The Bullet Music Reviews

Live Review: My Chemical Romance - São Paulo, Brazil

The rainy weather didn't stop a couple thousand fans (mainly teenagers) from forming a queue that almost went around the block, and it certainly did not help calm down all the excitement. Nearly two years after the rumors of a South American tour first started getting the hopes of fans up, My Chemical Romance finally played their first show in São Paulo, Brazil, on February 18th.

The doors of Via Funchal, a venue with room for 5500 people, opened at 7:30 pm. Before the lights went out, the fans called for the band, and shrieking and screaming would happen every time a roadie went on the stage to set MCR's equipment, since there weren't any opening acts. Props are due to Matt Cortez, for making the crowd go wild just by tuning Frank's guitar and testing his microphone.

The concert started at 9:30 sharp and lasted for a little over 1 and a half hours, during which most songs from MCR's latest album, The Black Parade, were played. Welcome To The Black Parade, I Don't Love You, Sleep and This Is How I Disappear were some of the most acclaimed ones of the night. Gerard introduced crew member Jake Ambrosio to play the harmonica in Teenagers, and dedicated it to Gabriel Bá, the Brazilian cartoonist in charge of the artwork of Gerard's comic book series The Umbrella Academy.

They also gave the audience a little taste of their earlier shows by adding to the set list some older tunes, such as Headfirst For Halos, Give'Em Hell, Kid, Cemetery Drive and You Know What They Do To Guys Like Us In Prison (which prompted Gerard to ask all the boys in the room to take off their shirts and swing them in the air). B-sides like My Way Home Is Through You and Kill All Your Friends were greeted with a lot of cheering. The mosh pit did get somewhat rowdy and some kids fainted even before the concert started, but a couple of words from Gerard - including a very Italian version of "obrigado", meaning "thank you" in Portuguese - helped soothe the crowd.

It was very easy to feel the connection between the band and their fans, despite the language barrier that made most of Gerard's words go misunderstood. MCR's stage presence is astonishing even to those who aren't very familiar with the band. The fans sometimes sang along so loudly it was barely possible to hear Gerard's voice, which was in great shape, but still not enough to make justice to the studio version of the band's songs. Frank didn't seem as enthusiastic on the stage as usual; some people noticed that and linked it to the still unconfirmed reason why he didn't play the following concerts in Argentina, Chile and Venezuela. Bob's new, long hairdo was a definite hit and Ray played nothing short of an amazing performance. However, it was Mikey who stole the show: smiling the whole time, the bassist played energetically by the edge of the stage, rarely leaving Gerard's side.

The lighting deserves a special mention - because of it, the song Sleep, for instance, is a lot more powerful live than it is on the CD. Oozing creativity and very synchronized with the music, the lighting took the concert to a whole new level, turning it into a spectacle despite the lack of props and decoration other than a huge banner with the band's name on it. Helena's famous line, "so long and good night", wrapped up the concert in a very emotional way, bringing tears to the eyes of the countless teenagers who had just witnessed the show of their dreams.

Verdict: The expectations were very high, but totally overcome. My Chemical Romance's first show ever in São Paulo, Brazil, is something over 5000 fans will remember for a long time to come.

Ana [guest reviewer]