The Black Parade World Tour

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The Black Parade World Tour
Tour by My Chemical Romance
The Black Parade World Tour Promotional Poster.png
Promotional poster example
Associated album The Black Parade
Start dateFebruary 22, 2007
End dateMay 9, 2008
No. of shows133
Supporting acts Muse, Rise Against
My Chemical Romance concert chronology

The Black Parade World Tour was a concert tour by American rock band My Chemical Romance in support of their third studio album, The Black Parade (2006). The tour began on February 22, 2007, in Manchester, New Hampshire and concluded on May 9, 2008, in New York City. 133 shows were a part of the tour, with locations spanning across five different continents, ranging from cities such as the aforementioned New York City to Buenos Aires and Moscow.

Contents

For most of the tour, My Chemical Romance would play The Black Parade in its entirety dressed up as an alter-ego band named after the album. After playing the album in its entirety, the band would then play a selection of songs from their previous albums. The concerts often saw extensive use of pyrotechnics, and also featured blimps that would rise over the stage. Shows throughout the tour would follow this format until October 7, 2007, when the "Black Parade" persona was "killed off" in Mexico City. After that point, the band would no longer play the album in its entirety, but would continue to support it through other miscellaneous shows.

The October 7 show was released as the live album The Black Parade Is Dead! in 2008. The tour received positive reviews from journalists, with Kerrang! ranking it among the best concert tours of all time in 2021.

Background and development

My Chemical Romance released their third studio album, The Black Parade , on October 23, 2006, through Reprise Records. [1] A concept album, it centers around a man dying from cancer, known as "the Patient", who reflects upon his life as he nears his death, [2] which is presented to him in the form of his fondest childhood memory: seeing a marching band. [3] This also led to the creation of an alter-ego band named after the album, simply titled "The Black Parade". [4] To promote the album, My Chemical Romance would perform around 60 standalone shows throughout 2006. [5]

On December 18, 2006, My Chemical Romance announced the first leg of the Black Parade World Tour, consisting 17 dates at stadiums throughout the United States. [6] Around the same time, a set of dates for the United Kingdom were announced. [7] A second leg with 18 more dates was announced on February 1, 2007, with all set in the United States except for one show in Vancouver. [8] Shortly afterwards, 7 stops at Canadian cities were announced. [9] The tour continued to announce more, and it formally began on February 22 in Manchester, New Hampshire. [6] The European leg of the tour started on March 20, and by May they were back in the United States for a second North American leg. [10] They then went to Europe again shortly afterwards. [11] The band then went to Mexico in October to play a show, [12] went back to their home state of New Jersey, [12] and then returned to Europe in November. [12]

On October 7, 2007, My Chemical Romance "killed off" the "Black Parade" persona at their performance at the Palacio de los Deportes in Mexico City. [12] While the tour continued beyond this point until the aforementioned performance at the Madison Square Garden, the band would no longer perform as "The Black Parade", nor would they play the album in its entirety. [12] This date was the initial planned conclusion of the whole tour, although with the continued commercial success of The Black Parade, which by then had become a cultural phenomenon, the band felt that they had to continue playing. [13] The continuation of the tour was also connected to frontman Gerard Way's desire to play a "dream show" at the Madison Square Garden. [13] The performance in Mexico City was recorded and released as the live album The Black Parade Is Dead! in 2008. [14]

The band continued on with the tour in December 2007 with a series of dates of Australia, New Zealand, and Asia. [12] The band then kept up with the tour throughout 2008, with January bringing them back to Asia, February bringing the band to South America, and March taking them back to Europe once more. [12] In April, the band returned to the United States for the final leg of the tour, [12] which concluded on May 9, 2008, with their performance at the Madison Square Garden. [5] By the end of the tour, the band had played about 133 shows within 400 days across the world, [15] ranging from cities such as Buenos Aires to Moscow, [5] though some of these dates were cancelled. [16]

Throughout the course of the tour, the band suffered extreme burnout and sustained several injuries and illnesses. These ranged from depression to food poisoning. [13] Consequentially, several dates of the tour were cancelled, and specific members had to be replaced temporarily. Six shows were cancelled from April 29, 2007, to May 4, 2007, after the band and crew contracted food poisoning. [16] On January 11, 2007, Frank Iero left the tour because of an unspecified illness, being replaced by Drive By guitarist Todd Price. [17] Drummer Bob Bryar sustained wrist injuries at one point which evolved into carpal tunnel syndrome. [13] Additionally, bassist Mikey Way took time off to get married and spend time with his new wife, Alicia Simmons, and was replaced by guitar tech Matt Cortez from April 18, 2007, until October 4, 2007. [18]

Production

MCRBPset.jpg
My Chemical Romance fire.jpg
The stage design for the shows (left) was based on the setting of the "Welcome to the Black Parade" music video, and pyrotechnics would be used during the show on certain songs (right).

