My Chemical Romance returned to the stage for the first time in over 18 months to headline Las Vegas’ annual emo nostalgia festival When We Were Young on Saturday (10/19) and Sunday (10/20), and making these shows extra special, My Chem performed their 2006 rock opera The Black Parade in its entirety for the first time since doing so on the original Black Parade tour in 2007, topping a lineup that included full-album performances from almost every band. Some of the songs hadn’t been performed at all in many years, including “The End.,” “Dead!,” “The Sharpest Lives,” and “Disenchanted,” and they brought Kayleigh Goldsworthy (who’s also in Frank Iero’s band) on stage to assist them with new violin arrangements for “Cancer” and “Mama,” the former of which hadn’t been performed with the full band since 2006. (They usually play it with just piano and Gerard Way singing.) At night one, they encored with “I’m Not Okay (I Promise)” and “Helena,” and night two got “Na Na Na (Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na)” and “Helena.” Watch a full-set video of night two and select clips from throughout the weekend below.
When We Were Young also included sets from Fall Out Boy, Thursday, Coheed and Cambria, Saves The Day, Dashboard Confessional, Jimmy Eat World, Underoath, The Starting Line, Taking Back Sunday, Motion City Soundtrack, The Used, The Wonder Years, Bayside, Chiodos, Hawthorne Heights, New Found Glory, Basement, Pretty Girls Make Graves, Nada Surf, and more. See more pictures and videos from the fest here.
After breaking up in 2013, My Chemical Romance returned with their first show in seven years at the tail-end of 2019, but then the rest of their reunion tour was postponed until 2022, when they also co-headlined When We Were Young, along with Riot Fest, multiple NYC-area shows, and more. They also released their first new song in eight years, “The Foundations of Decay,” that year, but no word on more new music since.
In addition to MCR, Thursday, and Coheed playing WWWY, post-hardcore supergroup L.S. Dunes (whose lineup features MCR’s Frank Iero, Thursday’s rhythm section, Coheed guitarist Travis Stever, and lead vocalist Anthony Green of Circa Survive/Saosin/etc) played an early 11:15 AM set at the fest, which came just a few days after they announced their sophomore album Violet, which comes out January 31 via Fantasy Records. We’ve got an exclusive, limited-to-500 “twilight” vinyl variant up for pre-order in the BV shop.
L.S. Dunes, Thursday, Coheed, Jimmy Eat World, Taking Back Sunday, The Used, Underoath, and more were also among the bands that did video interviews backstage with Anna Zanes of Alternative Press at the festival, and you can watch those and more at Veeps. During the L.S. Dunes interview, Frank Iero and the band talked the pros and cons of labeling WWWY a “nostalgia” fest, while also acknowledging that L.S. Dunes was a rare band only playing new music at the festival, and what a great vehicle that has been for the members, who like the balance of also having a new project that allows them to be in the present.
My Chemical Romance @ When We Were Young – 10/19-20/24 Setlist (via)
The Black Parade:
The End. (first time live since 2007)
Dead! (first time live since 2011)
This Is How I Disappear
The Sharpest Lives (first time live since 2008)
Welcome to the Black Parade
I Don’t Love You (with new intro)
House of Wolves
Cancer (with Kayleigh Goldsworthy) (first time with full band since 2006; new violin arrangement)
Mama (with Kayleigh Goldsworthy) (with new violin intro and outro)
Sleep
Teenagers
Disenchanted (first time live since 2007)
Famous Last Words (new outro with “Welcome to the Black Parade” reprise)
Blood
Night One Encore:
I’m Not Okay (I Promise)
Helena
Night Two Encore:
Na Na Na (Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na)
Play Video
Helena
