Requiem For a Projekt That Was Revolutionary: Part Two
After TBS left the stage, the excitement I had built up ever since I got the tickets in May was near its boiling point. I kind of let go a little when an announcer guy came on stage and told us about the upcoming acts, and mentioned that Cricket would be hosting the return of my favouritest band of all time, the Smashing Pumpkins. I squealed. Very loudly. I got stared at. I didn't care. My mum said that she thought her ear drum broke as a result. I didn't care. I also flipped out when I saw Ray and Frank's guitars on stage. When I saw MCR in March I thought it was silly that people would get excited over such a thing, but I was a young MCR fan at that point. It makes more sense now.
Finally the lights went down and the smoke machines started. I pulled out my camera and started recording. I wanted to capture the moment they all came out on stage. What I ended up capturing was me jumping up and down and squealing "IT'S RAY IT'S RAY IT'S RAY!" and then "IT'S BOB IT'S BOB IT'S BOB!" [I blame it on the power of the fro and the power of Bob's all-encompassing awesomeness.]
At that point I kind of had to take back my comment about HIM's appearance, because Ray was wearing an AC/DC tshirt and jeans [aww it's like the Revenge days all over again], and Cortez + Frank were rocking similar looks. But Ray has amazing pecs, and tshirts were built for Frank Anthony Iero, so I don't really take it back. Gerard was dressed up, though. He had on a Black Parade jacket but it was a new one- it wasn't as sparkly. But I am happy to announce that he got rid of both the scary old man hair from the Norway gig in June and the mad scientist/secluded comic book artist hair he had at Comic Con. Yes, ladies and some gentlemen, Gerard Way remembered what a comb was, and that is a wonderful thing. Um, the man is pretty. I can't help that.
RANDOM THINGS I REMEMBER. DON'T EXPECT COHERENCY HERE.
- Gerard instructing all the guys in the audience to take off their shirts during "Prison." Several of them did, actually. One shirt was thrown on stage and Gerard picked it up and said, "This is a man's shirt" all seductivelike.
- According to Stacie, somebody threw a tiara on stage and Frank put it on. I missed it entirely. D:
- THERE WAS NO FERARD ACTION. D:
- Gerard was wearing the pants with the hole in the crotch, and Stacie swears she saw skin [READ: no underwears].
- Gerard told us that we were the best crowd so far on the tour. :] Some people think that he's just sucking up, but according to my Rmy lieutenant, he actually means it- she's been to some other shows out of state and he doesn't say stuff like that at every show.
- You might have heard about this already because Gerard's been doing it a lot lately, but if you haven't, there's this bit at the end of "Mama" where Gerard goes: "First baaaseee... second baaaseee... *grabs boobies* thirrrrdddd baaaaaseeeeee... *slides hand towards crotch, I go crazy*" It's brilliant. You'll see it when I upload the video.
- BEST PART OF THE WHOLE SHOW: you know how in the live version of "Cancer" they've been doing lately, where Gerard holds off on singing "you" at the end of the song? Before he sang that last note, he stood on stage by himself, listening to us go crazy- and he put his hand on his heart and smiled the most genuine smile I've ever seen. Ever. It was so amazing. It was one of those "they really like me!" smiles- like he couldn't believe he was so loved, like he was overwhelmed by it. I can't really describe it. I only caught a split second of it, but it was incredible. Yes, I realise I just spent a paragraph talking about a smile, but this wasn't an ordinary occasion.
- Gerard looked at me. I know it sounds fangirly, but I could care less.
It was more than just a look, though. My seats were at the very left end of the row, so I could kind of stand out in the aisle a bit to get a better view. This kind of put me out in the open. There weren't a lot of people near me. There were a couple of MCR lovin' girls in front of me, but other than that, it wouldn't have been hard to see me from the stage. I don't remember during what song it was, but Gerard was on my side of the stage, and I had my arm raised like I was reaching for him, and at that moment he mimicked me, as if we'd been any closer we would have been holding on to eachother for dear life.
It was, without exaggeration, a religious experience. Or at least as close to one as a heathen like me can get.
Most amazing night. Ever.
SETLIST
This Is How I Disappear
Sharpest Lives
I'm Not Okay
Famous Last Words
Give 'Em Hell Kid
House of Wolves
Heaven Help Us
Welcome to the Black Parade
Mama
Prison
Teenagers
Helena
Cancer