(no subject)
My Chemical Romance World Contamination Tour - 13th February 2011 - LG Arena Birmingham UK
So, where do I start? Me and my mom had been looking forward to this show for months now, ever since we found out they were touring here in the UK (how awesome is it that my mom LOVES My Chemical Romance as well!) and it certainly didn’t disappoint. I was on a high for the entire day of the concert but it still seemed to go so slow, oh my god, I swear I must have looked at the clock a million times that day. I had seating tickets so we didn’t need to leave until late afternoon as the LG Arena is only about 45 minutes away from my house. Finally we left the house at about 4.30pm; later than what we originally planned because me being me and disorganised as per usual I was rushing around like a mad woman getting ready. The drive up to Birmingham was fine; apart from getting stuck behind a really fucking slow car at one point, it was absolutely pouring with rain. We managed to get into the NEC complex with no problems whatsoever, I was worried about getting there after hearing all the horror stories about an accident just outside the LG and people being stuck in traffic for 4 hours and missing shows, but the accident of the previous day had disappeared and we drove straight through with no problems.
Now if anyone has ever been to the LG Arena/NEC before you will know that no matter what kind of show you are going to see it is guaranteed that you will inevitably be put in the furthest car park away. We were in the East 4 car park and my god it took us literally like almost half an hour to get to the damn arena, add the fact that it was still pouring with rain and we had no umbrella. By the time we finally got to the doors I was soaked, cold and my feet were aching (gosh I moan a lot don’t I?). I’ve been to the NEC a lot of times but never actually been to the LG Arena and I have to say it is one of the best arenas I have been in; much better than when I saw them in Sheffield, there is so much to do in the LG so waiting to be let into the actual arena was fine and not boring at all.
First stop was the merchandise stall \o/, poster program, tour t-shirt, wristbands, pencils (fucking draaaaaawing!) were bought. God I really wanted the Art Is The Weapon t-shirt and the American flag/danger days spider hoodie but funds wouldn’t allow it; the hoodie alone was £50.
When the arena doors opened at 6pm we went to find our seats, apparently in the ‘golden circle’, I was definitely not disappointed; the view was AWESOME and so much closer than when I saw them in 2007. Block 16 row P.
LostAlone were the first support act and to be honest I had heard of them but never actually listened to any of their music but the fact that their intro music was the epic Richard Burton and The War Of The Worlds automatically gets plus points from me. Seriously, I’ve seen The War Of The Worlds stage show at the NEC and it is EPIC. Next support act was The Blackout, again I’d heard of them and heard some of their songs; they were awesome and really got the crowd going. I will definitely be checking them out properly as I really liked them. Most support bands I have seen never manage to get the crowd going but they did, full arena Mexican waves, cheering and MCR chanting; it was awesome.
By the time MCR came on stage I was so excited, you know when the roadies get the stage set up and the black curtain falls in front of the stage its not going to be long. I loved the fact that they had big screens either side of the stage projecting Danger Days artwork and pictures, and the screams and cheers that came from the crowd whenever a member of the band was on screen. The atmosphere was really electric and the pit looked damn brutal.
It started with the awesome Dr Death intro ‘Look alive sunshine…’ and then the first chords to Na Na Na started and the place blew up; the curtain dropped to reveal the boys on stage and I was cheering my head off. I love the fact that everyone who has seats just stands up (apart from the ridiculously tall woman that was stood in front of me at the beginning. I ended up swapping places with my mom lol, there was no way that I wasn’t going to be able to see, I really need to grow taller, seriously I am like Frank short.) All the guys were amazing and Gerard’s voice was on top form. It’s awesome that he’s wearing make-up again! Red eyeshadow and eyeliner is a good look; although I have a feeling that the shirt he was wearing is going to end up being his new tour shirt like the infamous sleeveless black thing he wore for like ever! And Mikey Way wearing the band merch is awesome (damn I wanted that shirt!) Frank and Ray were as epic as ever, and you haven’t lived until you have seen the epicness that is Ray Toro bunny hopping all over the stage.
