My Chemical Romance - December 18, 2010, The Sound Academy, Toronto

I love this band.  I didn't want to... They were loud, and gruff, and hollery at times, are occasionally overly dramatic, and (unfairly?) labelled as emo, and not at all something I was open to a few years ago before I rediscovered in a big way my love of all things music...but they grew on me and became one of my favorites.  The Black Parade is an album I can honestly say I can put on and listen to start to finish anytime, and would be one of my top 10 desert island selections.  And going back to previous albums there is a lot of auditory sweetness to be gained off of "Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge".  They are a band that I put on a lot for my commute to and from work on public transportation.... they give me attitude when they are pumping through my head...a "I'm not moving, so you better" face when navigating the hoards of commuters.  Extremely effective and highly enjoyable. So what I'm trying to say, is I'm a real fan of the band, and they've been on my list to see live for a few years now.  I had picked up the new album on release day, and while it went in a bit of a different direction (that is growing on me more with each listen), the experimentation with some different genres is a big success in my mind and I feel a lot of influences in it.  The boys rock.  Plain and simple.  I don't know how to break it down any further than that.

I grabbed tickets to their show at the Sound Academy as soon as I found out about it on presale.  Was a new venue for us....something that makes me a little nervous.  (I'm not good with new.... I like to know what I'm dealing with when heading out to a show and there is a real strategy in our physical placement for the night so we can both see the band, yet not be in the thick of the crowd).  It's a large rectangle of a room, so the fear of being thrown around in a mosh pit was pretty high....lets face it, I'm way beyond an age where being trampled at a live show is something I slough off as "no big deal."  Luckily, however, The Sound Academy offers a VIP section for an extra few shekels, so I ponied up and upgraded our tickets and it was the smartest move I've made concert wise all year.  VIP entitles you to separate entrance (no line waiting), lounge with private bar, private bathrooms (no violins, C., but the thought did make me laugh, as initially thought), and the icing on the cake, separate VIP viewing area that consisted of what resembled a slightly raised wooden porch just to the side of the stage where Jak and I staked out a rail side spot with perfect view and enough elevation for our vertically challenged selves to be able to have a direct eyeline over the heads of the mob.  What was going on over the rail was madness - security was rescuing people who couldn't endure the crushing heat and Anaconda like death squeeze of the mob at an alarming rate.  Suffice it to say, unless I'm feeling suicidal, I will never see a show at Sound Academy if we can't get VIP tickets.  Well worth the extra cash to be able to say that my organs have not been ground into dust by a mob of rabid music fans (aka, the MCRmy) pumped up on the adrenaline of witnessing their favorite band perform and sardined together in a dark cramped space.

...but don't get me wrong....our elevated (purchased) social stature for the evening did NOT make us boring and reserved.  My body aches today from the jumping and fist pumping.  We rocked it...just in a bit more comfort!

The Show:

The Opening band was a local alt rock group called "Dearly Beloved".  Looking at their site (click on name for link) today, I know it's the same band, but the video they have up is not at all representative of what we saw.  They were a little more punked up and frantic last night and their energy was fantastic.  I liked them...the music was amazing...the only complaint I have is that the tunes they did play didn't have a lot of vocals, and I wanted to hear more, especially from the female singer.  She was enjoyable.  They knew their audience demographic though....at one point they did a cover of the Sonics (explained that they were a "really, really old band") and asked us if any of us knew who Captain Beefheart was (admitting I did amongst all the blank twentysomething faces would have outed my attempt at camouflaging my advanced age by my choice of outfit of graphic T, skinny jeans and Converse All-Stars.  It's times like these that Jak and I at times feel out of place at live shows, since "really, really old" is all relative to what your age actually is).  Anyway, the band felt more of a modern punk flavor than alt-rock to me.  Liked them.

After a brief intermission, MCR hit the stage full tilt with their new single Na Na Na and the audience went apeshit.  When Gerard screamed the lyric "Shut up and let me see your jazz hands"....the entire crowd put them in the air and waived them obediently.  Great starter, high energy and sounded fantastic live.  Followed up with an even higher energy Thank You For the Venom, that set up and kept the rock show vibe going for their almost hour and a half set.  There was a great mix of favorites from their last 3 albums and you could tell the entire crowd were die hard fans as it was a giant fist pumping sing-a-long for the entire show.

Having never seen MCR live, and only having viewed performance video, I expected it to be a bit more flawed, but am happy to report that while in raw form, it was still sensational.  Props to the boys' talent and being able to deliver in person.  Youtube didn't do them justice.  (and reviewing video already posted today from last night's show, can further vouch for that...you had to be there to appreciate).  They put on a great show, that was also great visually.  The venue was minimalist...they had very little as far as set (couple flags put up in the back), but the band itself was all we needed to look at - Gerard worked us up headbanging his new electric red locks while vocally blowing us away, Frank oozed cool on guitar, Mikey quietly but with presence worked his Bass and Ray blew us away with his blistering guitar slinging.  (He has become my new favorite band member...the man can PLAY!).

I can't quite bring myself to choose a favorite tune of the night.  If I had to pick, it would probably be a 4-way tie between their Dylan cover of Desolation Row, their blistering rendition of Thank You For the Venom, their inspirational new tune SING, and their closing of the show with the heartbreakingly beautiful Cancer.  Every song was kick ass (and as evidence from my aching calves today due to jumping in unison with the crowd), infused my being and took me over.  It was a sweaty, loud, in your face, raw, possess your mind and take over your body hard rock extravaganza.  I only wish they played for longer, but that was my vantage point from my "safer" spot on the VIP porch.  Perhaps my floor counterparts were rocked and beaten and bruised enough for one evening....but I would say that even they, as beaten up as they were, would have gladly accepted more abuse in return for the opportunity to worship the band further.

Great show, and great ending to the 2010 concert season.  Last week, I was on the fence about getting tickets to their gig in April of 2011 at the Kool Haus when they return to Toronto.  I'm thinking now that it will be a necessity.

Set List:

1.Look Alive, Sunshine (intro)

2.Na Na Na (Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na)
3.Thank You For The Venom
4.Planetary (GO!)
5.I'm Not Okay (I Promise)
6.SING
7.House Of Wolves
8.Desolation Row (Bob Dylan cover for the Watchmen soundtrack)
9.Mama
10.The Kids From Yesterday
11.Teenagers
12.The Only Hope For Me Is You
13.Helena
14.The Ghost Of You
15.Famous Last Words
16.Cancer

Encore:
17.Vampire Money