By Isabella McHugh
Nation & World Editor
My Chemical Romance welcomed audience members to join their Long Live The Black Parade tour at the band's first North American stop, Citi Field in Queens, New York on Aug. 9.
The monumental 2000s alternative rock band released their album titled “The Black Parade” in 2006, and have toured across Europe, Asia, Australia and the Americas since 2025 to celebrate its 20th anniversary.
The stadium entrance was packed with concertgoers in full costume inspired by one of My Chemical Romance's distinct eras.
Some wore the band's iconic marching band jackets pulled straight from “The Black Parade” album and painted their faces white. Others took from their album “Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge” and wore red ties and button down shirts with fake blood streaming down. Some people even dressed as the featured dancer in My Chemical Romance’s music video for “Helena.”
Kayleigh Becker, a 15-year-old high school student, put her own spin on the classic “Helena” costume. “I kind of just thought of it with my friend, and they helped me out, like putting it together,” she said.
My Chemical Romance performs “Mama.” (Photo by Isabella McHugh)
Becker’s outfit featured a black corset with a black ruffled skirt and a red bow in the center. “I think it took us about a week, and we just finished it yesterday,” she said, and her friend nodded.
The concert kicked off at 7 p.m. with the opening band Franz Ferdinand. The band played 10 of their hit songs including some well-known tracks like “No You Girls,” “Take Me Out” and “This Fire.”
The lead singer, Alex Kapranos, brought wild energy to the stage, jumping and kicking his legs during intensive musical sections, while lead guitarist Dino Bardot pulled a behind-the-back guitar move and played fast, complex solos.
My Chemical Romance entered the stage by 8:40 p.m. as their alter egos, “The Black Parade.”
The stage was set in the fictional Soviet Union-esque country, Draag, where the “Black Parade” band members were subject to an authoritarian leader called the Grand Immortal Dictator.
My Chemical Romance's “Black Parade” album songs are part of a theatrical performance and embrace a unique storyline the band reinvented from the roots of their original concept back in 2006.
Tyler Gallagher, a 23-year-old, said he loves “that they didn’t just sing the songs, but actually turned it into a complex performance.”
He also added, “The story evolved so much… a lot of it we still don’t know about Draag and who’s really in control.”
Gallagher pointed to Draag's fictional language, Keposhka, which carries hidden messages, and in his view, helps build a complete, immersive world.
During the Citi Field performance, the band members were trapped in what is believed to be called the Ministry of Approved Therapy, a reconditioning camp meant to brainwash and force them to perform before audiences as part of national propaganda. Audience members were all given MOAT postcards upon arrival.
Citi Field venue staff hand out MOAT cards to audience members upon arriving at the stadium. (Photo by Isabella McHugh)
“It feels now like we’re in Draag and about to watch them perform as part of this propaganda machine,” Becker said regarding the postcards.
The performance began with the Draag national anthem, in which all the actors stood tall.
My Chemical Romance played through their entire “Black Parade” album as a rock opera, featuring dialogue and character interactions between songs which seamlessly weaved into the next ones.
During the songs “Cancer” and “Disenchanted,” audience members held up fake paper blood droplets over their phone lights so the crowd became a sea of red.
“Welcome to the Black Parade” had every audience member singing. Fans often describe the song as the band's anthem, similar to a rallying cry. Gerard Way began singing to audiences behind a podium, portraying the patient and his will to survive and defy institutional control.
“Mama” may have been the most dramatic song of all. Pyrotechnics radiated up to the back audience rows as flames erupted from the stage. At one point, a man even sprinted across the stage ablaze.
“That was f—ing insane,” Gallagher laughed. “The theatrics were like, next level.”
The flames returned during “Famous Last Words,” this time surrounding the band as the song built to its climax.
My Chemical Romance performs “Famous Last Words." (Photo by Isabella McHugh)
There was a moment during “Famous Last Words” when Gerard Way stopped singing and simply listened to the crowd as they belted out the lyrics. The barrier between the band and the fans vanished as audience members wept and swayed next to friends and loved ones. The stadium became unified during this moment.
The final song from “The Black Parade” album was “Blood.” During Citi Field's performance, Gerard Way was seen stabbing another character called the Clerk, who was imprisoned in the MOAT like the rest of the band. For unconfirmed motivations, Gerard Way killed him in a dramatically humorous display.
Afterward, the band moved to the B-stage to play songs outside of their “The Black Parade” album and abandoned their former characters.
They opened with “Honey, This Mirror isn’t Big Enough for the Two of Us,” from their album “I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love.” Each member brought electrifying energy and enthusiasm to the stage throughout the entire set.
The band continued playing iconic songs like “Na Na Na,” “I'm Not OK” and “Helena,” but pulled some wildcards like “Bury Me in Black,” “Heaven Help Us,” “Summertime” and “Bulletproof Heart.”
“My Chemical Romance is my favorite band of all time because all their albums and lyrics are so deeply personal, and make me and I know a lot of other people too feel seen,” Becker said. She added that her favorite song is “Heaven Help Us,” and hoped they would play it that night.
My Chemical Romance concluded their set with “Demolition Lovers,” a six-minute-long emotional roller coaster with both tranquil and roaring verses. My Chemical Romance hasn't often performed this song live, so audience members gasped and cheered at the starting guitar sequence.
“My jaw was on the floor,” Gallagher said. “I’m obsessed with ‘Demo Lovers’ and I think it was really special that they played it here at our show.”
