Review by: Drew Whitman
Provided photos by: Lindsey Byrnes

Seattle, WA – My Chemical Romance kicked off their Long Live The Black Parade tour on Friday, which had fans lining up around the block in the summer heat in anticipation of the legendary emo band’s performance of their classic 2006 album.

Folk-punk band Violent Femmes opened the sold out show at Seattle’s T-Mobile Park with a nearly hour-long set, mostly playing from their 1983 self-titled album along with some fan favorites like “American Music” and “Color Me Once.”

Aside from last year’s festival appearances at When We Were Young in Las Vegas (which featured very minimal production compared to 2007’s Black Parade tour), this show would mark the first time in 17 years that The Black Parade was played front to back. Before My Chemical Romance’s set even began, there were clear dystopian themes with the production, from the stage backdrop’s Soviet-styled imagery to the on-screen rules such as “Fun having is mandatory.” The set opened with Thursday drummer (and MCR guitarist Frank Iero’s L.S. Dunes bandmate) Tucker Rule playing a marching snare which led into a costumed guest vocalist performing the Draag National Anthem, with MCR emerging near the end of the song in updated Black Parade uniforms. It was an incredibly theatrical performance and production, using the songs from the Black Parade to tell a new story about an authoritarian government.

Adding to the theatrics of the performance, audience participation was encouraged in the form of voting in a mid-show election using signs that were given out to fans as they entered the venue, while the candidates awaited their fates from the B stage in the center of the stadium.

Frontman Gerard Way later told the audience the production took two years to complete, and it showed from the level of detail seen throughout the show and the number of cast and crew members involved. The band performed flawlessly along with the multiple guest musicians on stage throughout the performance – Rule was on auxiliary percussion for the entire Black Parade set, and returning violinist Kayleigh Goldsworthy was prominently featured on “Cancer.” There were some unexpected additions that elevated the album playthrough set, like the brand new outro in “Mama” (as well as some pyro), a reprise of The Black Parade’s opening track “The End.,” and an explosive finale as the originally hidden track “Blood” played over the stadium speakers.

As the lights went down, cellist Clarice Jensen performed a 10-minute cello solo while crew moved equipment to the B stage, where the band continued with another full set surrounded by fans. Way circled the stage, singing to fans on all sides, this time with less focus on theatrics and more on the raw performance. This was the band’s longest performance to date, with the second set being picked by Iero and featuring a mix of material from each of their studio albums as well as some b-sides (Black Parade b-side “Heaven Help Us” was a standout track, which Way commented that he wasn’t sure why they left it off the album). The show ended with Three Cheers opener “Helena” as the entire audience sang along, a perfect ending to opening night of the influential band’s sold out stadium tour.