Wow, wow, wow. The people. MY people. The screaming, the music, the lights... I know I was there, but was he? Were they? There were no noises after, my ears were shut down. My throat was killing me and my head was about to explode, but I could care less. I was in shock, and I still am. I cannot believe I saw him. Heard him. I was in the same room as him!!!! Wow.
About 7:20: I'm riding up escalator and escalator and escalator and escalator..... The show started at 7:30 and I was late! Finally, I get to the very top of tower D and run to section, row C, seat 3. Madison Square Garden was amazing! But get this: It wasn't as big and crowded as I thought. Sure it filled up after Drive By and Taking Back Sunday played, but up at the top where I was, there was no one directly in front or on either side of me. I was actually sad. I wanted to get the feel of people screaming in my ear(I know it's strange). It was great though because I wasn't as high up as I thought and I could actually see the stage very clearly from where I was sitting.
So, after soaking in my surroundings, Drive By was finally ready to play. I don't remember the songs. I don't remember what they looked like or what they did. I DO remember the incredible screaming in my ear when they came on and the amazing lighting! I was mesmerized. If any one was looking, they could tell it was my first time in MSG because I sat there wide-eyed glaring at the stage and occasionally looking around to see the amazing effects. I thought "I could be up there. It could really happen. I can do it. I will do it." I have to say, Drive By built amazing suspension for My Chemical Romance. "Thank you so much! I know you can't wait because Taking Back Sunday and My Chemical Romance will be playing!" he said and did we scream! I loved it when he said "I wanna see if you're from New Jersey!" and about half the crowd screamed. "Now let me see New York!" and the other half (including myself) screamed. Apparently, it was his father's birthday because he made us all scream "HAPPY BIRTHDAY PAUL!"
Finally, Taking Back Sunday. They pumped some great energy into the crowd and had awesome mega-bright strobe lights that gave me a headache. And they were loud! I waited. And waited. And waited. They left. My heart was pumping so fast, I was afraid it wasn't possible to get enough oxygen. I sat. And waited. And waited. And waited. And waited. And waited. And waited. And waited. And waited. And waited......
The lights went out. The crowd screamed bloody-murder. And then the guitar. I stood and screamed and stared. And....Boom! There he was! Gerard Way! To his right was Frank Iero and Mikey F*cking Way(according to his shirt), to his left was Ray Toro and directly behind him was Bob Bryar. They started with Give Em' Hell Kid. After he said "I cannot believe we are in f*cking Madison Square Garden!"
I'm not exactly sure of the order, but he sang The Sharpest Lives shortly after. There was also This is How I Disappear and House of Wolves (in which Gerard couldn't help but howl before he started singing). Then, he did a wave with us that he said he'd only done once before in the UK. It was awesome! He was starting from his left and some girl said to start the other way and he said "Since when? Well, they say this way and I believe them." and the crowd cheered in agreement.
That was so cool! :p Well, sometime next he-or should I say we-sang Welcome to the Black Parade. He held the microphone out as he conducted our perfect chorus of "When I was! A young boy! My father! Took me into the city! To see a marching band!..." It was so amazing. There was no one sitting around me and I didn't come with any friends. And yet, I felt like I knew each and every person there and and they knew me and we were family. We sang together, screamed together, danced together and had the time of our lives together. Singing Welcome to the Black Parade really truly gave me "heartache to sing". We pumped our fists and sang "I'm just a man! I'm not a hero!..." It gave me chills.
During the show he did many of his famous things such as rocking back and forth, jumping up and down, and making us bounce, wave our arms, clap our hands and pump our fists. We did all the things a good audience was supposed to.
Next was Dead! which was great because everybody sang the la's perfectly as we clapped our hands over our head. Great moment.
After that, he sang My Way Home Is Through You which he dedicated to his wife Lyn Z. It was great screaming "We ain't here to pay a compliment, or sing about the government, or oxycotton genocide, or adolescent suicide!" It was amazing.
I'm not sure, don't trust me 100% on anything, but I think Headfirst for Halos was next. Then, I think it might have been You Know What They Do To Guys Like Us In Prison. Actually, I think I'm wrong, but who cares?! So, that was, of course, amazing. After, he told the story of him and Mikey seeing the Smashing Pumpkins and Mikey saying he wanted them to be up there one day. "'Okay, Mikey' I said. 'Okay'"
Then they played Famous Last Words. We sang our hearts out and I could feel the emotion coming from the band. They wrote that song when they were all going through tough times and it really means a lot to them. And you could tell. The power was amazing, we all felt it.
Then, Bob took a picture of Gerard and MSG before Teenagers. It was awesome! We sang loud and clear and pumped our fists screaming "Teenagers scare! The living sh*t out of me!" It was AWESOME!
Next was
Headfirst for Halos. LOVED IT!
Then, Gerard told us we were pathetic and would never fit in and they started playing
I'm Not Okay (I Promise). It was so cool, we filled in for Gerard during "I'm o-kay. I'm o-" and my GOSH, that man can scream! He screamed "-
KAY!" so hard, I thought he would start spitting up blood! It was scary! But he kept singing to the end of the song. Wow.
Oh! Oh! WAY before this he sang
I Don't Love You, but I can't remember when, so I'll tell you about it now. People (including myself) held up their cellphones and waved their arms back and forth. He was great.
Okay, so after
Teenagers was
Mama. You should of heard the crowd SCREAM when they heard the soft bounce of the tune to
Mama coming from the stage. We screamed and yelled and pumped our fists. It was so awesome!
He did
Cancer and when he sang the last line he said "Cause the hardest part of this, is leaving-" and he threw his arms out to the crowd as we sang "you". After everyone settled down he grabbed his mic and sang "you" which sent us all screaming. Then he left and played a beautiful piano piece, it was gorgeous. He came back on and sang
Cemetery Drive.
Then, he did
Desert Song which he's only done in the UK. "Everyone hold those cellphones up, I have to see that sh*t in the air." he said before starting. It was gorgeous, he sang it by himself as we all waved our cells. They looked like stars, dots of light all moving different directions at slightly different paces. Beautiful. My heart melted from the power and emotion, I love that song.
Next was
Sleep. Stunningly powerful moment. The cellphones and... the singing. Not screaming, or belting- singing. The crowd was singing softly. We all felt the meaning of the song, and whether our interpretations were different than our neighbor's or not, we all felt the song sacred and respected it. (of course, belting out "tyranny!" and "apathy!", etc.)
Finally, the last song that The Black Parade would ever sing
. He started by having us repeat after him. Ex.:
Gee: "Whoa oh oh!"
Crowd: "Whoa oh oh!"
Then, both of us sang
Helena. At the end, we all knew he wasn't just singing a song. It really was so long and goodnight. Goodbye My Chemical Romance.
