Growing up in New Jersey, it was hard for me to not know who My Chemical Romance (MCR) was from a young age. I was only around 10 years old when they were introduced into my life, and I’ve been a fan of their music since — which is almost 2/3rds my life at this point. Somehow, though, I only saw them a handful of times in 2007, and then never again after that before their then-final show in 2012. The older I got the more I wished for the opportunity to see them again, and 10 years later, it’s safe to say that the wait was worth it after attending their show at Mohegan Sun.
Mohegan Sun Arena is one of my favorite venues in the country, so when I saw MCR had added this date to their tour, I was sold right away. I arrived to the venue early to beat the inevitable Connecticut traffic, and it looked like a lot of fans had the same idea. Thousands of people dressed head-to-toe in all black, assorted band t-shirts, and dyed hair lined up eagerly to be first in the venue. I felt like I was transported back to my middle school days, and I truly loved it.
The attendees mainly ranged from teenagers to middle-aged adults, and all I could think about is how excited I was to see the teens that fell in love with this band after 2012 finally get their chance to see their favorite band live. The sea of smiles that filled the venue that night seemed infinite. It brought me immense joy to see the next generation falling in love with MCR even though they hadn’t been active for nearly a decade. The dedication of their fanbase is truly one that’s hard to match.
The night kicked off with Waterparks — a band that definitely fit the bill, since a lot of their fans I’ve noticed overlap with MCR’s. Waterparks is a consistently fun band to watch live, and they always get the crowd in a great mood. As much as it is enjoyable to see their set, I eagerly awaited for it to be after 9 pm because that’s when MCR would take the stage.
As I filed into the barricade to take some photographs of the band, the sound of buzzing filled the venue through the PA, and the video screens that sat on the sides of the stage displayed flies slowly crawling across the screen, filling it more with each minute that passed by. The video was in theme with their latest single, “The Foundations of Decay,” which contains single art that is an image of a swarm of flies. As the swarm consumed the screens, the stage went black, and it was time for what we’d all been waiting for for so long – a performance by no other than MCR.
The band came out swinging and jumped right into playing their aforementioned latest single. The energy of the song progresses throughout and continuously becomes more intense, and the band’s stage presence was sure to reflect that. As vocalist Gerard Way sang the lines “and so he gets to die a saint, but she will always be a whore,” the red backdrop that hung behind them fell to the ground and revealed a destroyed cityscape that set the scene for the remainder of the night. As the song finished, you could see on all of the members’ faces that this was something they’d been looking forward to doing for so long — as they were all smiles as they performed. When the band is loving what they’re doing, you know you’re in for a great show.
Whether the song was old or new, the fans knew the words. They sang back every word with all of their heart. Way would often give the crowd the floor and have the whole arena sing the words themselves for parts of songs, and the fans never missed a beat. The setlist spanned their whole discography, and even included some deep cuts, like “Bury Me In Black,” which was only released as a demo b-side to one of their most well-known singles, “I’m Not Okay (I Promise).” With the band rotating the setlist nightly, you’re never sure what you’re going to get. For Uncasville, we were kindly gifted with “Cemetery Drive” and “It’s Not a Fashion Statement, It’s a Fucking Deathwish” — the first time both of those songs have made an appearance this tour.
As the band ripped through their impressive 20-song setlist, their energy never faltered, and the crowd never failed to reciprocate. The band ended their set with “Welcome to The Black Parade,” and the room went dark. But we weren’t quite done just yet — as the fallen sign in the cityscape began to light up letting us know there was still more to come. It wasn’t long until they returned to give us a two-song encore that Way referred to as a “horror movie double feature” — “Vampire Money” and “Vampires Will Never Hurt You.” While the band played for over an hour and a half, the fans didn’t want it to end. As the band said their goodbyes and the lights came up, fans still lingered in hopes there could be just one more song.
It’s safe to say that after seeing the return of MCR, they have a bright future ahead of them. Despite a decade of inactivity, their fanbase never left them, and only grew in numbers. There’s now a new era of My Chemical Romance fans that are ready to give them endless support. As I left Mohegan Sun that night, I already was looking forward to the next time I would see them perform, and was thankful that 2019 me purchased tickets to their hometown shows in Newark, NJ later this month.
If you don’t have tickets to see My Chemical Romance on their comeback tour, I highly recommend finding some. Whether you still have a diehard love for the band or are just feeling some nostalgia for the “good ol’ days,” you’ll walk away from the show not regretting your decision.
