MCR is more than OK… My Chemical Romance has just embarked on their first-ever headlining tour in continued support of their latest release, Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge. Making one of the first stops at UIC Pavilion, Chicago on their way to making over 40 stops worldwide, MCR sounded tight and appeared completely comfortable and confident in their new skin and brighter spotlight. By turning into the main attraction, MCR did more than turn a performance corner as the entire band appeared to be released from a cage, given freedom to explode on an enlarged stage. In particular, Frank Iero (guitarist) cranked up his performance more than just a few notches. Spinning and diving like he was on an IV of Red Bull, Iero didn’t stand in frontman, Gerard Way’s shadow. The most obvious change in Gerard Way was his attire. Way discarded his somewhat trademarked bullet-proof vest (that he wore all summer long) for a priest’s collar which could possibly signify how blessed this band has been.

Riding the wave of their extremely successful summer which included a tour with Green Day, Van’s Warped Tour, heavy Helena Video airplay which was nominated Video Music Awards by MTV, and sales of Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge of over 825,000 copies, MCR’s prayers have been more than answered.

My Chemical Romance Concert Photos: Chicago, IL (new), Warped Tour, Colombus, OH

Gerald Way, lead vocalist for MCR knew this was coming… We spoke with Gerard during the Green Day leg of their tour earlier this year: “I believe that we’ll do our first and only headliner for Revenge- it won’t last awhile, we just want to do one tour to complete the vision with stage set up, the stage theatrics- theatrics that we’ve been promising ourselves for a long time. Then leave and go make another record.” [See MusicPix.Net for the entire interview with Gerard Way]

Considering these self proclaimed misfits from New Jersey have been together for less than four years, MCR is musically mature beyond their years. According to Way, they have about eight songs already written for their next release and have big plans to support it with an arena-sized theatrical event.

The Band:
Gerard Way-Lead Vocal
Mikey Way-Bass Guitar
Ray Toro-Guitar
Bob Bryar-Drums
Frank Iero-Guitar

Discography
Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge (June, 2004)
You brought me your bullets, I brought you my love (July 2002)

The Tour
09/20/05 Saint Paul, MN
09/21/05 Milwaukee, WI
09/22/05 Saint Louis, MO
09/23/05 Grand Prairie, TX
09/24/05 San Antonio, TX
09/26/05 Tucson, AZ
09/27/05 Mesa, AZ
09/28/05 San Diego, CA
09/29/05 San Diego, CA
09/30/05 Los Angeles, CA
10/01/05 Las Vegas, NV
10/02/05 San Jose, CA
10/03/05 Reno, NV
10/05/05 Orem, UT
10/08/05 Duluth, GA
10/09/05 Tampa, FL
10/10/05 Fort Lauderdale, FL
10/11/05 Lake Buena Vista, FL
10/12/05 Myrtle Beach, SC
10/13/05 East Rutherford, NJ
10/14/05 Camden, NJ
10/15/05 Lowell, MA
10/16/05 Hartford, CT
10/19/05 Mexico City, MEX
10/21/05 Baltimore, MD
11/01/05 Wolverhampton, UK
11/02/05 Portsmouth, UK
11/03/05 London, UK
11/04/05 London, UK
11/06/05 Glasgow, UK
11/07/05 Newcastle, UK
11/08/05 Manchester, UK
11/09/05 Manchester, UK
11/10/05 Dublin, IRE
11/11/05 Newport, UK
11/13/05 Hamburg, GER
11/14/05 Copenhagen, DEN
11/15/05 Cologne, GER
11/16/05 Berlin, GER
11/17/05 Munich, GER
12/14/05 Sydney, AUS
12/17/05 Melbourne, AUS