My Chemical Romance "Long Live" The Black Parade Tour

What do you get when the percussion has a Weber BBQ, well that’s what you get with the Violent Femmes. Also, there is a slide whistle, xylophone, and one of the coolest looking bass guitars I have scene. This was the band that opened the night at T-Mobile park in Seattle, WA on the 7/11/2025 for the My Chemical Romance Long Live The Black Parade Tour kick off.

     It took me a minute to take it all in. Being on the floor of the ball park surrounded by thousands of fans in what was basically a sold out show. The biggest show I have been to…ever. I was here for it and so was everyone else, the air vibrated with excitement and anticipation. 

     Violent Femmes had a mellow vibe for me. The crowd would roar when they would play their hits and overall it was a good set, about an hour long. I stayed pretty obsessed with Brian Ritchie’s Big Johnson acoustic bass. It was the first time I had seen such a thing. Eventually he switched over to an electric bass and then got on the xylophone near the end of their set.

     During the change over I took some time to take in the set design and the visuals on the video walls. I observed the brutalist architecture of the stage. Noticed a cross between post war soviet avant-garde and post war soviet propaganda. All art I absolutely love and I enjoyed what they had created.

     Their first set began with a lady singing on the center stage(B stage) out in the middle of the floor. Escorted by men clad in a uniform reminiscent of a soviet soldier. This began the story of the Black Parade. It was nothing less then impressive. The level of detail that went into the production everything was a part of this tale even down to the canteen that Gerald Way was drinking from on stage, to the jump suits the crew was wearing.

     Upon entering T-Mobile Park we were handed a sign that said yay or nae, I was unsure of what this was for but I was going to find out. In the middle of the first set Gerald says “we are going to do an experiment in democracy” and four crew members, hoodwinked and bound, are escorted by the military adorned men to the center stage. It was on us the fan to vote as to whether they should be elected or not. That's what these cards were for and as I looked around I noticed most signs held up to the stage showing “Nae” I looked back over to the stage a saw a firing squad of cut outs aimed in on the “political prisoners”. Seeing the signs I smiled and murmured to myself “boy we are a dark crowd” BOOM!!!! Those on stage were publicly executed in sparks fire and smoke. What a show so far, I'm for every bit of this fiction.

     Through out the show a weaselly looking man would come out with a box and paper as if to tell the Black Parade what to play next and when Gerald refused, he was slapped to get him back inline with what is best for the people and the fans answered back with resounding and angry “BOOO”. This was the representative of the department of propaganda at least that is what I called him. He had an interesting role at the end of the set. 

     As the night played on, I never knew how impressive thousands of fans singing all at once was. Now I knew and I was singing right along with them. At one point my phone had died and I ran up to the charging station. This was during “Mama”. As I went up the stairs the light around me bursts into orange and I feel the intense heat on the back of my neck. Fire beautiful fire, I love good pyro which at this point I thought I had missed but there was more to come. Back to my seat I go, I have been away long enough. Nearing the end of the set the video wall changes to what resembles a NORAD computer screen. I realized all this fire I had been seeing was nuclear war and the confetti was ash and fallout. Alas the story of the Black Parade is one of the cold war with a twist. The rebellious band ends up dying or being taken off stage resistant under hoods, yes Gerald Way dies on stage. The Stage goes dark after all of the fire and our propaganda man came out dressed as a clown, with a secret, singing “Blood” he rips his shirt off to show a suicide vest. Song ends BOOM!!!! The clown is down in a spectacle of smoke and fire and sparks. My Chemical Romance you tell a great story!!!

     Stage is dark and its time for the second set. While the band prepares they gave us Clarice Jensen a cellist and she was amazing. It was mournful and beautiful all at once and I was blown away. The band came onto the B stage and to perform their second set. This set was nothing short of just music, great music. No pomp, no circumstance. What we got was two different bands. The Black Parade and My Chemical Romance. This second set was a setlist from various albums through out the bands career like “NaNaNa”, and “I’m Not Ok”. So many fans dancing and jumping and singing. It was great. As for the setlist on this set, there is a chance it will change from show to show as Gerald told the crowd. Which I like this keep it different and in a sense fresh for the next group of fans.  

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Review By: Justin Web