I always remember when I was 16 and working in WH Smith, my friend Lucy Johnson made me a CD of this band called My Chemical Romance who she was sure I would like. Little did Lucy know that Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge was going to be on my CD player for a good few years.
Weirdly though, my addiction to the 2004 album never transpired into me going out and buying a ticket to see the band during one of their jaunts to the UK, so last night was quite an exciting outing for me, not only because one of my favourite bands of the moment, Twin Atlantic had been hand-picked by Frank Iero to support them.
Twin Atlantic did themselves proud (as always) and it's great to see a band I first saw live at the tiny Manchester Roadhouse doing so well for themselves, I can't say they don't deserve it either. If you haven't heard of them by now, I suggest you go check them out ASAP.
Taking to the same stage as McFly had stood on 24 hours earlier came Gerard Way, Ray Toro, Mikey Way and Frank Iero ambled onto the stage to the screams of hundreds of 'misunderstood' teenage kids with fishnet gloves on one hand and eyeliner teardrops etched onto their faces. Bless them though, many had slept outside the Apollo in almost freezing conditions just to get close to their emo heroes.
From the moment Gerard's letterbox red hair emerges through the darkness the whole Apollo begins to vibrate as the swarm of teenagers surge forwards and bounce around as the band launch into their new single, Na Na Na, is almost drowned out.
And it's not the only new one they play either, Planetary (Go!), goes down brilliantly and shows a completely new sound from the band whilst The Only Hope For Me Is You - dedicated to a girl from the Make A Wish foundation - is one that a load of kids are going to be getting romantic to (sorry parents.) Gone are the 'woe is me' days, and it's time for some punk-electronica, and almost - dare I say it? - feel good anthemic tunes.
Classic tracks which featured on the likes of Kerrang! And Scuzz also went down a storm with Helena, I'm Not Okay (I Promise) and the chart-topping Welcome to the Black Parade almost being drowned out by the shrieks of young girls every time Gerard came within five metres of their side of the stage.
The highlight of the night for me had to be when some major MCR fan was invited onto the stage to sing Honey, This Mirror Ain't Big Enough for the Both of Us. Despite coming in too early a brilliant three times, when his turn to sing came, he sure as hell made the most of it. Tearing around the stage, chucking plectrums into the audience and coping Gerard as much as he could possibly do. He was my hero. Well done kid.
So, was it good? Well, I only have one complaint. Perhaps it was where I was standing, perhaps it was the thousands of ghouls below me drowning out the mic, but Gerard's vocals were far too quiet and distorted to understand a word he was saying. There were points where I didn’t recognise the tracks until the newbie journalist in front of me jotted it down on his cute little notepad (I remember when I used to do that!) but it all, after a three-year hiatus from the UK, the lads did a good job at flogging their new album and new look, a far cry from the military theatrics of their Black Parade era.
Fourth album ‘Danger Days: The True Lives Of The Fabulous Killjoys’ is out next month, and if you harbour a secret love for hair dye, backcombing and eyeliner, I suggest you go out and buy it.
FemaleFirst - Ruth Harrison
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