Next was Give ‘Em Hell Kid and Planetary (GO!), two songs that I fucking love. Gerard didn’t talk a whole lot tonight but there was a lot of thanking the crowd for looking out for each other and picking each other up in the pit because it was so brutal down there “We like it when you’re good to each other; because we’re good to you.” *flail* God I love it when Gerard gives his little speeches, most bands don’t actually care about the crowd but MCR always has and that is one of the many reasons why I love them so much. I was so happy that they played Hang ‘Em High as I’ve always loved that song and the crowd went wild when the intro started. The majority of the people in my block were going crazy apart from a few people that were just stood there nodding their heads like robots. For god sake you’re at a My Chemical Romance show, fucking dance, go mad anything people!
Next up was SING which was awesome as usual, I love hearing that song live (sing it for the world) and then Vampire Money! YES! (Are you ready Ray? Yeah, How bout you Frank? Oh I’m there baby, How bout you Mikey? *fist pump and walk over to the mike but not say anything*) I was going absolutely nuts at this song. Even though the LG had previously mastered the art of air-con at a concert it was starting to get really fucking hot in there. I remember Gerard saying something like “I don’t remember it being this hot in the UK”. Next came Our Lady Of Sorrows which is always amazing to hear live. I love the fact that they play songs of ALL of their albums, especially Bullets. The performance was great and Gerard really nailed the vocals. At the end of Sorrows he put the microphone in his mouth, it was just like old times OHMYGOD he then said something like “I haven’t done that in years”. Being sat in the block that I was in I had a perfect view of the stage and a perfect view of the overhead screen, I didn’t know which one to film the most so I kind of did both. Next was Mama, always a crowd pleaser with the in unison clapping at the start. This was probably one of my favourite performances of the night if I had to choose. Gerard went all out on this one and practically acted out all of the words theatrically; in conclusion it was awesome (I say that a lot) he was doing some pretty exaggerated facial expressions and actions which are just so Gerard, that sassy redhead. He ended the song with some “la la la’s” which always manage to get stuck in my head for days after I hear them’ but in the best way possible of course. Next The Only Hope For Me Is You, seeing this sung live made me love the song even more, the combination of the vocals, guitars and drum in this song always manage to make me feel emotional for some reason; especially when everyone in the crowd sings “remember me” all together at the beginning.
Party Poison was next, I was so hoping they would play that song live and they did! That definitely equals one very happy killjoy over here. All of the band seemed so happy, they really do love what they do and that is fucking amazing how they always give 110% during every performance. There were so many precious moments between the band and they were always smiling throughout the majority of the set <3 During Party Poison Gerard was pulling the funniest scrunched up faces whilst playing air guitar during Ray’s epic solos, I wish I’d managed to film that because he really does have some ‘special’ facial expressions lol. Next came Summertime, I have to admit I was slightly sceptical when I had heard that they were starting to play it live BUT it sounded so beautiful, the amount of feeling Gerard puts into that song when he is singing it is just incredible. All the crowd were feeling this song as arms were waving side to side in unison, its amazing to see a sight like that.
The good old classic I’m Not Okay was next and the crowd went mental as soon as the opening bars of the song were played. Hearing that song live is always an eargasm no matter how many times that I hear it. You can see that the guys all love playing that song; and Ray! Ohmygosh Ray he was so energetic, all over the stage, hopping around, it was great! Frank sidled up to Gerard during I’m Not Okay and put his arm around his waist and swung around him (the closest we got to frerard, but hey! It doesn’t matter). I couldn’t hear what Frank said during the ‘TRUST ME!’ part as everyone around me (including me) were screaming it instead. At some point during the show Gerard was talking about summer festivals and asking the crowd if they were going to any, and I quote, Gerard said “We may see you there.” (I think I have this part filmed in one of my videos *thinks*). Next was Famous Last Words and I could feel myself tearing up as I always do whenever I hear this damn song. It will always have a special place in my heart as it was a song that helped me so much during a really dark time in my life (“I am not afraid to keep on living; I am not afraid to walk this world alone”) Gerard put his all into the vocals once again and it sounded amazing as always. I was going nuts at this point as this song has so much meaning to me on a personal level. I’ve had people say to me in the past that music/a band can’t have that much impact on your life, but you know what? I believe that they can, if it wasn’t for these guys I dread to think what would have happened and I’m eternally grateful to them for showing me that you can come back from rock bottom.
