Hi friends, happy Friday! I hope you’ve all had a good week. This week, I’m posting something a little different. I had the chance to go to a concert for the first time in… years! I saw My Chemical Romance for the third time. I’m excited to be able to talk all about here on the blog, like I used to, so let’s get into it!

It’s been almost three years to the day (November 22, 2019 if we want to be exact) since I’ve been to a concert and boy do I miss them.

I have to say, before going I had gotten used to a world without concerts, which yes sounds extremely sad, but after going to see My Chemical Romance last week, I can definitely say that I 100% miss them and look forward to going to more in the * hopefully * near future. With that, I’m ready to recount my experience!

My Chemical Romance: The Reunion Tour
Scotiabank Arena
Toronto, ON
Monday, September 5, 2022

This will now be my third time that I’ve seen My Chemical Romance and the second time in this venue. The last time I saw them here… I was 13, which boggles my brain because that’s a good 15 years ago now. My love for the band hasn’t changed though; I still love their music, even if I don’t listen to their music as much as I used to. Their songs still come back to me (most of them anyways!) and really bring me back in time. I truly felt like a teen again listening to all these songs.

But before they could come on stage, they had two opening acts.

Meg Myers came on first. I’ve never heard of her, but she did a cover of Running Up That Hill to end her set, which, in the end, got stuck in my head!

This was her short setlist:

Children of Light II
HTIS
Desire
A New Society
Running Up That Hill

She put on a good show, not my kind of music but still entertaining.

Their second opening act was a band called Waterparks. I’ve heard of them, never listened to any of their music. Their music sounds like something I would be into, so I’m not really sure why I never listened to them, but alas. They also put on a good show. Their lead singer had A LOT of energy. There was one point where I thought to myself, so what did he take before this because WOW! He was bouncing off the walls. He talked about how when MCR came to town on their Black Parade Tour (which is the tour I saw in this venue in 2007) he said he was sitting off to the side (no idea if he meant this specific venue or in general, but it got me thinking about my spot, which was in the 100s section and front facing – this time I was in the 300s section off to the left).

Anyways, enough nostalgia (although this whole show was nostalgic), they played a good, energetic set:

Numb
FUNERAL GREY
SELF-SABOTAGE
Brainwashed
Magnetic
You’d Be Paranoid Too (If Everyone Was Out To Get You)
Telephone
Real Super Dark
Turbulent

I knew none of these songs, but I had fun bopping around. They blew up two giant beach balls, which I thought they were going to throw out into the crowd (not that it would reach me in my high tower 😅) but I was disappointed that they didn’t. Oh well.

Then it was time for the main act. My Chem came on just after 9 and the red curtain dropped to show a discarded city (it kinda reminded me of Gotham city). Gerard came out dressed as a cat, which was cool (the night before he was a skeleton) and they began playing their new song, The Foundations of Decay. I think I’ve listened to that song once (oops, it just hasn’t really resonated with me, yet), but it was good to hear it live, and I assumed they would open with it.

They jumped right into Na Na Na (Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na), in which I got so excited when I jumped up I spilt my water all over my brother’s shoe (oopsies!). I feel like the whole arena came alive at that point, it was electric.

I was surprised by how many older songs, and when I say that I mean their first record, they played. They played This is the Best Day Ever and I completely forgot all the words to that. BUT THEN they started to play It’s Not a Fashion Statement, It’s a Fucking Death Wish and, wow, that is my favourite song off of Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge so it felt like such an amazing treat to hear it live all these years later.

I think between songs Gerard was trying to sound like a cat, it was hard to tell at times because sometimes it was just screaming. There was a moment before they played Summertime where he told us he was trying to recreate the sound of screaming into a fan… like kids did in the 80s… his words – it was funny, not 100% spot on, but amusing. 

They played Bury Me in Black and Save Yourself, I’ll Hold Them Back next and I have to say again, I’m less familiar with these songs and kinda forgot about them. Their catalogue of songs is quite large. (Ok, side note I just listened to Bury Me in Black… which is demo off of Life on the Murder Scene so I can see why I forgot about this track, that’s a deep B-side).

We then jumped back into a classic, I’m Not Okay (I Promise) which had everyone back on their feet (if they weren’t already!). My brother made fun of me for singing all the instruments, but it’s so hard not to!  

Next they played Cemetery Drive.

After that they burst out into Teenagers which was so much fun to scream out… when you’re no longer a teenager.

They played DESTROYA (I forgot how hard this song goes… or he just made it go harder than it needed to be, ha!) and Boy Division.

It was fun to sing along to You Know What They Do to Guys Like Us in Prison. That song has so much character that it was also fun to watch it be performed.

After Surrender the Night, they played Vampire Money, which was fun to sing and watching Ray shred it on the guitar was a lot of fun too!

We then hit more of the Black Parade era with This is How I Disappear, Famous Last Words (where Gerard started the song by lying on the floor… I think to pay homage to the music video?) and the classic, Welcome to the Black Parade.

Listening to everyone singing it at once was super chilling.

That’s when they left and I knew it was encore time.

When they came back they played Vampires Will Never Hurt You. I’ve never heard that song live – I literary just went down a rabbit hole of looking at past set lists to make sure it was true and wow flashbacks! But it’s true, I have not heard this song live – and it was so fun to scream to!

And of course they ended their set on Helena. I mean, what better way to end something by singing ‘so long and goodnight’.

I forgot how fun and cathartic it is to sing as loud as you possibly can. The feeling of being surrounded by people who love the music as much as you do and just having a great time and not caring what you look like. I danced, I jumped, I screamed, I sang it was such a great night.

I really, really hope that there are more concerts ahead in my future because this was such an amazing night.