Live: My Chemical Romance in Amsterdam, NL
For a Friday 13th it was an extremely lucky day! We managed to get an interview with My Chemical Romance on behalf of www.mychemicalromanceforum.com (which will be in the next issue) and were given tickets to an afterparty with the band. The word 'party' was a little misleading, it was actually a signing session, but still fun.
Support act: Skip The Rush
Skip The Rush started just ten minutes after the doors had opened. The venue was still filling up. These Dutch guys did a great job of warming us up, their style suited MCR's and they were definitely a much better choice than last year's Days in Grief. This time there was no relieved cheer when they announced their last song.
My Chemical Romance
The wait for MCR was a short one. The management was running a very tight schedule. Halfway through the change of equipment a huge screen came down. It showed the five winning videos fans had made on their new single Welcome To The Black Parade. Some were ok, one was very boring, but it was nice to kill time with this, although hearing the song five times in a row is a bit much. With the new album being an alter ego type thing, the band also has a new image. Everyone has been emofied. Mikey's hair has been cropped short, Ray's is now black, Bob has grown himself an emo-fringe [which he actually hates, he asked me if he should cut if off], which swooshes around when he's drumming. Frank pretty much stayed the same, but the most shocking change is Gerard, whose hair is very short and very white. They're still My Chemical Romance though and we couldn't wait to see them.Opening with Give 'Em Hell Kid was a brilliant choice. It's fast, it's hard and it rocks! It set the right mood immediately, showing everyone that this is not a bunch of sissies playing the tambourine. The girls in the crowd screached their lungs out, they were actually louder than last year! I pity anyone that wasn't wearing earplugs. The amount of guys that were there was striking, but a pleasant surprise. We were all anxious to hear the new songs of the [at that time] yet to be released third album The Black Parade. The setlist was carefully constructed, and we were treated to six new tracks. First up was Dead. A true MCR-type song, anyone that was afraid their sound has changed; fear no more! It's rocks. So does House of Wolves. Luckily it wasn't all new; they also played Our Lady Of Sorrows, which is from the first album. I was very happy that Thank You For The Venom was included in the setlist. That has to be their best live track!
My favourite of the new ones they played is Famous Last Words. The guitars in that song are very good. Overall the new songs have a good tempo and sound great. When the band left the stage after I'm Not Okay, the crowd went wild and demanded them back. A few moments later, Gerard emerged on his own, accompanied by a guy called Eric on piano. He sang Cancer, a short sad song. I'm sure most of the people there loved it, but it didn't do much for me. I don't have anything against their slower tracks, I think The Ghost of You and I Don't Love You are great. But Cancer... No. Sorry guys.
Verdict: It was a great show. Fortunately, the change in looks didn't affect their sound. Compliments to bass player Mikey, whose stage performance has really improved since last year!
Pictures of this gig are here