The Black Parade comes to town

You can dream of getting Madonna for a one-nighter at Taguig. No sweat to that. After getting Beyoncé Knowles and Christina Aguillera last year and even Mariah Carey sometime ago, having the Material Girl over is now a possibility. You can also dream of another return of the Lettermen or of the Zombies. They enjoy performing here. For all you know, Justin Timberlake could be waiting in the wings or even the kids of High School Musical.

Such musings say that the local concert scene is not only alive and well. It is thriving. But we never thought we would get My Chemical Romance (MCR). I guess it was really because we didn’t dare think we would get something as amusing, disturbing, fabulous, weird, etc. as MCR. But we are. It is now a fact. Viva Concerts is bringing to town the most exciting young band in the world today. MCR will kick off the New Year’s concert blitz in Manila with a performance at Taguig on Jan. 25. So brace yourselves for an evening that promises to be truly over the top.

The first thing that comes to mind at mention of MCR is that memorable video of Welcome to the Black Parade, the lead cut from the latest CD, the brilliant The Black Parade. What is this, a take-off of the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts’ Club Band? Well, there are toy soldier costumes and fantasy makeup. But there are also hooded monks, junkies, wizards and other assorted strange characters. Harry Potter, Gregorian, The Naked Lunch. The references are galore but whatever there are were made more awesome, more fabulous, darker, fantastic or just plain weird. No matter. The song sweeps you off your feet and there was just no tearing your eyes away from the set while it played.

Now, the weird description is mainly about the often disturbing lyrics. There seems to be a fatalistic, live fast, death wish in the songs of My Chemical Romance. This must be because frontman Gerard Way got his inspiration to form the band and write those tunes after the terrorist attack on New York’s Twin Towers on Sept. 11, 2001. Just take a look the titles included in The Black Parade. The End, Dead! This is How I Disappear, The Sharpest Lives, I Don’t Love You, House of Wolves, Cancer, Mama, Sleep, Teenagers, Disenchanted, Famous Last Words and Welcome to the Black Parade.

The music though is something else. A total contrast, it is actually melodic. It is full of life, almost a symphonic celebration, an amalgam of assorted influences that recalls every form of rock music. Comparisons abound. Fans liken MCR to Pink Floyd, Queen, Iron Maiden, Green Day or the Beastie Boys. Make no mistake about it, these boys think grand and can turn what is morbid into positive.

Ok for the dark side. Although MCR has received accolade as Best Band of the Year, it has also been named Worst Band. Must be because critics say that it has nothing original to show among its efforts despite the fact that the band has already been around for seven years. I can only surmise that the naysayers have forgetten that rock music has already evolved into a mix of everything and the band does this brew very well. Not just well. When heard in the bombastic theatrical setting of its shows the group can be thoroughly enjoyable.

My Chemical Romance is composed of Gerard on lead vocals, his brother Mikey Way (bass), Bob Bryar (drums), Frank Iero (rhythm guitar) and Ray Toro (lead guitar). The group has already produced three albums. The first two CDs were Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge and the Platinum selling Life on the Murder Scene. Then there came the best of the lot, The Black Parade which sent loads of fans, including Pinoys pounding, stomping and generally loving every bit of MCR music.

You can bet that a lot of them will do just that or maybe even strut in their own black parade when the MCR circus rolls into town. So get your tickets to My Chemical Romance Live in Taguig now. These are available at Ticketworld. Prices are P3,750 for Gold; P2,500 (Silver) and P400 (General Admission).