Anyway, next up was The Ghost Of You, I have to say that I really do love this new arrangement of the song. As much as I love the older version this one is amazing and really showcases the vocals and guitar to their utmost best. Next came DESTROYA, I was so hoping that they would play this song (not just because of Gerard’s moaning *shifty eyes* this is actually one of my favourites off Danger Days.) they fucking nailed this song yet again and Gerard’s sexual moaning and screaming lol (yes I filmed this song; I’m just a perv really hahaha) but seriously this performance was amazing and they really gave it their all. After I’d gone insane during DESTROYA I began to feel really dizzy but managed to shrug it off, there was no way I was going to let it get the better of me, I was in seating for god sake; well stood up the entire time but you get what I mean (note to self: drink more water and have some food before I start to dance like a madman and scream every single lyric during a show). Next was Welcome To The Black Parade and as soon as James played those famous piano keys the entire arena went mad once again, cue a lot of cheering and fist pumping in time with the beat.
Next up was Teenagers, and Gerard gave this bizarre snippet of how he “wrote the song whilst high on cocaine and fucked the entire football team” before giving a sassy little wiggle of his ass whilst the guitar intro was playing. Teenagers never fails to get the crowd going. By this time I could see that the pit was absolutely insane, I think I probably would have died in there lol so kudos to everyone who was down there; people were getting pulled out left right and centre. Okay next was The Kids From Yesterday, my FAVOURITE song of Danger Days and it was incredible. Everything was so just so fucking perfect during the performance of this song, I couldn’t have wished for anything more. I could feel myself getting all emotional during this song, I always do for some reason but I held it together and just sang my fucking heart out. I can’t explain how much I love this song, I can definitely see why they guys have previously said that it is their favourite song off Danger Days, it is just amazing. You could see how Gerard put his heart and soul into the entire performance; it was just magical. My throat was absolutely killing me by this point from all the cheering, screaming and singing but it was a good kind of throat hurt if that makes any sense whatsoever. Next came Helena and the awesome crowd interaction at the beginning as usual (WOOOOAAHHH etc) another amazing performance of a well loved and emotional song. By this point I could see that my bloody camera battery was slowly dying but I was determined to film the encore songs!
A short break after Helena where the crowd constantly were chanting for the guys and James playing some awesome stuff on the keyboards (god I wish I could play like him) then came the famous first notes of Cancer. I managed to hold myself together at this song. Its always so atmospheric to see this song played in a huge arena where the crowd is either practically silent or singing along with every word. There were cameras, phones and a few lighters in the air swaying making it look incredible. Gerard’s voice during this song, ohmygod! So beautiful I can’t even describe it, the screens were projecting Gerard in black and white and it looked amazing. I can never get over how beautiful it always sounds and looks whenever they play cancer live. The second and final encore song was Vampires Will Never Hurt You FUCK YES! I knew that London had got this song the night before and I was hoping and praying that we would get it as well. The crowd went fucking nuts when this started and everyone was just bouncing all over the place. Honestly I’ve never seen a better performance of a song in my life, it really was so intense. Everyone was going crazy on stage as Gerard was on his knees screaming the lyrics with so much passion. He was doing all these awesomely crazy gestures and movements during the song like little fangs with his fingers and dragging them down the side of his face to his neck, it was just so typically Gerard. All in all Vampire was just fucking awesome. I filmed some of it but then my bloody camera DIED, the battery went completely dead (what a bitch.) so I just pretty much rocked out for the rest of the song. I can’t explain how happy I was that they played it, some of the people in my block didn’t seem to know what song it was but there was me jumping and singing along like I was possessed. IT WAS AWESOME!.
In conclusion I have to say that was the BEST concert I have ever been to. There was so much energy during every single song and the crowd was awesome. You can tell that the guys feed off a responsive crowd and in Birmingham it was no exception.
Best band ever?
YES
Would I see them again?
