My Chemical Romance, Neon Trees and The Architects / MacEwan Hall / Calgary, Canada / April 6, 2011

April sixth was the day that Crash Queens, Motor babies, and Killjoys alike gathered. Even though the show was in Calgary there were people from Vancouver, Winnipeg, and everywhere else just to see their favourite band perform.

The fans, also known as the MCRmy, bonded and cards were handed out for lead singer, Gerard Way’s birthday just three days later. 

The last time My Chemical Romance graced Calgary with their presence, it was nearly four years ago with their Black Parade World Tour.  They played the Saddledome and it was a theatrics filled show with all the pyro you could imagine.

This time around they opted for the small and intimate venue, MacEwan Hall for their World Contamination Tour.  The hall was the perfect place to have the show because the new album, Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys had an apocalyptic theme to it. The venue had an industrial feel to it that fit the theme perfectly.

The first band to perform was The Architects. Formerly known as The Gadjits, this band opened the show with a bang. The Architects brought a heavier sound the table than one would have expected for the first warm-up act. They had excellent stage presence and seemed to really enjoy being there.  They had a surprising punk sound and the crowd seemed to thoroughly enjoy it.

The next band was Neon Trees known for their hit song, Animal.  Even though this was an MCR show, the fans were really into Neon Tree’s act.  Lead vocalist, Tyler was strutting around on stage and the guitarist’s were showing people what they could do, feeding off the crowd’s energy.  The band had a female drummer, Elaine, and she was mesmerizing to watch. Sitting quietly in the background, she let her sticks show us just how talented she was. The anchor of any good band is its drummer, and she did her job extremely well.

After a daring thirty minute set change, Look Alive, Sunshine started to play over the speakers as the band took the stage. They started off with Na Na Na. The show was an amazing and during it the crowd was sent into a fit of dancing, fist pumping, crying, and singing it for the world.  During Planetary (GO!), a song that has been known to send fans into a frenzy, the MCRmy was jumping and dancing as if they couldn’t get enough. The crowd’s energy was infectious and it even got non-fans screaming and singing along.

It seemed that for every song off their new album, My Chemical Romance treated the crowd to an old favourite. They played Famous Last Words, one of their biggest hits, and the crowd roared “I am not afraid to keep on living” as if their lives really did depend on it.

Lead singer, Gerard Way asking to see which audience members were experiencing their first MCR show and thanking the older fans for being nice to the new ones, stomping his booted foot on the elitism experienced at many other shows; rhythm guitarist, Frank Iero, known for his excessive movement on stage was more laid back; lead guitarist, Ray Toro, who is an amazing guitarist often being compared to Slash.  The star of the show though had to be bassist Mikey Way. Mikey, known for his shyness and tending to stay at the back of the stage was up front and center. During the final song The Kids from Yesterday, Mikey got a solo staying on stage with tour drummer, Mike Pedicone. He made eye contact with the crowd and showed everyone the rockstar he truly is.

My Chemical Romance’s North American tour will continue until late May before the band will depart for a short run of European festival shows.

- mm

Stay Beautiful

I have Scoliosis. It’s where your spine curves. I’ve had it my whole life. I’ve gotten more than twenty surgeries because of it. It makes me look like a hunchback. I’ve been fortunate, until now, to go to school with the kindest people. People that don’t make fun of me for my disability. People that don’t judge a book by its cover.

I entered high school last year a bit nervous but grade ten went by fine and this year I’m in grade eleven. This year was the first I’ve been bullied about my disability. I was called a hunchback by someone who doesn’t know anything about me. Someone who doesn’t even know my name.

I didn’t know about this until last night. I cried for two hours straight last night and this morning I confronted the person who denied it. Bullies do that, they always deny what they’ve said. It could be worse though. He could’ve called me a hunchback to my face.

My school has about 1,700 students. There are tons of kids with disabilities. You’d think they’d be used to it by now, seeing as they’ve been going to school for seven months now. I guess not.

