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tothetune2011-04-06 01:44 pm
ofyourdeath.livejournal.com) wrote in tothetune2011-04-06 01:44 pm
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Review: My Chemical Romance disappoints at Fox
My Chemical Romance seemed poised to become the next Green Day in 2006 after the release of its third studio album, "The Black Parade."
That it has ended up being just another Good Charlotte is a major disappointment.
On Thursday, the New Jersey group, led by vocalist Gerard Way, did next to nothing to differentiate itself from the pack of bland emo-pop-punk acts out there during a sold-out show at the Fox Theater in Oakland.
The 90-minute concert was never spectacular, rarely bad, but lacking the thing that this group had in spades in 2006-'07: excitement.
During its "Black Parade" tour, My Chemical Romance came across like a band on the brink of becoming something special -- a blend of Broadway and alt-rock -- and had fashioned a sometimes-mesmerizing emo-rock opera that was a close cousin to Green Day's "American Idiot."
My Chemical Romance was hoping to catch more lightening in a bottle with the long-awaited follow-up, "Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys," another concept album that came out late last year. Yet it was nearly devoid of all the Ziggy-Stardust-meets-Queen flourishes and the weird Broadway touches that made "Black Parade" so interesting, and is instead work that is even more arduous to listen to than it is to describe.
My Chemical Romance's fans might not agree with that conclusion, but it's a safe bet that most would sign off on the statement that "Killjoys" isn't a worthy follow-up to "Black Parade." That hypothesis comes directly from witnessing the crowd at the Fox.
It was startling to see the difference in fans' excitement levels as the group volleyed between the two albums for much of the set. They'd listen politely to a frivolous synth-pop ditty from the new album like "Planetary (GO!)" and then go absolutely bonkers when the group would march into a "Parade" offering such as "Mama." That scene would repeat throughout the night.
Most of the blame for the uneven showing has to go on the vocalist's shoulders. Although Way looked striking, with his bright-red-dyed hair and white suit coat over a black shirt, he exhibited little stage presence or charisma. It takes conviction to sing songs about a fictional evil corporation from the future to thousands of Hot Topic shoppers and other suburban mall rats -- but Way often sounded like he was reading off a teleprompter when he spoke to the crowd.
"Oakland, they are going to try to clean you up. ... They are going to try to fix your face ... what are you going to do about it?
"You are going to sing about it."
That will fix that evil corporation, for sure!
Fortunately, there was enough "Black Parade" material in the second half of the set to send the crowd home happy. But the band left the stage with a burning question: Where does My Chemical Romance go from here? On the bright side, basically anyplace is better than where the band is right now.
Source
That it has ended up being just another Good Charlotte is a major disappointment.
On Thursday, the New Jersey group, led by vocalist Gerard Way, did next to nothing to differentiate itself from the pack of bland emo-pop-punk acts out there during a sold-out show at the Fox Theater in Oakland.
The 90-minute concert was never spectacular, rarely bad, but lacking the thing that this group had in spades in 2006-'07: excitement.
During its "Black Parade" tour, My Chemical Romance came across like a band on the brink of becoming something special -- a blend of Broadway and alt-rock -- and had fashioned a sometimes-mesmerizing emo-rock opera that was a close cousin to Green Day's "American Idiot."
My Chemical Romance was hoping to catch more lightening in a bottle with the long-awaited follow-up, "Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys," another concept album that came out late last year. Yet it was nearly devoid of all the Ziggy-Stardust-meets-Queen flourishes and the weird Broadway touches that made "Black Parade" so interesting, and is instead work that is even more arduous to listen to than it is to describe.
My Chemical Romance's fans might not agree with that conclusion, but it's a safe bet that most would sign off on the statement that "Killjoys" isn't a worthy follow-up to "Black Parade." That hypothesis comes directly from witnessing the crowd at the Fox.
It was startling to see the difference in fans' excitement levels as the group volleyed between the two albums for much of the set. They'd listen politely to a frivolous synth-pop ditty from the new album like "Planetary (GO!)" and then go absolutely bonkers when the group would march into a "Parade" offering such as "Mama." That scene would repeat throughout the night.
Most of the blame for the uneven showing has to go on the vocalist's shoulders. Although Way looked striking, with his bright-red-dyed hair and white suit coat over a black shirt, he exhibited little stage presence or charisma. It takes conviction to sing songs about a fictional evil corporation from the future to thousands of Hot Topic shoppers and other suburban mall rats -- but Way often sounded like he was reading off a teleprompter when he spoke to the crowd.
"Oakland, they are going to try to clean you up. ... They are going to try to fix your face ... what are you going to do about it?
"You are going to sing about it."
That will fix that evil corporation, for sure!
Fortunately, there was enough "Black Parade" material in the second half of the set to send the crowd home happy. But the band left the stage with a burning question: Where does My Chemical Romance go from here? On the bright side, basically anyplace is better than where the band is right now.
Source