This was my first My Chemical Romance show and it couldn’t have gone better. It was at the House of Blues in Boston, Massachusetts. Even though I had gotten there hours early, there were already lines of fans dressed up in everything from Revenge merch, to homemade killjoy outfits. Even the rain couldn’t dampen our spirits as we eagerly waited until we could go in.
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We could hear MCR doing a sound check from the outside and myself and many people attempted to listen in on the sound check.
I went into the artist entrance at the House of Blues and was taken onto the mezzanine and watched the opening band, Thursday do a sound check and waited for the staff to bring me in to meet My Chemical Romance. I went up to the next floor and was told to wait for them to come out. Suddenly I saw someone walking towards me. I didn’t realize it was Frank until he was in front of me, shaking my hand. Gerard came out after Frank, followed by Ray and Mikey. It was so surprising how casual they were. They were so friendly and laid back. They just walked out and started shaking my hand, before I even knew what was happening. Frank took out a pen and asked if I wanted anything signed. They were all nice enough to sign my bandanna and two things for my friends. They posed for a picture with me and then said goodbye to go and prepare for their show.
The crowd was so anxious through the opening band’s sets and setup that everyone would cheer even when staff walked onto the stage. Excited rounds of Teenagers and I’m Not Okay radiated throughout the crowd as we waited (impatiently) for My Chem to take the stage. Once they ran onstage, the first notes of Look Alive Sunshine were drowned out by the screams of the crowd. We fist pumped, sung, and danced our way through enthusiastic rounds of Na Na Na, Give ‘Em Hell Kid, Planetary (GO!), and Hang ‘Em High. A wild round of Vampire Money was started off by Gerard demanding that the crowd give him all our money. You could feel Gerard’s emotion through his expressive face, exaggerated hand movements, and as always, fantastic voice. However, I have never seen anyone smile as big as Ray was. The happiness flowed off of him, lighting up everyone in the room. On the other side of the stage, Frank captivated the audience with his intensity and guitar prowess. He jumped around the stage as only he can. Mikey brought the show together with his solid bass skills and focused demeanor. The band thrilled myself, and the crowd by revisiting I Brought You My Bullets You Brought Me Your Love with an energetic rendition of Vampires Will Never Hurt You. When they played Welcome to the Black Parade, it brought back memories for me as the first song I ever heard from My Chem. It was great listening to the crowd singing along to I’m Not Okay. They came back with an encore of cancer and bulletproof heart, which ended the concert with the audience jumping.
Taking pictures of them was so much fun. Gerard was so expressive that every picture captured more emotion. Ray was moving so fast that it just seemed like his fro was eating his head, but his enthusiasm shined through. I had the most fun photographing Mikey, because of his focus and intensity. Frank was moving around the stage so much it was nearly impossible to get a good picture of him, but the slightly blurry pictures only show how energetic he was.
We left the packed venue with Gerard’s advice to “Never stop running” echoing through our deafened ears.