My Chemical Romance Live in KL

On December 9th, one of the most popular bands in the world performed at Stadium Merdeka right here in the heart of Kuala Lumpur. Rock outfit My Chemical Romance was here to sing before a sell-out crowd of over 10,000 people, and they did not disappoint.

When Linkin Park announced that they will not be performing here in Malaysia, many rock fans were devastated. Lucky for us, My Chemical Romance came. As a huge fan, I went with a few of my friends to enjoy the event. Our parents did not allow us to spend hundreds on a rock concert, and so we bought the cheapest tickets (free seating) instead of the more expensive (free standing) ones. We started our journey around 6.30pm, and went into KL without even knowing where we were supposed to go. Road signs led the way and after 90 minutes, some arguments and a few big rounds, we finally arrived.

Late as we were, we did not get to watch local bands Pop Shuvit and One Buck Short perform, but from what I heard, they did pretty well themselves. We arrived at 8pm and waited for MCR to come on stage. It wasn’t a long wait. At 8.15pm sharp, the stage was ablaze, and My Chemical Romance performed their opening number This Is How I Disappear (ironic name for an opening song). They then introduced themselves as the American Sex Boys and belted out a few of their more up-tempo hits such as Dead, I’m Not OK (I Promise) and new single Mama.

After the first few songs, it seemed as though the crowd were becoming a little unenthusiastic. Only when the opening keys of Welcome to the Black Parade were played, did the crowd go wild. The crowd sang along word for word and some might even say that they drowned lead singer Gerard Way’s voice. Right after that, the band played I Don’t Love You, which in my opinion was the best performance of the night. It was truly cry-worthy. MCR played a total of 17 songs, 11 of which were from their latest album The Black Parade.

MCR is truly a band with substance, and such bands are not contented with just singing their songs and walking away. Instead, they inserted certain special dialogs and eerie piano tunes to turn the mood up and make it feel like a horror movie. It is all these little extras and attention to details that help make them truly fun to watch. Besides, Gerard’s voice was in tip-top condition that night so to all those who say that MCR can’t sing live, in your face!

Also, do not forget that it was raining the entire time they were performing, but that only added to the excitement. Fans were provided with free plastic raincoats (just imagine yourself wearing multiple plastic bags) but not many were bothered with it as most of us were busy jumping and singing along. Throughout the concert, Gerard stuck with the rules and did not once say the F word – in full, but he did cheekily insert smart words like “effin” and even spelled it out letter by letter.

Overall, it was an awesome experience and definitely worth the money. Even though I was standing so far away, I did not miss a single moment and it was obvious that the rest of the audience were very into in too. After 90 minutes of playing, MCR really proved that they were here to get down and they did with a blast. The fans were also great, though occasionally they also forgot the lyrics. But as Mikey Way said, “We (the fans) are the greatest band in the world!”
Thank you My Chemical Romance. We had a helluva time and we hope you will visit us again sooner than later.

KL Playlist:
1) This Is How I Disappear
2) Dead
3) I'm Not OK (I Promise)
4) Give Em' Hell Kid
5) The Sharpest Lives
6) Mama
7) Cemetery Drive
8) Welcome To The Black Parade
9) I Don't Love You
10) House Of Wolves
11) This Is What They Do To Guys Like Us In Prison
12) Helena
13) Teenagers
14) Sleep
15) Cancer
16) Desert Song
17) Famous Last Words

PS : That was the review I wrote for Matr!cs. Personal review, pics and vids coming soon...