|  Are My Chemical Romance still full of life? | | Emo rockers most recent release, "The Black Parade is
Dead" shows their critically acclaimed album "The Black Parade"
performed in its entirety in Mexico, along with an intimate concert in
New Jersey, offering a mix of new and old songs, as well as a brand
new, unreleased, track.
The basic package offers a good deal for any eyeliner and skinny-jean wearing fan, as the DVD featuring the two shows, there
is
also a live CD of the "Black Parade" performance. This, whilst
undoubtedly a good thing, is slightly frustrating, as the concert in
New Jersey is far superior, especially the performance of "Helena"
towards the end, and also of "You know what they do to guys like us in
prison", both of which were sadly missing from the Mexico performance.
The
"Black Parade" performance, as previously stated, showcases the album
in its entirety. The performance shows off the theatricality of the
album wonderfully, with singer Gerard Way wheeled onto the stage on a
hospital bed, and the songs lit up by extravagant lighting, confetti
cannons and My Chemical Romance's first use of pyro's on stage.
Whilst
the music is more of less exactly faithful to the album, this live
version is worth getting, mostly due to the various additions by
musician for hire James Dewees on keyboards/piano, the versions of
"Cancer" in both concerts being a perfect example. The vocals some
would say are quite a bit weaker than on the studio recording, however
this is to be expected from such an energetic performance.
The
New Jersey performance is more or less the polar opposite. Whilst still
energetic, it's less serious, with the band joking around, and just
playing, as the saying goes, for the sheer f*** of it.
So what's
wrong with this? If you're a My Chemical Romance fan, you'll love this,
and undoubtedly you've already got it. If you're not a fan, you'll just
see this album as a group of kids screaming about death. Whilst this
cannot be denied, there is a definite art in this, and much like the
studio album, a well constructed piece of music, encompassing a variety
of styles, now shown off with the energy of a live performance.
The Black Parade is Dead? From the sounds of it, they're very much alive.
Tom Flanagan | |