Latest news with #GerardWay
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Why My Chemical Romance is bigger than it's ever been
Twelve years after a breakup that didn't stick — and one year shy of the 20th anniversary of its biggest album — My Chemical Romance is on the road this summer playing 2006's 'The Black Parade' from beginning to end. The tour, which stopped Saturday night at Dodger Stadium for the first of two concerts, doesn't finally manifest the long-anticipated reunion of one of emo's most influential bands; My Chem reconvened in 2019 and has been performing, pandemic-related delays aside, fairly consistently since then (including five nights at Inglewood's Kia Forum in 2022 and two headlining appearances at Las Vegas' When We Were Young festival). Yet only now is the group visiting sold-out baseball parks — and without even the loss leader of new music to help drum up interest in its show. 'Thank you for being here tonight,' Gerard Way, My Chem's 48-year-old frontman, told the crowd of tens of thousands at Saturday's gig. 'This is our first stadium tour, which is a wild thing to say.' To mark the occasion, he pointed out, his younger brother Mikey was playing a bass guitar inscribed with the Dodgers' logo. Read more: All 43 of Billy Joel's Hot 100 hits, ranked from worst to best So how did this darkly witty, highly theatrical punk band reach a new peak so deep into its comeback? Certainly it's benefiting from an overall resurgence of rock after years dominated by pop and hip-hop; My Chem's Dodger Stadium run coincides this weekend with the return of the once-annual Warped Tour in Long Beach after a six-year dormancy. Then again, Linkin Park — to name another rock group huge in the early 2000s — recently moved a planned Dodger Stadium date to Inglewood's much smaller Intuit Dome, presumably as a result of lower-than-expected ticket sales. The endurance of My Chemical Romance, which formed in New Jersey before eventually relocating to Los Angeles, feels rooted more specifically in its obsession with comic books and in Gerard Way's frank lyrics about depression and his flexible portrayal of gender and sexuality. ('GERARD WAY TRANSED MY GENDER,' read a homemade-looking T-shirt worn Saturday by one fan.) Looking back now, it's clear the band's blend of drama and emotion — of world-building and bloodletting — set a crucial template for a generation or two of subsequent acts, from bands like Twenty One Pilots to rappers like the late Juice Wrld to a gloomy pop singer like Sombr, whose viral hit 'Back to Friends' luxuriates in a kind of glamorous misery. For much of its audience, My Chem's proudly sentimental music contains the stuff of identity — one reason thousands showed up to Dodger Stadium wearing elaborate outfits inspired by the band's detailed iconography. In 2006, the quadruple-platinum 'Black Parade' LP arrived as a concept album about a dying cancer patient; Way and his bandmates dressed in military garb that made them look like members of Satan's marching band. Nearly two decades later, the wardrobe remained the same as the band muscled through the album's 14 tracks, though the narrative had transformed into a semi-coherent Trump-era satire of political authoritarianism: My Chemical Romance, in this telling a band from the fictional nation of Draag, was performing for the delectation of the country's vain and ruthless dictator, who sat stony-faced on a throne near the pitcher's mound flanked by a pair of soldiers. The theater of it all was fun — important (if a bit crude), you could even say, given how young much of the band's audience is and how carefully so many modern pop stars avoid taking political stands that could threaten to alienate some number of their fans. After 'Welcome to the Black Parade,' a bearded guy playing a government apparatchik handed out Dodger Dogs to the band and to the dictator; Way waited to find out whether the dictator approved of the hot dog before he decided he liked it too. Yet what really mattered was how the great songs still are: the deranged rockabilly stomp of 'Teenagers,' the Eastern European oom-pah of 'Mama,' the eruption of 'Welcome to the Black Parade' from fist-pumping glam-rock processional to breakneck thrash-punk tantrum. Indeed, the better part of Saturday's show came after the complete 'Black Parade' performance when My Chem — the Way brothers along with guitarists Frank Iero and Ray Toro, drummer Jarrod Alexander and keyboardist Jamie Muhoberac — reappeared sans costumes on a smaller secondary stage to 'play some jams,' as Gerard Way put it, from elsewhere in the band's catalog. (Its most recent studio album came out in 2010, though it's since issued a smattering of archived material.) 