My Chemical Romance

World Contamination Tour

Nottingham Trent FM Arena
19/02/2011

It’s almost comical as every few minutes, another bus drives past Nottingham Arena and the face of every single passenger is pressed against the glass in bewilderment, their eyes glued to the crowds of teens and young adults littering the pavement, squashed together like battery chickens. Clad in black eyeliner and an array of weird and wonderful costumes, they make quite a sight. And there’s no mistaking who they are waiting for, as the name of the American rock quartet ‘My Chemical Romance’ is emblazoned across a sea of t-shirts, hoodies and even scrawled on faces in black ink. All around there are leather jackets, glittery masks and bandanas, everyone desperate to show their heroes that they too are ‘fabulous killjoys’ the name of the band members alter ego’s created for their new comic book themed album ‘Danger Days- The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys’ released in late November 2010. The band played Nottingham Trent FM arena 4 long years ago, and have never been back till now. But still it seems that the break hasn’t quashed the fans loyalty, as there are still masses of excited fans who continue to wait outside, until the doors finally open at 6:00 PM. And as soon as they do, the fans desperation takes over, causing them to charge like a pack of wild beasts through the double doors and into the room where all the magic happens.

And it only gets more feral as the lights go out and the first support act, a small three-piece rock band from Derby by the name of ‘Lost Alone’ come onstage. The band play a few unknown songs, including their new single ‘Paradox On Earth’. There isn’t much singing along from the audience, as people don’t seem to know the band’s material, however there is still a great atmosphere, with plenty of screaming and crazy dancing. And that was just the warm up. After a 15 minute break, the second support act of the evening arrive onstage. There are much more screams and of a louder pitch as for some people this is the highlight of their evening, never mind My Chemical Romance. They just want to see ‘The Blackout’, popular alternative rock band from Wales. Lead singer Shaun Smith gets the crowd pumped as he screams at everyone to ‘jump!’ and stick their middle fingers up in the air. For the duration of their 45 minute set, the crowd seem to forget who they are really here to see, and scream along. The tracks ‘Save Our Selves and ‘Children of the Night’ are the most popular, especially when Shaun Smith introduces ‘Children of the Night’ as a song for ‘all the killjoys!’ and suddenly everyone remembers MCR and the screams become louder than ever.

As ‘The Blackout’ leave the stage and the room is filled with light again, the atmosphere in the room is frenzied to say the least, as everyone knows that it won’t be long now before the real party starts. For a quarter of an hour, people queue for the toilets and at the bar for drinks, those in the standing area taking the opportunity to sit down for a few minutes and catch their breath. Pictures of the band flash up on the large screens beside the stage, evoking joyous wails and catcalls, particularly for charismatic lead singer Gerard Way with his newly dyed bright red hair. And then in an instant the arena is drenched in darkness and a deep voice booms out through the speakers, calling ‘Look alive sunshine!’. It only takes those 3 words and the voice is drowned out by screaming, which rises to fever pitch as the arena is filled with flashing blue lights and the main attraction appears to the opening bars of their new single ‘Na Na Na’. The whole room joins in, singing along in joyful unison and bouncing up and down as though on bungee wires. The second song is from an old album ‘Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge’ but still the audience continue to sing every word with their beloved Gerard, making it clear they aren’t just fans of the new MCR but are in fact die hard fans, who were there from the very start. Gerard takes a break from singing to instruct everyone that if anyone falls down they must ‘pick them up’, but his words fall on deaf ears as everyone is far too excited at seeing their favourite band, to notice the people dropping like flies from the heat all around them. And there are more people falling and getting trampled as they launch into the third song, titled ‘Planetary GO!’ a dancy, fast moving track with the sound of electronics mixed with catchy guitar riffs that seep into your veins; making the arena practically shake under the force of every body thumping up and down, including the band members themselves.

Throughout the night, the band play a mixture of refreshingly new and classically old, with songs from all 4 of their albums, some which no doubt come as a bit of a surprise to the audience, as they play random tracks that are not often included in their live sets, such as ‘Hang Em High’ from their second album and ‘Lady Of Sorrows’ from their very first. However, this doesn’t bother the audience in the slightest as they sing along to everything that is thrown at them, so desperate to prove their loyalty and determined not to be outdone by the hundreds of other MCR fans who all individually believe they are the ultimate fan. It is a touching moment when the band start a piano version of ‘Ghost of You’ and many of the fans hold their phones and lighters high in the air, as is the MCR concert tradition whenever this song is played, under the command of Gerard who shouts ‘Light em up like a starry sky!’. It is also impressive as the audience roars with ecstasy when they recognise the familiar tune of the ever popular ‘Welcome to the Black Parade’, the words ‘We’ll carry on, we’ll carry on!’ echoing all around.

After another 3 songs, including the deeply emotional song entitled ‘Cancer’ which leaves some of the audience welling up as Gerard Way croons; his face hidden in shadow; the band leave the stage in darkness, causing people to turn to each other in confusion, wondering whether it is the end. But in true My Chem style, as the audience chant ‘MCR, MCR!’ they come back for a final performance of one of their new tracks ‘Bulletproof Heart’, one that has proved to be a favourite with many fans. The audience are aware the night is coming to an end, but they still give every last bit of energy, as they scream and sing along, punching their fists into the air during the catchy chorus. As the final song ends, MCR leave their beloved MCRmy with ’run away Nottingham run away!’, blowing a last kiss into the roaring crowds. And then all at once the lights are on and the party’s over, and all that is left is the smell of smoke and sweat and an empty stage.