The sun is out in Cardiff on a Saturday and it’s surprising that there aren’t puddles of black that have melted onto the floor. This is because over 10 years since they last played the Welsh capital, My Chemical Romance triumphantly return as part of a series of gigs which have been on the cards for quite a while now. Needless to say, the anticipation is palpable and the hardcore fans have been queuing up from the early hours to get a spot on the barriers.
From the off, the setup at Cardiff’s Sophia Gardens isn’t quite right. Whilst the location looks great; the sound throughout the evening is poor to middling at best with the volume not carrying anything further than 10 rows back. Whilst openers “Lost Alone”, “Starcrawler” and Wales’ own “Funeral For A Friend” all give hit filled performances, something just feels incredibly flat. The fact that you can hear the person next to you without barely raising your voice, tells you that there is something wrong with the mix. Things do change slightly for the main event, however the mixing leaves a lot to be desired and unfortunately doesn’t have the same impact as it should.
As 9pm strikes with the sun coming down behind the cricket ground, MCR enter the stage to a series of extremely loud screams and go straight into brand new song “The Foundations Of Decay”. The song is exactly what you would expect from a band who have evolved with every album and this new tune shows a maturity that several years out of the game would bring. If this is a path that they are going to carry on down with possibly a new album, then the future is very exciting.
From the new to the old and “Thank You For The Venom” has the old school emo’s moving along at the front. One thing is for sure is that Gerard and the rest of the band seem to be really enjoying themselves up on stage with the same youthful exuberance of around 20 years ago when the song was first released. This along with “Bulletproof Heart”, which is almost irresistible not to bop along to and “This Is How I Disappear” from “The Black Parade” is still an absolute tune in an album stacked with them.
There’s no denying that all of these songs they are playing are great, however I think it could be argued that the order in which they are playing them leaves something to be desired. For example a track such as “Famous Last Words”, something you would tend to hear right towards the close of the gig is only played a few numbers in. I suppose that it shows the strength of the songs that they do have, but with its positioning I think it would be fair to say loses somewhat of its punch.
We get quite a few outings from the often overlooked “Danger Days” album, with “Save Yourself, I’ll Hold Them Back” being played for the first time in 11 years, “Na Na Na” and “DESTROYA”, the later in particularly being one of the standouts with its punchy bass line chugging through the song. Along with this they probably ever won’t make a song which will put a smile on your face as much as “Vampire Money”. Its tongue in cheek look at all those who sold out to the “Twilight Franchise” back in the day along with those name checks at the beginning really shouldn’t work but it just does.
Despite the sound issues throughout the set, it’s not taking anything away from the fact that the band really are putting on a show and several years away from touring doesn’t show any signs of fatigue whatsoever. The old school fans are once again treated with a one two hit of arguably they break out hit “Helena” and “Our Lady Of Sorrows” for the very old fans out there. The show closes with a trio of hits from “The Black Parade” starting off with “Mama”, which again take away the lyrics just shows them having a lot of fun on stage. “Welcome To The Black Parade” is probably one of the highlights of the night, with everybody in the crowd arms aloft singing along to every word. It’s a song which when they wrote they could imagine playing in stadiums like this with thousands of fans joining in and crazy to think that it actually topped the UK charts when it first released. The set is closed off with “Sleep” again another epic number which shows off the grandiose sound of that record.
After leaving the stage they return for one more with “I’m Not Okay” which sees a sea of black screaming for a period of three minutes straight. I think it would be fair to say that tonight we are slightly short changed as other nights on the tour have included around 5 or so extra songs along with new material which we aren’t treated to. For most of the people that are here though, it’s clear to see that a lot of them have had the time of their lives, with several of them in tears at the end. That’s what a band like MCR can do for people and almost more so than most other groups, there’s such a strong sense of community amongst the fans. For that reason alone, tonight should be celebrated, but at the same time it is exciting to have New Jersey’s finest back. Now don’t leave it so long next time please.