'I'm Not Okay (I Promise)' was blistering atomic pop, while 'Summertime' thrummed with nervy energy; 'Na Na Na (Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na)' was as delightfully snotty as its title suggests. The band reached back for what Way called his favorite My Chem song — 'Vampires Will Never Hurt You,' from the group's 2002 debut — and performed, evidently for the first time, a chugging power ballad called 'War Beneath the Rain,' which Way recalled cutting in a North Hollywood studio 'before the band broke up' as My Chem tried to make a record that never came out. The group closed, as it often does, with its old hit 'Helena,' a bleak yet turbo-charged meditation on what the living owe the dead, and as he belted the chorus, Way dropped to his knees in an apparent mix of exhaustion, despair, gratitude — maybe a bit of befuddlement too. He was leaving no feeling unfelt. Get notified when the biggest stories in Hollywood, culture and entertainment go live. Sign up for L.A. Times entertainment alerts. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Solve the daily Crossword
Los Angeles Times
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
Why My Chemical Romance is bigger than it's ever been
Twelve years after a breakup that didn't stick — and one year shy of the 20th anniversary of its biggest album — My Chemical Romance is on the road this summer playing 2006's 'The Black Parade' from beginning to end. The tour, which stopped Saturday night at Dodger Stadium for the first of two concerts, doesn't finally manifest the long-anticipated reunion of one of emo's most influential bands; My Chem reconvened in 2019 and has been performing, pandemic-related delays aside, fairly consistently since then (including five nights at Inglewood's Kia Forum in 2022 and two headlining appearances at Las Vegas' When We Were Young festival). Yet only now is the group visiting sold-out baseball parks — and without even the loss leader of new music to help drum up interest in its show. 'Thank you for being here tonight,' Gerard Way, My Chem's 48-year-old frontman, told the crowd of tens of thousands at Saturday's gig. 'This is our first stadium tour, which is a wild thing to say.' To mark the occasion, he pointed out, his younger brother Mikey was playing a bass guitar inscribed with the Dodgers' logo. So how did this darkly witty, highly theatrical punk band reach a new peak so deep into its comeback? Certainly it's benefiting from an overall resurgence of rock after years dominated by pop and hip-hop; My Chem's Dodger Stadium run coincides this weekend with the return of the once-annual Warped Tour in Long Beach after a six-year dormancy. Then again, Linkin Park — to name another rock group huge in the early 2000s — recently moved a planned Dodger Stadium date to Inglewood's much smaller Intuit Dome, presumably as a result of lower-than-expected ticket sales. The endurance of My Chemical Romance, which formed in New Jersey before eventually relocating to Los Angeles, feels rooted more specifically in its obsession with comic books and in Gerard Way's frank lyrics about depression and his flexible portrayal of gender and sexuality. ('GERARD WAY TRANSED MY GENDER,' read a homemade-looking T-shirt worn Saturday by one fan.) Looking back now, it's clear the band's blend of drama and emotion — of world-building and bloodletting — set a crucial template for a generation or two of subsequent acts, from bands like Twenty One Pilots to rappers like the late Juice Wrld to a gloomy pop singer like Sombr, whose viral hit 'Back to Friends' luxuriates in a kind of glamorous misery. For much of its audience, My Chem's proudly sentimental music contains the stuff of identity — one reason thousands showed up to Dodger Stadium wearing elaborate outfits inspired by the band's detailed iconography. In 2006, the quadruple-platinum 'Black Parade' LP arrived as a concept album about a dying cancer patient; Way and his bandmates dressed in military garb that made them look like members of Satan's marching band. Nearly two decades later, the wardrobe remained the same as the band muscled through the album's 14 tracks, though the narrative had transformed into a semi-coherent Trump-era satire of political authoritarianism: My Chemical Romance, in this telling a band from the fictional nation of Draag, was performing for the delectation of the country's vain and ruthless dictator, who sat stony-faced on a throne near the pitcher's mound flanked by a pair of soldiers. The theater of it all was fun — important (if a bit crude), you could even say, given how young much of the band's