I used to be the little girl who wondered why she didn’t have any real friends. I was the little girl who never had a proper childhood because she was in and out of hospitals. Even now my self esteem isn’t the highest. Hearing that someone could be so cruel broke me. Every day I have to see the scars that litter my back. Every day I have to deal with what I have.

Bullying is not funny. Bullies do not have a happy ending. They end up alone when high school ends, all their friends having matured.  Bullies end up sad, lonely people while the victims of their abuse go do something amazing. The victims find a way to change the world.

For those who have been bullied about their looks or anything else about them, remember this. Don’t let anybody tell you who you have to be and what you have to look like. You’re beautiful just the way you are. Stay beautiful and keep it ugly.

- mm

MCR Album Release Concert

Last night I was waiting at eight for the concert online that My Chem promised us.  It was then I realized that it started an hour later when they said so I ended up watching the pre-show carnival for a while which was ridiculously boring.

And then the hour came up and the guys came on stage.  They were wearing the clothes they've been wearing for all their concerts except Frank stood out in a bright red hoodie.  Gerard had red paint down his neck and on his hands, similar to how he did in the Na Na Na video.

Here's the setlist for those who missed it:

Look Alive Sunshine (Pre-recorded)

Na Na Na (Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na)

I'm Not Okay (I Promise)

Planetary (GO!)

House of Wolves

Desolation Row

SING

Give Em Hell Kid

Mama

The Only Hope for Me is You

Teenagers

Ghost of You

Famous Last Words

Helena

The Kids From Yesterday

- mm

Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys

On another, happier, note.  I am pleased to announce that My Chemical Romance's new album, Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys is now out.  I'm currently listening to it as I type this.  I'm going to post my review in a second which you'll find nothing but positive things.

So here's my review:

It’s been four years since My Chemical Romance put out The Black Parade, but don’t worry, they’re back!  Their new album Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys came out on November 22^nd, and if I wasn’t getting it for Christmas, then I would’ve been the first in line.

All the My Chemical Romance albums have all been concept albums.  I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love was about two Bonnie and Clyde type characters who are eventually gunned down in the desert.  Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge was a sequel of sorts to the first album.  The Black Parade was about a man who was dying from cancer. 

This album might be their most creative yet.  Originally set to be a comic book written by lead singer, Gerard Way came up with along with comic book artists Shaun Simon and Becky Cloonan it turned out to be their next album.  It’s still being written as a comic book, don’t worry.

It’s 2019 and it all goes down in Battery City, California and the surrounding zones.  Better Living Industries (also known as BL/ind which is run by Korse and his draculoids) run Battery City, controlling the minds of its habitants into thinking that they don’t need companionship or anything else, only the pills that BL/ind is ready to offer.  And to make sure your soul is safe after death, they also advertise a Soul Protection Plan.

The Killjoys, made up of Party Poison (Gerard Way), Kobra Kid (Mikey Way), Fun Ghoul (Frank Iero), Jet Star (Ray Toro), are here to stop BL/ind from destroying humanity and have a wild time while they’re doing it.  Helping them are Dr. Death Defying, Grace, and Show Pony along with all of us Killjoys.

We first knew something was up when several twitter accounts started up: Bob Fillmore, Gary Levko, Tommy Chow Mein, DJ Hot Chimp, Agent Cherri Cola, Party Poison, NewsAGoGo, Dr Death Defying, and the transmission page- Transmissions19.

We first got a chance to listen to the album when Dr. Death Defying posted his listening party on YouTube and I am excited as ever to tell you about the fun tracks that are on this album.

The album starts off with Dr. Death Defying starting off his radio show and then we make the easy transition in Na Na Na (Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na) which is the first single off the album and gives us a good introduction into the Killjoy’s world.  It’s an upbeat song that surely going to get stuck in your head with the repetition of Na, Na, Na and the catchy beat.

Next we have Bulletproof Heart, a personal favourite of mine.  It starts off as a slow song but then it picks up.  It has a kind of futuristic sound the Killjoys are looking for.  It’s the theme song for the triumphant runaways.