IN A HEARTBEAT
Best night of your life?
FUCK YES!
So, where do I start? Me and my mom had been looking forward to this show for months now, ever since we found out they were touring here in the UK (how awesome is it that my mom LOVES My Chemical Romance as well!) and it certainly didn’t disappoint. I was on a high for the entire day of the concert but it still seemed to go so slow, oh my god, I swear I must have looked at the clock a million times that day. I had seating tickets so we didn’t need to leave until late afternoon as the LG Arena is only about 45 minutes away from my house. Finally we left the house at about 4.30pm; later than what we originally planned because me being me and disorganised as per usual I was rushing around like a mad woman getting ready. The drive up to Birmingham was fine; apart from getting stuck behind a really fucking slow car at one point, it was absolutely pouring with rain. We managed to get into the NEC complex with no problems whatsoever, I was worried about getting there after hearing all the horror stories about an accident just outside the LG and people being stuck in traffic for 4 hours and missing shows, but the accident of the previous day had disappeared and we drove straight through with no problems.
Now if anyone has ever been to the LG Arena/NEC before you will know that no matter what kind of show you are going to see it is guaranteed that you will inevitably be put in the furthest car park away. We were in the East 4 car park and my god it took us literally like almost half an hour to get to the damn arena, add the fact that it was still pouring with rain and we had no umbrella. By the time we finally got to the doors I was soaked, cold and my feet were aching (gosh I moan a lot don’t I?). I’ve been to the NEC a lot of times but never actually been to the LG Arena and I have to say it is one of the best arenas I have been in; much better than when I saw them in Sheffield, there is so much to do in the LG so waiting to be let into the actual arena was fine and not boring at all.
First stop was the merchandise stall \o/, poster program, tour t-shirt, wristbands, pencils (fucking draaaaaawing!) were bought. God I really wanted the Art Is The Weapon t-shirt and the American flag/danger days spider hoodie but funds wouldn’t allow it; the hoodie alone was £50.
When the arena doors opened at 6pm we went to find our seats, apparently in the ‘golden circle’, I was definitely not disappointed; the view was AWESOME and so much closer than when I saw them in 2007. Block 16 row P.
LostAlone were the first support act and to be honest I had heard of them but never actually listened to any of their music but the fact that their intro music was the epic Richard Burton and The War Of The Worlds automatically gets plus points from me. Seriously, I’ve seen The War Of The Worlds stage show at the NEC and it is EPIC. Next support act was The Blackout, again I’d heard of them and heard some of their songs; they were awesome and really got the crowd going. I will definitely be checking them out properly as I really liked them. Most support bands I have seen never manage to get the crowd going but they did, full arena Mexican waves, cheering and MCR chanting; it was awesome.
By the time MCR came on stage I was so excited, you know when the roadies get the stage set up and the black curtain falls in front of the stage its not going to be long. I loved the fact that they had big screens either side of the stage projecting Danger Days artwork and pictures, and the screams and cheers that came from the crowd whenever a member of the band was on screen. The atmosphere was really electric and the pit looked damn brutal.
It started with the awesome Dr Death intro ‘Look alive sunshine…’ and then the first chords to Na Na Na started and the place blew up; the curtain dropped to reveal the boys on stage and I was cheering my head off. I love the fact that everyone who has seats just stands up (apart from the ridiculously tall woman that was stood in front of me at the beginning. I ended up swapping places with my mom lol, there was no way that I wasn’t going to be able to see, I really need to grow taller, seriously I am like Frank short.) All the guys were amazing and Gerard’s voice was on top form. It’s awesome that he’s wearing make-up again! Red eyeshadow and eyeliner is a good look; although I have a feeling that the shirt he was wearing is going to end up being his new tour shirt like the infamous sleeveless black thing he wore for like ever! And Mikey Way wearing the band merch is awesome (damn I wanted that shirt!) Frank and Ray were as epic as ever, and you haven’t lived until you have seen the epicness that is Ray Toro bunny hopping all over the stage.
