New York Times
MCR's mentioned in the music section of this Sunday's New York Times and on their website.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/02/arts/music/02chem.html?_r=1
On Thursday night the members of My Chemical Romance played their new single, “Welcome to the Black Parade,” as part of the warm-up show for the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards. Then, just after midnight, they reappeared on the stage of the Knitting Factory for an unadvertised Friday morning show.
This is what we miss, Gerard Way, the lead singer, said, though his language was a bit more vivid. And his band tore through a spirited, thrilling set, sounding more than ever like one of the best rock bands in America.
In 2004 My Chemical Romance released “Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge” (Warner Brothers), a major-label debut album that sold more than 1.4 million copies and established this New Jersey emo band as a true success story in a music industry that could use a few more. The songs have everything you might expect: singalong choruses, blustery guitars, beyond-dramatic lyrics. (Mr. Way turned the simple title phrase of “I’m Not Okay (I Promise)” into a grand rallying cry, though you could tell he recognized its absurdity, too.) But the songs of My Chemical Romance also sound both leaner and fuller than anything you’re likely to hear on rock radio - or off it, for that matter. The members evoke the savage spirit of 1980’s hard-core punk and the pomp of 1970’s glam rock, and they do it without sounding at all nostalgic.
And while the members have had to get comfortable with playing arenas, it wasn’t so long ago that they were making a racket in small clubs, including this one. On Thursday, they figured it had been four years since their last Knitting Factory gig. No matter: clubs still suit them. Those too-loud drums, that cramped stage, that sea - or puddle, more like - of fans with outstretched camera phones: it all suited them. And if the quarters were too cramped for the other members to get out of range of Frank Iero, the rhythm guitarist and nonstop expectorator - well, they didn’t seem to mind (or more accurately, notice).
The set included all the recent favorites: the goth ballad “The Ghost of You,” the glorious hit “Helena,” the aforementioned “I’m Not Okay.” Mr. Way politely asked if he could sing some new songs, too, and they didn’t disappoint. The band’s new album, “The Black Parade,” is due out on Oct. 24, and in interviews, the members have promised something difficult. “Kind of brutal, kind of hard to listen to,” as Mr. Way put it on Thursday night. Uh-oh.
It was a relief, then, that the new songs sounded terrific: agonized, perhaps, but also streamlined and totally catchy. At Mr. Way’s request (though it was unnecessary), fans jumped in time to “Dead!” And there was a ballad, “Cancer,” where Mr. Way was joined solely by the guitarist Ray Toro, who strummed the chords while Mr. Way sang, “The hardest part of this is leaving you.” You can almost hear the record executives breathing sighs of relief.
What you could actually hear, on this night, was lots of screaming. Like any rock star worth talking about, Mr. Way is an unlikely one: a skinny, nerdy, dreamy front man raised on a diet of punk shows. He has clearly taught himself not to be freaked out by all the teenage girls who shriek whenever he glances at them. He may not quite understand how he became an A-list rock star, but as the guitars revved up, he demonstrated, once more, why.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/02/arts/music/02chem.html?_r=1
On Thursday night the members of My Chemical Romance played their new single, “Welcome to the Black Parade,” as part of the warm-up show for the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards. Then, just after midnight, they reappeared on the stage of the Knitting Factory for an unadvertised Friday morning show.
This is what we miss, Gerard Way, the lead singer, said, though his language was a bit more vivid. And his band tore through a spirited, thrilling set, sounding more than ever like one of the best rock bands in America.
In 2004 My Chemical Romance released “Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge” (Warner Brothers), a major-label debut album that sold more than 1.4 million copies and established this New Jersey emo band as a true success story in a music industry that could use a few more. The songs have everything you might expect: singalong choruses, blustery guitars, beyond-dramatic lyrics. (Mr. Way turned the simple title phrase of “I’m Not Okay (I Promise)” into a grand rallying cry, though you could tell he recognized its absurdity, too.) But the songs of My Chemical Romance also sound both leaner and fuller than anything you’re likely to hear on rock radio - or off it, for that matter. The members evoke the savage spirit of 1980’s hard-core punk and the pomp of 1970’s glam rock, and they do it without sounding at all nostalgic.
And while the members have had to get comfortable with playing arenas, it wasn’t so long ago that they were making a racket in small clubs, including this one. On Thursday, they figured it had been four years since their last Knitting Factory gig. No matter: clubs still suit them. Those too-loud drums, that cramped stage, that sea - or puddle, more like - of fans with outstretched camera phones: it all suited them. And if the quarters were too cramped for the other members to get out of range of Frank Iero, the rhythm guitarist and nonstop expectorator - well, they didn’t seem to mind (or more accurately, notice).
The set included all the recent favorites: the goth ballad “The Ghost of You,” the glorious hit “Helena,” the aforementioned “I’m Not Okay.” Mr. Way politely asked if he could sing some new songs, too, and they didn’t disappoint. The band’s new album, “The Black Parade,” is due out on Oct. 24, and in interviews, the members have promised something difficult. “Kind of brutal, kind of hard to listen to,” as Mr. Way put it on Thursday night. Uh-oh.
It was a relief, then, that the new songs sounded terrific: agonized, perhaps, but also streamlined and totally catchy. At Mr. Way’s request (though it was unnecessary), fans jumped in time to “Dead!” And there was a ballad, “Cancer,” where Mr. Way was joined solely by the guitarist Ray Toro, who strummed the chords while Mr. Way sang, “The hardest part of this is leaving you.” You can almost hear the record executives breathing sighs of relief.
What you could actually hear, on this night, was lots of screaming. Like any rock star worth talking about, Mr. Way is an unlikely one: a skinny, nerdy, dreamy front man raised on a diet of punk shows. He has clearly taught himself not to be freaked out by all the teenage girls who shriek whenever he glances at them. He may not quite understand how he became an A-list rock star, but as the guitars revved up, he demonstrated, once more, why.