“It’s Not a Fashion Statement, It’s a F***ing Deathwish”

Looking “emo” made us targets in the early aughts. Meg and I met in 2004 — the year My Chemical Romance released their sophomore album Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge. Second-wave emo was still nascent. Bands were taking cues from punk and hardcore, blending clean vocals and pop-punk melodies with screams and breakdowns. Lyrics about cutting wrists and blacking eyes were standard, and the music found its home in high school hallways and the early-gen iPods of lonely kids.

Being emo was NOT cool. Both Meg and I had dropped out of school by the time we met. Teenage depression and distasteful aesthetics made me unwelcome in my own home, but I found safety and belonging with Meg and within the emo music community.

Our bond was forged in adolescent loneliness and an all-consuming love of music. With no school schedules holding us back, we spent every day learning the details of our favourite albums. We attended every concert we could — from DIY shows to packed stadiums — often skipping basic necessities just to afford the tickets.

Meg soon got her first camera, a Nikon D50, and immediately started documenting the scene. Bands noticed our constant presence, and her photos gained traction. Watching her become a world-class photographer has been one of the greatest joys of my life. Her work stands out because the first priority is always the music and the art. You see the soul of the musician in her images because she sees it first. That’s why collaborating with her on this piece feels so special.

When MCR toured Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge in 2004, we had already seen more shows than we could count. We had a system: arrive first thing in the morning, camp in line all day — long before lining up early was common. The first time we saw them, they played with The Used and blew everyone else off the stage. Theatrics, full emotional commitment, and an audience that screamed and sobbed through every song. We saw them two more times that year, and each show was immaculate. MCR have always been top-tier performers.

Fast forward 20 years: we’re in Tampa with 50,000+ of MCR’s biggest fans for the final stop of the long-awaited Long Live The Black Parade tour.

The Performance

No genre reflects the desperation of inner demons like second-wave emo. Group vocals and guitar harmonies still send chills through even the most seasoned fans. My Chemical Romance took the style’s raw root and elevated it, pairing virtuosity with Gerard Way’s fantastical storytelling, which earned them an ever-growing cult following.

This tour feels like an unfolding narrative, with new “plot points” each night. Fans have been meticulously logging details — from an ongoing battle with an armed clown, to a punch-in time clock stuck at 12:12 — and theorizing what it all means.

The show is split into two acts. Stage A: The Black Parade in full, performed as a play, ending with Gerard’s “death.” Stage B: a victory lap through the rest of their catalog.

For the first nine stops of the tour, the clown “won” — stabbing Gerard. But on this final night, both Gerard and the clown died together by bomb. The crowd screamed: WHAT DOES IT MEAN?!

Theories abound: Is the clown a future version of Gerard? Is the band performing as MCR or as an entirely fictional group? Or is this their way of symbolically putting The Black Parade to rest after living in its shadow for so long? Whatever it is, only the band truly knows.

While Stage A is a play of sorts, Stage B is where the band lets loose. The songs run the gamut from their first album I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love to their latest, Danger Days. The elder emos in the crowd lose their minds when anything from Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge is played, and they blessed us with four whole tracks off of that album in Tampa. 

The sound was flawless for a stadium this size — the signature MCR guitar tone filling the night sky, Gerard’s vocals cutting clear. Near the close, Gerard remarked he couldn’t see the stars. The crowd responded by lighting up the bleachers, creating an emo constellation just for him.

Looking around, I saw lifelong friends and total strangers holding hands, singing, laughing, crying. I saw new friendships being born — just like Meg and I back in 2004.

My Chemical Romance has created a community where people feel safe and seen. As they say in “It’s Not a Fashion Statement, It’s a Deathwish”: “I lost my fear of falling, I will be with you.”

Thank you, MCR. Thank you, Meg.