Next was Give ‘Em Hell Kid and Planetary (GO!), two songs that I fucking love. Gerard didn’t talk a whole lot tonight but there was a lot of thanking the crowd for looking out for each other and picking each other up in the pit because it was so brutal down there “We like it when you’re good to each other; because we’re good to you.” *flail* God I love it when Gerard gives his little speeches, most bands don’t actually care about the crowd but MCR always has and that is one of the many reasons why I love them so much. I was so happy that they played Hang ‘Em High as I’ve always loved that song and the crowd went wild when the intro started. The majority of the people in my block were going crazy apart from a few people that were just stood there nodding their heads like robots. For god sake you’re at a My Chemical Romance show, fucking dance, go mad anything people!
Click to viewNext up was SING which was awesome as usual, I love hearing that song live (sing it for the world) and then Vampire Money! YES! (Are you ready Ray? Yeah, How bout you Frank? Oh I’m there baby, How bout you Mikey? *fist pump and walk over to the mike but not say anything*) I was going absolutely nuts at this song. Even though the LG had previously mastered the art of air-con at a concert it was starting to get really fucking hot in there. I remember Gerard saying something like “I don’t remember it being this hot in the UK”. Next came Our Lady Of Sorrows which is always amazing to hear live. I love the fact that they play songs of ALL of their albums, especially Bullets. The performance was great and Gerard really nailed the vocals. At the end of Sorrows he put the microphone in his mouth, it was just like old times OHMYGOD he then said something like “I haven’t done that in years”. Being sat in the block that I was in I had a perfect view of the stage and a perfect view of the overhead screen, I didn’t know which one to film the most so I kind of did both. Next was Mama, always a crowd pleaser with the in unison clapping at the start. This was probably one of my favourite performances of the night if I had to choose. Gerard went all out on this one and practically acted out all of the words theatrically; in conclusion it was awesome (I say that a lot) he was doing some pretty exaggerated facial expressions and actions which are just so Gerard, that sassy redhead. He ended the song with some “la la la’s” which always manage to get stuck in my head for days after I hear them’ but in the best way possible of course. Next The Only Hope For Me Is You, seeing this sung live made me love the song even more, the combination of the vocals, guitars and drum in this song always manage to make me feel emotional for some reason; especially when everyone in the crowd sings “remember me” all together at the beginning.
Party Poison was next, I was so hoping they would play that song live and they did! That definitely equals one very happy killjoy over here. All of the band seemed so happy, they really do love what they do and that is fucking amazing how they always give 110% during every performance. There were so many precious moments between the band and they were always smiling throughout the majority of the set <3 During Party Poison Gerard was pulling the funniest scrunched up faces whilst playing air guitar during Ray’s epic solos, I wish I’d managed to film that because he really does have some ‘special’ facial expressions lol. Next came Summertime, I have to admit I was slightly sceptical when I had heard that they were starting to play it live BUT it sounded so beautiful, the amount of feeling Gerard puts into that song when he is singing it is just incredible. All the crowd were feeling this song as arms were waving side to side in unison, its amazing to see a sight like that.
The good old classic I’m Not Okay was next and the crowd went mental as soon as the opening bars of the song were played. Hearing that song live is always an eargasm no matter how many times that I hear it. You can see that the guys all love playing that song; and Ray! Ohmygosh Ray he was so energetic, all over the stage, hopping around, it was great! Frank sidled up to Gerard during I’m Not Okay and put his arm around his waist and swung around him (the closest we got to frerard, but hey! It doesn’t matter). I couldn’t hear what Frank said during the ‘TRUST ME!’ part as everyone around me (including me) were screaming it instead. At some point during the show Gerard was talking about summer festivals and asking the crowd if they were going to any, and I quote, Gerard said “We may see you there.” (I think I have this part filmed in one of my videos *thinks*). Next was Famous Last Words and I could feel myself tearing up as I always do whenever I hear this damn song. It will always have a special place in my heart as it was a song that helped me so much during a really dark time in my life (“I am not afraid to keep on living; I am not afraid to walk this world alone”) Gerard put his all into the vocals once again and it sounded amazing as always. I was going nuts at this point as this song has so much meaning to me on a personal level. I’ve had people say to me in the past that music/a band can’t have that much impact on your life, but you know what? I believe that they can, if it wasn’t for these guys I dread to think what would have happened and I’m eternally grateful to them for showing me that you can come back from rock bottom.
