When I was an angsty 11 year old, I inevitably discovered My Chemical Romance. Shortly after, I found out they had disbanded in 2013, when I was a mere 7 year old and had no way of knowing that they even existed. So, my dreams to ever see them live were crushed before they began. Imagine my surprise when they announced last year that they were touring, with my favorite album of theirs no less! As such, my dream was reignited, and the Ticketmaster battle was fought and won. Almost a full year after I got the tickets, the show date had finally arrived.
The venue was interesting for me, as someone who has only been to Chase Field for baseball games. Security was amazingly fast and it was easy to get to my seat (and there were even fun snacks and drinks to grab on the way, if you were so inclined) and the venue itself was of a good size. My only real complaint was the heat, but I think that’s impossible to avoid in Arizona. Thankfully, the venue had many water stations so I was not concerned about that. The views from every section of the stadium were good, and they blocked off the restricted view areas so I hope that everyone there could enjoy the show and see well.
Jimmy Eat World is a band that started locally, so I have heard about them forever. I think anyone who has parents that grew up in the valley has a story about knowing one of the members of Jimmy Eat World. They performed off of their 2001 album, Bleed American. This included hits such as The Middle and Sweetness, which were super cool to hear live after years of hearing them on the radio. The crowd also seemed to be enjoying the music and singing along, which made the experience super enjoyable. Nothing is worse than when the crowd doesn’t pay attention to the opener, it brings the whole vibe of the show down. So, I was happy that everyone was having a great time.
After the opener, there was about a 45 minute intermission before the main show, MCR, took the stage. Admittedly, I didn’t know much about the tour storyline before the show, but I think that made it an even better experience. All of the theatricality and storyline of the first part of the show was entirely new to me, which made it a unique and unexpected experience. There was a lot more gore and fire than I had anticipated going into the experience, but that made it even cooler to see. The band was, of course, wonderful. They’re extremely strong performers and seeing them play the songs that I’ve loved for years was incredible. They played songs off their 2006 album, The Black Parade, which they used to tell a story throughout their show. I was engrossed in the story, which was told through music, stage actors, visuals, and special effects. It felt like going to see a movie, even though I was at a concert. I found the experience very unique and unlike any other show I’ve been to.
Then it was time for the B-Stage. After a wonderful ambient instrumental performance by the cellist Clarice Jensen, MCR took the stage again. This time they introduced themselves as “My Chemical Romance, from New Jersey”, so it was clear the stageplay from earlier was over and now we were going to see the band perform as themselves. The B-stage changes every show, but Phoenix was lucky to be the debut state for The Light Behind your eyes being played live. It was an amazing treat, and I think a lot of the stadium was crying or feeling strongly emotional after. Due to the rotating nature of the setlist, it was kind of fun to guess what would come next as it was truly a mystery. A personal favorite was when they played Helena, but other B-Stage highlights included Foundations of Decay and Thank You for the Venom. Though I loved the theatrical nature of the first half of the show, I found the part where they just played together as a band and as themselves even better. I loved every moment of the whole show, though.
All in all, MCR in Phoenix was insane. It was an experience I never thought
would have, so getting to be there was already kind of insane to process. From the very start to the very end, it was everything I could’ve wanted in a show. I am so thankful I got to have this experience, and selfishly, I hope they’ll continue to tour so I can have it again.
Photos (Taken on my phone, please forgive any quality issues):
