Move Over, Eras Tour: My Chemical Romance Has the Most Thrilling Stadium Show in MetLife History

Draag’s national anthem prepares you for the bleakness of what’s to come, describing its “skies that are never blue” and a society that has learned to “prosper in the gloom.” The video accompanying it can only be described as “Twin Peaks meets Soviet dictatorial propaganda.” As the anthem played, the band hit the stage, with Gerard looking ghostlier than ever, his face pale yet scuffed and ashen from the aforementioned Mexico fire he’s risen from.

After the first couple of songs off The Black Parade, Gerard explained that The Black Parade (the band) was brought back to life by the Grand Immortal Dictator. At the tour’s start, the Dictator was portrayed by a mannequin. But as the tour has gone on, the Dictator’s role has expanded, utilizing an actor who sits on a throne for MCR’s entire 25-song-long performance. Wide screens surrounding MetLife focused on his hand gestures, showing the Dictator’s evolution from being pleased with the group’s dedication to making him happy as a way to repay him for bringing them back to life, to the Dictator’s growing disappointment. It was a brilliant detail, one that added a layer of tension and immersion throughout the performance. Even the way he twirled his spaghetti while The Black Parade performed “This Is How I Disappear” was spine-chilling.

Once he finished his plate of spaghetti, the Dictator decided he wasn’t pleased with The Black Parade’s performance. A character who appears to be the Dictator’s right-hand man, referred to by fans as The Clerk, handed Gerard a letter. The frontman crumbled it and launched into “The Sharpest Lives,” a song which notably says in its chorus, “A light to burn all the empires / So bright, the sun is ashamed to rise and be.”

While most shows follow the same narrative, which involves the Dictator getting increasingly agitated and trying to control the unruly, defiant band and The Black Parade playing a role in Draag’s politics by ordering executions, the MetLife performance ran a slightly different course. Moments before the awaited execution, Gerard announced that Michael Melham, the mayor of Bellville, New Jersey, was bestowing the band a “great honor”: giving them a ceremonial key to the hometown of the Way brothers and guitarist Frank Iero (Ray Toro is from the neighboring town, Kearny). Though the moment took away from the elaborate world-building of Draag, the band did their best to keep the heartwarming moment within the fictional universe, kneeling for Melham before gifting him wheat and Draag’s native fish.

Gerard then realized that the band had almost forgotten about one of the most anticipated moments of the night. He sped through the voting rules, which involved deciding if the political prisoners deserved to be killed by holding up “Yay” or “Nay.” Of course, there is no true democracy in Draag; they were bound to die anyway. A cardboard firing squad executed the four prisoners, which was celebrated with a confetti cannon. Having seen videos of how this part is treated at other shows, it felt like the Jersey concertgoers were cheated of what was meant to be one of the biggest moments of the night. It was only a couple of minutes, and unlike in other tour dates, Gerard didn’t even comment on how the votes leaned for the crowd, instead moving things along speedily to make up for lost time from the honor.

There were some amusing, narrative-fueling gags throughout the show, including Gerard being given a bowl of spaghetti by The Clerk after “Welcome to the Black Parade,” seemingly as a way to prove his loyalty to the Dictator. But Gerard defiantly spat it out. Even with those ludicrous moments, the beauty of The Black Parade wasn’t lost in this elaborate anniversary tour. Before the set started, a man a couple of rows in front of me was handing red paper hearts with text on them. During “Cancer,” I learned what they were for: covering your iPhone flashlight, so it would turn the light red, with crimson glows surrounding the stadium. It turns out that this is the MCR fandom version of Swift’s Eras tour friendship bracelets, where fans coordinate to hand them out at shows (though there were some goth bracelets exchanged, too).

That touching moment was followed by tension, with The Clerk (played by Charlie Saxton) handing Gerard another letter following the emotional song. Despite the urgent demands for him to obey the Dictator, Gerard rebelled further, mocking the ruler, tearing up the letter, and stripping off his Black Parade military jacket. Uh-oh.

“Mama” was one of the most intense performances of the night. With pyrotechnics that went above what you usually see at a concert, which looked like they were straight out of a theme park stunt show, the band was surrounded by flames, even having a man burn onstage during the song. It was the most impressive visual component I’ve seen at a stadium show. The best part is My Chemical Romance doesn’t need this; their talent is enough to captivate you, and Gerard’s vocal stamina during the theatrical track is jaw-dropping. But it’s clear that with this tour, MCR is aiming for legend status like the other Jersey musical heroes that came before them—though you’ll never catch The Boss evading flames.

Another character that was introduced during “Mama” is The Gentleman, a ventriloquist dummy that Gerard said he met in prison. “We’ve got something in store for you—he whispered a secret to me one night,” the frontman announced. During these shows, he utilizes The Gentleman as a way to introduce a new extended version of the track, which, according to fans, has changed lyrics throughout the tour. It gave hints as to what was going on, mentioning a dagger used as “a tool for our treasonous needs,” as Gerard snatched a blade from the Dictator’s lackey. He then invited Marianne to sing from a smaller stage at the center of the ground level. He explained that though the opera singer is blind, she can see everything when she sings.

