Emo heavyweights make a grand return up North
Warrington is not Manchester – but try telling Gerard Way that. Throughout the early part of tonight’s huge show – their first gig up North since their recent reunion and the sudden revival of the emo genre – Way seems intent on letting people know that he’s glad to be right where he is – and that’s Manchester.
The sea of people filling Victoria Park yell at him to explain otherwise and in his defence, Way points to the ‘MCR’ branding which holds the band in-place via two giant screens on a stage sparsely decorated with what looks like a war-torn city backdrop.
The crowd don’t seem to mind though. In fact, by the sound of the roar that erupts when the quartet finally take to the stage – ending a slowly building storm of feedback with their new track “The Foundations of Decay”- Way could very well say we were on the Moon and that’d be absolutely fine.
After a few years MIA, My Chemical Romance return to our shores to deliver a show that’s feels powered partly by nostalgia and partly by a renewed energy and fondness for a genre they came to define. For many, their 2004 breakout record Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge not only embodied perhaps the most dramatic moment in recent pop-punk and emo history – but clearly a key moment in the lives of an entire generation of music fans.
Cut to almost two decades later and those same floppy fringed kids who once found solace in Way’s raw singing style and penchant for dramatics have loyally returned – and while their fringes may have receded and the eyeliner now looks a little less MySpace – it’s hard not to appreciate the role the band played (and seemingly still plays) in the formative years of so many.
Those same emo kids, now with real adult jobs, mortgages and babysitters for their own offspring at home, feel ready for this angsty, rose-tinted release – and Way is set to deliver on their request.
As such, tonight’s show plays much like a greatest hits performance. “Thank You For The Venom”, “Welcome To The Black Parade” and “Teenagers” make an energetic early appearance (the latter dedicated to Way’s own now-teenage kid), while the likes of “Helena” and “Mama” get the sea of fans swaying in unison.
Still, there was one sure-fire hit that everyone was waiting to hear which finally made an appearance as the band’s final song of a two-track encore. As the crowd wailed out in unison, assuring the night sky that they were still not okay (trust them), suddenly everyone in the audience wasn’t even in Warrington anymore, they were back in high school – and it was pretty great.
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