Give Me All Your Poison and Give Me All Your Pills.
Meeting My Chemical Romance. 2004.
My senior year I had the hook in me pretty good, having gotten a good taste of live music the year before I was a full blown junkie. Never able to satiate the burning desire to get lost in a live performance. I had stopped spending any extra money collecting baseball cards and started dumping all my cash into procuring a live fix. Going to as many shows as possible chasing the dragon.
Looking back at my ticket stubs from over the years it boggles my mind how cheap it really was getting into these shows. It’s probably why I was able to build up a nice t shirt collection, one that has been thinned out over the years, but for the most part I have them all still, stored away in giant plastic totes. Who knows, if I ever have kids they’ll get a kick outta going through them. Most of them considered vintage at this point.
Anyways, My Chemical Romance was starting to gain popularity riding the wave of their sophomore release “Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge” my big sister Emmy was really into them and I was too. For all the flak they get for being Emo or whatever they cut some killer fucking albums. So when it was announced they were playing St Andrews in December of that year, we had to go. I’m pretty sure it was an 89x joint, the tickets cost 8.90 before service fees, totaling a whopping 12 bucks after service fees. A far stretch from the predatory Ticketmaster fees that are destroying the industry today.
It was a cold one, we were going with a mutual friend from school, I knew it was going to be hot as hell inside, so I just wore a hoodie, braving the cold as we waited outside to get into the club. My sister and her friend had cashed out on all the merch. Leaving me stuck to hold their gear during the show. I had anticipated this being the move, so I wanted to pack light.
The show started out with no holds barred energy. Local act Even the Odd opened the show. Raspy vocals and a Detroit guitar rock sound, that I really enjoyed. Their album Popular Among Van Owners finally made its way onto Spotify years ago, and I still go back and revisit it often. I’m not sure the details of the bands demise but they were solid live, having catching them a few more times opening other shows over the years.
The direct support was an even bigger Behemoth, local hardcore act Bang! Bang! Fucking monsters on the stage. They had the crowd in a frenzy the whole set never letting up, up to that point it was probably the best crowd I had ever been a part of, trying to hold all the swag I had in my hands was a challenge as it was an unrelenting pit, the whole floor was moving. I had seen them a handful more times over the years and was always excited when they were on the bill. Straight raging bangers, their album It’s Choking Me is on Spotify. I still have the cd from the gig, and the 7inch single featuring their hit 1977 I got from the show. The riff from that track coupled with the lyrics, are to this day one of my favorite songs of all time. If that shit don’t make you wanna dance, and throw some shit around you are probably devoid of a soul, at the very least a working ear. It still holds up. I’m not sure what happened with them either, but they certainly possessed the talent to be a band with longevity. Probably were too good for their own good honestly. The shift in what was selling on the airwaves was radically changing at the time and a lot of phenomenal local bands suffered from that shift over the years.
With the energy flowing after their set the crowd was warmed up and ready for the Headliners to take their turn. The band came out looking like punks from New Jersey, this was before they started to get more theatrical in their performances and wasted no time getting into it. They played a good chunk of Three Cheers, and plenty of cuts from their debut I brought you my bullets…
The band had a very tight sound and played well with each other. Gerard is a top a tier frontman that brings more of a punch to his vocals on the stage than on the record. The crowd never let up, as the electricity coming from the band was unhinged.
It was a very punk rock performance, raw and relentless. A real showcase of what was on the horizon for the fellas.
After the show I made my way closer to the stage and was able to score one of Frank’s guitar picks. We had waited around outside the club, a trick my dad had taught me early on. Our friend that was with us, had a serious crush on Gerard. I was just hoping to get my ticket stub signed by the fellas. Slowly I started to get signatures, first guitarist Frank Iero, then bassist Mikey Way, followed by guitarist Ray Toro, all stopping to sign my ticket before heading onto the bus. They had just recently gotten their drum tech behind the skins and he wasn’t around, but having not been an original member I wasn’t too concerned. Finally Gerard had come out and was stopped by the crowds, I was able to get him to sign. The wet snow that was falling ended up causing one of the signatures to smudge, but I got it. Out friend, who was slightly embarrassing had given him a bracelet she made for him out of child like beads, she thought his name was Gerald and spelt it that way on the bracelet. He was very nice about it and took it with grace, she kept pestering him for one of his bracelets, and he politely kept telling her no, but said he had something better for her, and went onto the bus. He came back out with a cd, he had told us they were a band that he really loved, and wanted us to check out. If I’m not mistaken it was a live record cut in Boston. The band was called the Dresden Dolls. Emmy and I were stoked, always on the hunt for new music, receiving a personal recommendation from an artist we both admired was hands down the coolest way to discover new tunes. Our friend was less than thrilled, and ended up giving Em the cd. They were legit, a two piece that dressed up like mimes billing themselves as a Punk Cabaret act. We ended up catching them the next time they came through Detroit, and it ended up being one of the strangest, wildest shows I’ve seen. That’s a tale for another time however.
I ended up catching My Chemical Romance live a handful more times the coming years, watching them graduate to bigger venues each stop, their stage stage show evolving into the artsy punky show they now deliver. They really are an incredible band to watch perform and they have only gotten better at their craft. I wasn’t able to get tickets to their reunion show last year, but Em did and told me they were still just as good. I’m sure I’ll catch them again at some point. Everyone needs to make money and I’m not convinced their touring days are completely over. Even if it’s another ten years before they hit the road again. I suggest giving them a proper dive. Those first two records are some of the best punk albums the early 2000’s has to offer. You can find them on Spotify.
Also look up Bang Bang “It’s Choking Me” and Even the Odd “Popular Among Van Owners” on Spotify as well. Two records that still hold up, and deserve some recognition.