My Chemical Romance concluded their Brazilian tour with a second show on Friday night, June 6th, as part of their Long Live The Black Parade . The band returned to Brazil after an 18-year absence and found Allianz Parque packed with emotional adults, most of whom knew them from their childhood or pre-teen years.
An entire generation of fans who now fill stadiums discovered My Chemical Romance in the 2000s – probably around the time of the band's last visit to Brazil in 2008 – and weren't old enough to even think about attending a rock concert. The band's success in Brazil, as well as that of many other names in the emo scene, is largely attributed to the fondly remembered MTV and Mix TV, which broadcast music videos daily.
Fully aware of their peak and the age range of the group that grew up with them and never had the chance to see them live, My Chemical Romance revives the acclaimed album The Black Parade (2006), featuring hits like "I Don't Love You" and "Welcome To The Black Parade," responsible for captivating those children and pre-teens who are now grown adults, as well as the new generations who became fans much later.
The band puts on a complete show, playing the album in its entirety and integrating it into a theatrical and conceptual staging, where they act out the roles of a band controlled by the authoritarian regime of the fictional country of Draag. Dressed in classic "marching band" attire, the group performs the album on stage more like a theatrical play than a concert. The experience is overwhelming, cathartic, and impressive, with controlled pyrotechnics and shocking plot twists.
The Hives stand out as an excellent opening band
The Latin American shows featured the illustrious participation of the Swedish band The Hives . Formed in the early 1990s, the band delights and captivates with its danceable and electrifying garage rock, presenting a frenetic sequence of songs that never lets the energy drop.
Lead singer Pelle Almqvist puts on a charismatic show like very few others. Speaking in Portuguese the entire time, he gets the crowd going with expressions like "jump, jump, people from São Paulo" and "handsome." In no time, the entire audience is in the palm of the vocalist's hand and completely engaged with the show. The Hives is one of the few opening bands that manages to charm and entertain as much as the main act of the night.
The second night had surprises, but without "The Ghost Of You"
After the first act, which featured a magnificent theatrical performance by vocalist Gerard Way , My Chemical Romance returned to the stage in casual clothes for a sequence of songs played in a more "raw" manner, separate from the universe created for The Black Parade .
On the second night, they played the classics “Helena” and “Na Na Na,” and added “To The End” and “SING,” which had appeared only a few times on the tour until then. The group closed the show for the first time with “The Foundations of Decay,” released in 2022 as a surprise comeback. For the second night in a row, the Brazilian audience was left wanting to hear “The Ghost Of You,” one of their most famous hits in Brazil.
Despite the lingering feeling of "I want more" caused by the absence of a fan favorite, it's safe to say that My Chemical Romance fans left these two nights of shows feeling refreshed. The band demonstrated its ability to unite generations like few other acts and that, despite not having recent releases, it remains relevant even to audiences who arrived long after its peak.
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