The year is 2005. Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge is roughly a year old, but you still cannot get away from “I’m Not Okay (I Promise)”. Hot Topic is full of My Chemical Romance t-shirts, and there is an all out war between Gerard girls and Frank girls. #TeamGerard
A Vegas show is finally announced for October 1, 2005 with Reggie and the Full Effect, Alkaline Trio, Greeley Estates, and local boys Escape the Fate, which had not made it big yet. Headlining was My Chemical Romance. Sophomore me scrounged up as much change from the couch and my piggy bank as I could, pooled money with friends, and we all got tickets.
We spent the morning getting ready, blasting Three Cheers as well as their Freshman album I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love, while we caked on our palest face powder and our smoked out our reddest eyeshadow. Someone’s mom packed 6 teenagers into the car and made the drive out to Sam Boyd Stadium, leaving us at the door and telling us they’d be back after the show.
I am not going to lie. I don’t remember a lot of the first few bands. One, I didn’t care much. Two, it was 17 years ago at this point. Three, My Chemical Romance was all I cared about in general. During their set, I remember standing with my ex boyfriend at the time jumping for joy at every song they played. For some reason, I specifically remember them playing “Skylines and Turnstiles”. Why that sticks out to me, I have no idea.
I’ve searched many times for the full setlist or at least some video, but this was way before the times of YouTube. I’m pretty sure none of us had more than a shitty Virgin mobile flip phone at the time either.
I saw them again 6 years later on October 7, 2011 with Blink-182. While this time it was with none of the same friends, the energy at the Red Rock Hotel & Casino Amphitheater was just as exciting. This time, songs from Welcome to the Black Parade and Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys were added into the mix.
21 year old me sang along to every word and jumped for joy with the same enthusiasm as 15 year old me. Two years later, on March 22, 2013, My Chemical Romance broke up. Hearts around the world broke; mine included. At that point in life, they’d been a band that helped shape my adolescent years. They helped me through my breakup with my long-time high school sweetheart.
However, Halloween 2019 the band announced their reunion. I’m pretty sure we all crashed the forms of social media we had at at the announcement. Then COVID hit and we had to wait.
On October 7, 2022, My Chemical Romance is returning to Las Vegas at the T-Mobile Arena with Taking Back Sunday and Youth Code. October seems to be the month for them to visit us Las Vegan’s. Getting the chance to see them with Taking Back Sunday, another band which helped shape teenage me, whom I have seen many times, would be an absolute dream.
You bet your ass that I will be in the crowd screaming along to whatever Gerard and Mikey Way, Frank Iero, and Ray Toro decide to play. Some I am hoping for are “Desolation Row” (originally by Bob Dylan), “Headfirst for Halos”, “Famous Last Words”, and of course “I’m Not Okay (I Promise)”. I may not jump around as much, considering that at 32 years old now, as much as I still wish I was 15 or 21, I’m not, and that shit hurts now.
If you have not gotten your tickets for this tour yet, you should. And if I don’t see you at T-Mobile, I’ll see you on October 29th for the When We Were Young Festival!
PHOTO CREDIT: Photos provided by Stephy Muzio for ZRockR Magazine use