My Chemical Romance celebrates Christmas with 89X
My Chemical Romance headlined Friday's 13th annual "The Night 89X Stole Christmas" concert, ripping through a 70-minute set that balanced material from the band's new "Danger Days" set with a mix of songs from 2006's "The Black Parade" and 2004's "Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge."
The stripped-down performance felt like a warm-up show for the group, which is headlining its own tour in early 2011. Aside from a few scattered stage props and a spider-adorned American flag, there was no flash or theatrics, just a group getting back to playing shows after sitting out several touring seasons. (The band's last local appearance came during a two-night engagement at the Fillmore in April 2008.)
A more realized stage show is to follow, but on Friday a more relaxed, less manic My Chem showcased a half-dozen songs from "Danger Days," opening with "Na Na Na (Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na)" and rolling through songs like "Planetary (Go!)" and "Sing." De-contextualized from the over-arching concept of "The Black Parade," the campy "Mama" worked surprisingly well, and "Cancer" became a touching sing-along. Meanwhile, the "Three Cheers" staples "Helena," "I'm Not Okay" and "The Ghost of You" remain crowd-pleasing, fist-pumping anthems.
At one point lead singer Gerard Way thanked the crowd for hanging around for them, and he didn't mean during the evening's opening acts: The group took more than four years between albums, an eternity for a youth-leaning rock group. But the sold-out crowd let them know they're still there for them, even if the concert was more like a Christmas tease than the biggest present under the tree.
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The stripped-down performance felt like a warm-up show for the group, which is headlining its own tour in early 2011. Aside from a few scattered stage props and a spider-adorned American flag, there was no flash or theatrics, just a group getting back to playing shows after sitting out several touring seasons. (The band's last local appearance came during a two-night engagement at the Fillmore in April 2008.)
A more realized stage show is to follow, but on Friday a more relaxed, less manic My Chem showcased a half-dozen songs from "Danger Days," opening with "Na Na Na (Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na)" and rolling through songs like "Planetary (Go!)" and "Sing." De-contextualized from the over-arching concept of "The Black Parade," the campy "Mama" worked surprisingly well, and "Cancer" became a touching sing-along. Meanwhile, the "Three Cheers" staples "Helena," "I'm Not Okay" and "The Ghost of You" remain crowd-pleasing, fist-pumping anthems.
At one point lead singer Gerard Way thanked the crowd for hanging around for them, and he didn't mean during the evening's opening acts: The group took more than four years between albums, an eternity for a youth-leaning rock group. But the sold-out crowd let them know they're still there for them, even if the concert was more like a Christmas tease than the biggest present under the tree.
Source