The second single off the album is SING.  When you hear SING, you think of everyone getting together, holding hands, and singing it loud and clear for the world to hear.  The song basically tells you to express yourself, in any way possible.  It’s one of those emotional songs that are on every album and has been compared to I Don’t Love You and Ghost of You from the band’s previous albums. 

We hear the alarm sounding and then Planetary (GO!) starts up.  The world is ending and they’re always being chased by BL/ind but the Killjoys don’t care.  They just party and have a good time while they still can.

The Only Hope for Me Is You is about when you’ve seen so much horror and destruction that you’re finally on your way towards a little bit of hope.  It’s a song that you can play multiple times in a row without ever getting sick of listening to it.

Party Poison starts off with a Japanese woman rambling on and then the fun starts.  It used to be Death Before Disco before it was renamed.  One might think it would be all about partying but it’s all about Party Poison, a potent substance, enough to kill all parties.

Save Yourself, I’ll Hold Them Back is one of several songs that are sort of a uniting force for the gang in the Zones as well as for the band and the fans.  It says that we can do whatever we want without any consequences if we have the time.  This song reminds me of the band’s older work and is one of my favourite songs on the album.

The next song has a psychedelic, Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds feel to it.  S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W is the police force in the zones that are after the Killjoys.  It’s probably the most themed song from the album and is telling all the Killjoys to run from the S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W.

Summertime is an anthem about summer I can see people playing on their stereos while they’re driving around.  It’s a slow, love song for the runaways.  As the lyrics say; you can run away with me, anytime you want.

DESTROYA starts off with the steady beat of tribal drums in the background.  It’s probably one of the more wild songs on the album, releasing all the pent out aggression that the Killjoys have. 

Killjoys sometimes had to strap on draculoids masks and that’s what The Kids From Yesterday is about, remembering what we were like when we were kids and how much we’ve changed.  It’s one of those songs that makes us think about our pasts and if everything went the way we wanted it to. 

My Chemical Romance was one of the first bands to make vampires seem cool so Twilight offered them a lot of money for them to record a song for the movie.  Refusing to sell out, My Chemical Romance made all their fans proud and refused the offer, instead writing Vampire Money.  The song's about vampires becoming too ridiculously popular and handsome instead of the fearsome creatures they actually are.  Like the lyrics say, “Sparkle like Bowie in the morning sun” and “Play it right and drive a Volvo car.”

And that’s it Killjoys.  That’s all you get until the next album which I’m already excited for.  Or their World Comtamination tour which is coming up so make sure you get your tickets.  There were three other tracks I forgot to mention (Look Alive Sunshine, Jet Star and the Kobra Kid/Traffic Report, Goodnite Dr. Death) but they were only Dr. Death Defying’s tuning back in to give us updates from the zones.

So are you ready Crash Queens and Motor Babies?  Hold on tight Killjoys, it’s gonna be a bumpy ride.

I want to give credit where credit's due.  Cassie the Venomous

- mm

Sea of Red

Today a good amount of people in my school were wearing red for a boy who recently passed away.  When they announced his death a week ago it made me remember grade eight when they announced that a really good friend of mine had passed away.

I know it sounds wrong but I was almost relieved that the boy who passed away wasn't known to me.  I don't know what I'd do if he was one of my friends.  When my friend died almost three years ago I remember sobbing so hard.  He used to be the most optimistic and friendly person.  It's like Billy Joel says, only the good die young.

I remember seeing my friend in the coffin and then when they lowered him into the ground it hit me hard that he was never coming back.  I sobbed like I've never sobbed before.  And the worse part is, a week before his death I was telling one of my friends how I'd never been to a funeral.

Losing a loved one is always hard.  I wasn't too particularly close to my friend that died and it hurts to think what would happen if one of my best friends or family members had died. 

I don't want to personalize this blog, I want to let the people out there who have lost a loved one that they're not alone and that plenty of people lose someone.  It's not good to keep the sadness inside of you.  You're allowed to cry.  Try and remember the happy things about that person, don't focus on their death.  Remember all the amazing things you did before they died.  That helps too.  Also talk to people who were also close with that person, they're probably feeling the same way you are.

- mm