide bomber. As Pierrot explodes, the stage goes dark, and a live interlude from cellist Clarice Jensen begins on B-Stage. 

B-Stage is smaller and set towards the middle of the stadium’s field, giving fans in the pit and floor seats a chance to get close. It brings a more intimate vibe to the show, and the band breaks character and takes the stage as My Chemical Romance once again. It also allows everyone a wildcard chance at hearing their favorite song played live, as the setlist changes every show and features both hits and deep cut songs. 

The band wasted no time going in for the rarer songs, starting us off with “Thank You For The Venom,” into the recently debuted “Zero Percent” b-side from Danger Days. I was lucky enough to hear one of my favorite songs, “Save Yourself, I’ll Hold Them Back,” just before Gerard took a moment to lie onstage. We had a brief side tangent about the heat, and how he wasn’t sure he’d be able to perform “Ambulance” for us because of it. Fans of the band’s first album were also in luck, as we got to hear both “Our Lady of Sorrows” and “Vampires Will Never Hurt You.” B-Stage gave us 10 songs in total, and the band closed out the spectacular night with “Helena.”

My Chemical Romance’s Long Live The Black Parade tour has just kicked off in North America, and it’s a show you won’t want to miss. Consider heading over to their website and finding the show closest to you to attend. If none of them are close, don’t worry; I can guarantee you it’s worth the money to travel. And if travelling is out of the question, keep an eye on the band’s official TikTok account, as there’s occasionally a livestream of the show you can watch and enjoy from the comfort of your own home. 

Setlist

Main Stage:

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)

B-Stage:

15. Thank You For The Venom
16. Zero Percent
17. Save Yourself, I’ll Hold Them Back
18. Our Lady of Sorrows
19. I’m Not Okay (I Promise)
20. AMBULANCE
21. Vampires Will Never Hurt You
22. Boy Division
23. Na Na Na (Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na)
24. Helena

Photo Credits: Bryce Hall / Jesse DeFlorio