The role is played by Lucy Joy Altus, a mezzo-soprano who has performed solos at Carnegie Hall. Though not much is known about Marianne’s story, she’s quickly become a fan favorite, inspiring countless fan art. That’s in part thanks to the breathtaking costuming used by Altus, which involved a bejeweled ruby red gown and matching jewelry, a fur shawl, and dark-tinted round glasses. Unsurprisingly, Altus is immensely talented, with a gorgeous voice that lends itself well to one of MCR’s most elaborate songs. The promotional videos for the tour hinted that Marianne is the main entertainer in Draag, taking residence at the Dictator’s palace to serve him at his whim. I could spend hours unpacking what “she can see everything when she sings” means.

Another thing we learn throughout the show is that Draag is best known for its wheat. Even the merch labels read in Keposhka that the shirts are made with “100-percent wheat, grown under gloom and transported by livestock, milled in Draag with broken fists.” Nearly all Draag advertising shown during performances is wheat-related, too. The best use of wheat came during “Teenagers,” when videos that can only be described as “David Lynch does ballet” feature a scythe and wheat doing an interpretive dance. It’s the kind of campiness necessary to backdrop a song about teenagers being terrifying.

The denouement to the Black Parade act came during the album’s closing track, “Famous Last Words.” Gerard, who was forced by The Clerk to put his jacket back on and sing without causing more trouble, knew the end was coming, but made his final vow of defiance be heard, singing that he is “not afraid to walk this world alone” while the stage became engulfed in flames. The band reprised “The End.,” meeting their demise (again) after The Clerk arrived as Pierrot, stabbing Gerard in the heart with the aforementioned blade, with the frontman falling into position on a chalk outline. Soldiers came onstage and faced off with the surviving members of The Black Parade, taking them out as touring keyboardist Jamie Muhoberac calmly drank champagne while holding what appeared to be a plane ticket. I later learned through Reddit that the text translated to “AIRDRAAG,” seemingly implying that Muhoberac conspired with Draag’s government to have The Black Parade killed.

Besides the execution, a moment from the tour that has gotten lots of attention online is Pierrot’s death. As his own final act of defiance after fulfilling his duties, Pierrot danced to the hidden Black Parade track “Blood,” as confetti rained on the band. The clown then strips to unveil that he has a bomb strapped to him and blows himself up onstage. There are many fan theories of what Pierrot and The Clerk’s roles in the Draag universe are, and if they are meant to be the same character, as they are both played by Saxton. Regardless of what their story is, having Pierott blow himself up is a provocative way to end the Black Parade act of the show, leaving you with a mixture of glee and melancholy. As the band prepared for Part II, cellist Clarice Jensen took the center, smaller stage for a solemn solo.

The second half of the show was low on theatrics but still very fun. The band emerged on the smaller stage as themselves, ditching their Black Parade garb for their street clothes. At one point, Mikey pointed out the full moon to Gerard, with the frontman wondering out loud if it was real. It was a welcome moment of levity after their doom and gloom theatrics. Honoring My Chemical Romance’s New Jersey beginnings, the band added some of the best tracks off their debut album, I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love. Hearing the songs a week after writing my Time Capsule on the LP, it made me so proud to see how far MCR has come. This marked the first time they’ve played “Skylines and Turnstiles” during the Long Live The Black Parade tour, which was a fitting pick for their biggest homecoming show, as it was the song that started it all. Hearing “Our Lady of Sorrows,” which I’d written is a good song but not among the best off Bullets, changed my mind after hearing it live. It was one of the standout tracks from the non-Black Parade setlist at MetLife, performed with such fervor that it sparked my newfound love for the band’s inaugural record. “Vampires Will Never Hurt You,” which has become a fixture in MCR’s comeback sets, was unsurprisingly excellent live as well. Another highlight of this second act was Mikey making his way to the audience while playing “Helena.” It may have been MCR’s biggest New Jersey performance yet, but it made the show feel intimate in a way.

Moments before the show, a crew member told fans a couple of rows above me that there would be a “big surprise” as the final song of the night. After MCR played an unreleased track called “War Beneath the Rain” (written prior to their breakup) during their Dodger Stadium show in Los Angeles just days before, I was hopeful that we’d get another new song. I’d bumped into Sloppy Jane bandleader Haley Dahl at the show (a true MCR stan), who strongly believed this would be the perfect night for the band to finally announce the release of their awaited and scrapped album, The Paper Kingdom. Alas, the “surprise” was underwhelming. Instead, the band launched into a cover of Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ On a Prayer.” I was admittedly disappointed, and seemingly so were hundreds of attendees, who decided it was time to try their luck and catch their train or bus out of the stadium before dealing with the hordes of fans.

While it was an anticlimactic ending, I still left MetLife in awe of what I’d just witnessed. I pored over every fan theory, trying to decipher the narrative created by Gerard. But even as I admittedly haven’t figured out all the pieces to the story of Draag, being part of one of Gerard’s fantasy worlds was such a gift. Paper Kingdom may never arrive, but if whatever MCR has in store is just as thrilling as this tour—if not more—it’ll be worth the wait.

Tatiana Tenreyro is Paste‘s associate music editor, based in New York City. You can also find her writing at SPIN, NME, PAPER Magazine, The A.V. Club, and other outlets.