audience is and how carefully so many modern pop stars avoid taking political stands that could threaten to alienate some number of their fans. After 'Welcome to the Black Parade,' a bearded guy playing a government apparatchik handed out Dodger Dogs to the band and to the dictator; Way waited to find out whether the dictator approved of the hot dog before he decided he liked it too. Yet what really mattered was how the great songs still are: the deranged rockabilly stomp of 'Teenagers,' the Eastern European oom-pah of 'Mama,' the eruption of 'Welcome to the Black Parade' from fist-pumping glam-rock processional to breakneck thrash-punk tantrum. Indeed, the better part of Saturday's show came after the complete 'Black Parade' performance when My Chem — the Way brothers along with guitarists Frank Iero and Ray Toro, drummer Jarrod Alexander and keyboardist Jamie Muhoberac — reappeared sans costumes on a smaller secondary stage to 'play some jams,' as Gerard Way put it, from elsewhere in the band's catalog. (Its most recent studio album came out in 2010, though it's since issued a smattering of archived material.) 'I'm Not Okay (I Promise)' was blistering atomic pop, while 'Summertime' thrummed with nervy energy; 'Na Na Na (Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na)' was as delightfully snotty as its title suggests. The band reached back for what Way called his favorite My Chem song — 'Vampires Will Never Hurt You,' from the group's 2002 debut — and performed, evidently for the first time, a chugging power ballad called 'War Beneath the Rain,' which Way recalled cutting in a North Hollywood studio 'before the band broke up' as My Chem tried to make a record that never came out. The group closed, as it often does, with its old hit 'Helena,' a bleak yet turbo-charged meditation on what the living owe the dead, and as he belted the chorus, Way dropped to his knees in an apparent mix of exhaustion, despair, gratitude — maybe a bit of befuddlement too. He was leaving no feeling unfelt.
Yahoo
21-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Watch My Chemical Romance Cover Smashing Pumpkins' ‘Bullet With Butterfly Wings'
My Chemical Romance paid tribute to Smashing Pumpkins during their show at San Francisco's Oracle Park over the weekend. The emo punk band performed a rousing cover of the Pumpkins' 1995 hit 'Bullet With Butterfly Wings' as a surprise addition on their Long Live the Black Parade tour, which kicked off earlier this month. The band offered a relatively traditional cover of the song, off Smashing Pumpkins' seminal album Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, with frontman Gerard Way putting his own spin on Billy Corgan's vocals. More from Rolling Stone Billy Corgan Reflects on Black Sabbath's Final Show: 'We Have Them in Our Hearts' Billy Corgan, Melissa Auf der Maur Reunite to Perform Smashing Pumpkins' 'The Everlasting Gaze' Billy Corgan on Why He Formed a New Band to Play Smashing Pumpkins Deep Cuts My Chemical Romance continue their tour on July 26 in Los Angeles at Dodger Stadium. They are also set to perform several shows in August and September, with an array of special guests opening the shows, including Garbage, Death Cab for Cutie, and Evanescence. The tour celebrates the 20th anniversary of the band's 2006 album, The Black Parade. Last year, MCR revived the iconic album at the When We Were Young music festival in Las Vegas in October where they performed The Black Parade in full. Since its 2006 release, the concept album has been heralded in the emo music scene and beyond. Rolling Stone named it one of 'The Greatest 500 Albums of All Time.' Last month, My Chemical Romance unveiled a deluxe edition reissue of their LP Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge featuring several previously unreleased live recordings. The four bonus tracks on the collection all come from a session My Chemical Romance did for BBC Radio 1's 'The Lock Up' in 2005. Among the previously unreleased recordings are live versions of 'I'm Not OK (I Promise),' 'Helena,' and 'The Ghost of You,' while also included is a performance 'You Know What They Do to Guys Like Us in Prison,' which was originally released as a B-side on a limited edition UK CD single of 'I'm Not Okay.' Best of Rolling Stone Sly and the Family Stone: 20 Essential Songs The 50 Greatest Eminem Songs All 274 of Taylor Swift's Songs, Ranked Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
21-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Billy Corgan Reacts to MCR's Cover of Smashing Pumpkins Classic