Anyway, next up was The Ghost Of You, I have to say that I really do love this new arrangement of the song. As much as I love the older version this one is amazing and really showcases the vocals and guitar to their utmost best. Next came DESTROYA, I was so hoping that they would play this song (not just because of Gerard’s moaning *shifty eyes* this is actually one of my favourites off Danger Days.) they fucking nailed this song yet again and Gerard’s sexual moaning and screaming lol (yes I filmed this song; I’m just a perv really hahaha) but seriously this performance was amazing and they really gave it their all. After I’d gone insane during DESTROYA I began to feel really dizzy but managed to shrug it off, there was no way I was going to let it get the better of me, I was in seating for god sake; well stood up the entire time but you get what I mean (note to self: drink more water and have some food before I start to dance like a madman and scream every single lyric during a show). Next was Welcome To The Black Parade and as soon as James played those famous piano keys the entire arena went mad once again, cue a lot of cheering and fist pumping in time with the beat.
Next up was Teenagers, and Gerard gave this bizarre snippet of how he “wrote the song whilst high on cocaine and fucked the entire football team” before giving a sassy little wiggle of his ass whilst the guitar intro was playing. Teenagers never fails to get the crowd going. By this time I could see that the pit was absolutely insane, I think I probably would have died in there lol so kudos to everyone who was down there; people were getting pulled out left right and centre. Okay next was The Kids From Yesterday, my FAVOURITE song of Danger Days and it was incredible. Everything was so just so fucking perfect during the performance of this song, I couldn’t have wished for anything more. I could feel myself getting all emotional during this song, I always do for some reason but I held it together and just sang my fucking heart out. I can’t explain how much I love this song, I can definitely see why they guys have previously said that it is their favourite song off Danger Days, it is just amazing. You could see how Gerard put his heart and soul into the entire performance; it was just magical. My throat was absolutely killing me by this point from all the cheering, screaming and singing but it was a good kind of throat hurt if that makes any sense whatsoever. Next came Helena and the awesome crowd interaction at the beginning as usual (WOOOOAAHHH etc) another amazing performance of a well loved and emotional song. By this point I could see that my bloody camera battery was slowly dying but I was determined to film the encore songs!
A short break after Helena where the crowd constantly were chanting for the guys and James playing some awesome stuff on the keyboards (god I wish I could play like him) then came the famous first notes of Cancer. I managed to hold myself together at this song. Its always so atmospheric to see this song played in a huge arena where the crowd is either practically silent or singing along with every word. There were cameras, phones and a few lighters in the air swaying making it look incredible. Gerard’s voice during this song, ohmygod! So beautiful I can’t even describe it, the screens were projecting Gerard in black and white and it looked amazing. I can never get over how beautiful it always sounds and looks whenever they play cancer live. The second and final encore song was Vampires Will Never Hurt You FUCK YES! I knew that London had got this song the night before and I was hoping and praying that we would get it as well. The crowd went fucking nuts when this started and everyone was just bouncing all over the place. Honestly I’ve never seen a better performance of a song in my life, it really was so intense. Everyone was going crazy on stage as Gerard was on his knees screaming the lyrics with so much passion. He was doing all these awesomely crazy gestures and movements during the song like little fangs with his fingers and dragging them down the side of his face to his neck, it was just so typically Gerard. All in all Vampire was just fucking awesome. I filmed some of it but then my bloody camera DIED, the battery went completely dead (what a bitch.) so I just pretty much rocked out for the rest of the song. I can’t explain how happy I was that they played it, some of the people in my block didn’t seem to know what song it was but there was me jumping and singing along like I was possessed. IT WAS AWESOME!.
In conclusion I have to say that was the BEST concert I have ever been to. There was so much energy during every single song and the crowd was awesome. You can tell that the guys feed off a responsive crowd and in Birmingham it was no exception.
Best band ever?
YES
Would I see them again?
IN A HEARTBEAT
Best night of your life?
FUCK YES!