Walking onstage without fanfare, marching band uniforms, or fancy staging, the My Chemical Romance that kicked off the North American leg of its World Contamination Tour is far more straightforward than the prog-glam behemoth that brought us The Black Parade. Now a four-piece joined on this tour by drummer Michael Pedicone and keyboardist James Dewees, the Jersey-bred ensemble (currently residing, mostly, in Los Angeles) has morphed back into a polished punk-pop band, one that's scaled down its theatrics considerably.

That didn't stop singer Gerard Way from painting his neck bright red, or his blonde bassist brother Mikey Way resembling Duran Duran's Nick Rhodes at the peak of his androgynous powers. Mikey wore a sleeveless T-shirt declaring "Art Is the Weapon," while Gerard's only change in costume was to remove the jacket of his white suit toward the end of his set, and then return for the night's encore with it reinstated. The others looked almost disturbingly ordinary.

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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.

( Read more... )

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MCR To Play The Volt Festival
Thursday March 10, 2011 | Posted by: MCR

MCR will be performing at the Volt Festival in Sopron, Hungray on June 29. Tickets are onsale now.

Visit the Tour Section for more info!

New European Festival Dates Announced
Wednesday March 9, 2011 | Posted by: MCR

Check out the new MCR summer tour dates in Europe.

June 24 D- Code Festival- Madrid, Spain
June 26 Sonisphere- Bologna, Italy
June 27 Arena- Vienna, Austria

Visit the Tour Section for more onsale and ticket info.