My Chemical Romance delivered a nostalgic surprise for fans over the weekend, performing a cover of Smashing Pumpkins' 1995 classic 'Bullet With Butterfly Wings' during their Long Live the Black Parade tour stop at San Francisco's Oracle Park. The emo rock icons offered a faithful rendition of the Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness hit, with Gerard Way infusing the track's angst-ridden vocals with his signature theatrical flair. The performance comes as MCR celebrate the 20th anniversary of The Black Parade, their landmark 2006 concept album. More from Billboard Selena Gomez Celebrates 33rd Birthday With Benny Blanco, Taylor Swift & More Mariah Carey 'MC16' Album Details Coming Tomorrow Fans Choose BTS' 'Permission to Dance On Stage' Live Album as This Week's Favorite New Music The current tour, which kicked off earlier this month, marks a major milestone for the band and features a stacked lineup of special guests including Garbage, Death Cab for Cutie, and Evanescence at select dates. Next up, MCR will take the stage at Los Angeles' Dodger Stadium on July 26, followed by additional North American dates through September. The Smashing Pumpkins also took notice of the tribute. Billy Corgan and his band shared a series of TikTok memes on Instagram playing up the long-running fan joke about Corgan and Way's uncanny resemblance. 'For any MCR fans who may have come here from the cover of 'Bullet With Butterfly Wings.' Yes Billy is equally proud of his sons :),' they wrote in the caption, adding a wink to the viral discourse. Last year, MCR teased their anniversary plans with a headline set at the When We Were Young festival in Las Vegas, where they performed The Black Parade in full for the first time in years. The album — which debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 in 2006 and remains one of the band's defining works — also spawned the Hot 100 hits 'Welcome to the Black Parade' and 'Famous Last Words.' Alongside the tour, MCR recently released a deluxe reissue of their 2004 album Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge, including unreleased live tracks from a 2005 BBC Radio 1 session. Best of Billboard Chart Rewind: In 1989, New Kids on the Block Were 'Hangin' Tough' at No. 1 Janet Jackson's Biggest Billboard Hot 100 Hits H.E.R. & Chris Brown 'Come Through' to No. 1 on Adult R&B Airplay Chart Solve the daily Crossword
Hype Malaysia
16-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Hype Malaysia
M'sian Comic Artist Akmal 'Kucha' Aziz Shares About The Time He Met MCR's Gerard Way
Not anyone can say that they met a global superstar by chance – but this Malaysian can! Local comic artist and animator Akmal 'Kucha' Aziz recently dropped a 'lore' about himself involving My Chemical Romance frontman Gerard Way! Earlier this week, Twitter users have been sharing interesting anecdotes about themselves as part of a Twitter trend. Akmal jumped on the bandwagon, sharing an interesting anecdote about himself from San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC) 2012. According to the director of 'Didi And Friends The Movie', the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) has sponsored him and a few other Malaysian comic artists to attend the event. While at SDCC, the group set up a booth, sold comics, attended panels and networked. However, on one of the days they were there, the group saw a familiar face sitting alone in the lounge area. After Googling the individual on the search engine, the group confirmed that the familiar face was none other than My Chemical Romance co-founder and frontman Gerard Way. As the group greeted him, the singer invited them to sit and chat. Akmal also shared a photo he took with Gerard at the event. Responding to comments, the Malaysian revealed what the group chatted about with the singer. The comic artist explained that Gerard was at SDCC to promote his two comic book series, 'The Umbrella Academy' and 'The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys'. During the same event, the musician also held a signing for 'Killjoys', which he recently released. Gerard also had an excited response when the group revealed that they were from Malaysia, saying that MCR once performed in Kuala Lumpur. Many local netizens have since reacted to Akmal's anecdote, mostly expressing shock at the casual meeting. Some also expressed envy towards Akmal and the group of Malaysians, noting that the moment was a rare chance. Others also took the opportunity to share some MCR-themed puns. We also agree with the rest that Akmal's meeting with Gerard Way was enviable, to say the least. Perhaps the group of local comic artists can have a reunion with the star when he returns to Malaysia next April for MCR's concert in KL. Source: Twitter