The Black Parade World Tour was noted for its "theatrical"-styled production. [19] When conceptualizing the tour and its set design, Gerard Way felt the need to make The Black Parade everything that he imagined it could be, and that if the band worked hard on creating the album, they were going to ensure a "special" experience when playing it live. [20] The band also felt that if they were asking fans to go to shows set in arenas, then they owed them a large-scale performance. [21] To focus on this element behind the tour, the band was generally less energetic and chaotic while on stage in comparison to previous tours. [20]

Almost every idea that the band had for the tours production was utilized; [21] the stage elements reportedly required seven trucks to move around from show to show, in addition to four buses needed to transport the band itself as well as the production crew. [21] The elaborate stage design for the shows was largely reminiscent of the city skyline present in the background of the music video for "Welcome to the Black Parade". [22] Pyrotechnics saw extensive use as well, going off during certain songs. [23] At one point in the show, black and white blimps would emerge from each side of the stage and float above the crowd. [23] The band's "Black Parade" uniforms were designed by Colleen Atwood. [24]

Concert synopsis

Each night of the Black Parade World Tour would begin with Gerard Way being wheeled onto the stage via gurney dressed up as "The Patient", before singing the opening lines of the album's opening song "The End." [22] From there, the song would fully begin and Gerard Way would formally introduce the band's "Black Parade" persona. [22] [4] The band would then play through The Black Parade in its entirety. [22] [4] After about sixty minutes of playing, [25] the concert would reach the final song on the album, "Famous Last Words", where sparks would engulf the stage [4] and the band would leave for a brief intermission. [23]

After the intermission, My Chemical Romance would return to the stage "as themselves", ditching the "Black Parade" persona in favor of attire reminiscent to their outfits from their Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge era; [23] the backdrop of the stage would be replaced by simply the word "revenge" in all caps. [23] From there, they would play a selection of their greatest hits from their previous studio albums, such as "I'm Not Okay (I Promise)", "The Ghost of You", and others. After playing through a selection of their previous songs for about thirty minutes, [26] the band would then conclude the concert with "Helena". [27]

Reception and legacy

According to the Billboard Boxscore, the Black Parade World Tour earned $183,600 per show on average, with an average of 5,415 tickets sold per date. It was a more profitable tour than the bands next headlining tour, the World Contamination Tour, which averaged $136,000 in profit and 3,392 in tickets sold per show, a 27% decrease and a 37% decrease respectively. [28]

The Black Parade World Tour was met with positive reviews from several journalists, such as Thompson Ed of IGN , [4] Scott McLennan of Telegram & Gazette , [29] a writer of NME , [23] and Neva Chonin of SFGate. [25] In 2021, David McLaughlin of Kerrang! said that the Black Parade World Tour was one of the ten best concert tours of all time. [15] In 2024, My Chemical Romance announced a second tour centered around The Black Parade, called Long Live The Black Parade, which is set to take place throughout 2025. [30]

Standard set list

February 2007–October 7, 2007

"The Black Parade" [31] [32]

  1. "The End."
  2. "Dead!"
  3. "This is How I Disappear"
  4. "The Sharpest Lives"
  5. "Welcome to the Black Parade"
  6. "I Don't Love You"
  7. "House of Wolves"
  8. "Cancer"
  9. "Mama"
  10. "Sleep"
  11. "Teenagers"
  12. "Disenchanted"
  13. "Famous Last Words"

My Chemical Romance / Encore [5] [32]

  1. "I'm Not Okay (I Promise)"
  2. "It’s Not a Fashion Statement, It’s a Fucking Deathwish"
  3. "Cemetery Drive"
  4. "The Ghost of You"
  5. "Give 'Em Hell, Kid"
  6. "Thank You For The Venom"
  7. "You Know What They Do to Guys Like Us in Prison"
  8. "Helena"

October 2007–May 2008

Taken from the track list of The Black Parade Is Dead!. [33]

  1. "Welcome to the Black Parade"
  2. "Thank You for the Venom"
  3. "Dead!"
  4. "The Sharpest Lives"
  5. "This Is How I Disappear"
  6. "Teenagers"
  7. "I'm Not Okay (I Promise)"
  8. "You Know What They Do To Guys Like Us In Prison"
  9. "Famous Last Words"
  10. "Give 'Em Hell, Kid"
  11. "House of Wolves"
  12. "It's Not A Fashion Statement, It's A Death Wish"
  13. "I Don't Love You"
  14. "Untitled"
  15. "Mama"
  16. "Helena"
  17. "Cancer"

Tour dates

Shows in 2007
Date (2007)CityCountryVenueOpening act(s)Ref.
February 22 Manchester United States Verizon Wireless Arena Rise Against [6]
February 23 Uniondale Nassau Coliseum
February 24 Hartford New England Dodge Music Center
February 25 Philadelphia Liacouras Center
February 26 Cleveland Wolstein Center
February 28 Detroit Joe Louis Arena
March 1 Rosemont Allstate Arena
March 2 Topeka Kansas Expocentre
March 3 Lincoln Pershing Center
March 4 Denver Magness Arena
March 6 West Valley City E Center
March 7 Las Vegas Orleans Arena
March 9 Glendale Jobing.com Arena
March 10 Inglewood The Forum
March 11 Anaheim Anaheim Convention Center
March 13 San Diego iPay One Center
March 14 Fresno Selland Arena
March 15 Oakland Oracle Arena
March 16 Reno Lawlor Convention Center
March 20 Plymouth England Plymouth Pavilions [7]
March 21 Brighton Brighton Centre
March 22 Birmingham National Indoor Arena
March 24 Manchester Manchester Evening News Arena
March 25 Cardiff Wales Cardiff International Arena
March 26 Nottingham England Nottingham Arena
March 27 Glasgow Scotland Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre
March 29LondonEngland Wembley Arena
April 1 Dublin Ireland Royal Dublin Society [34]
April 3 Cologne GermanyPalladium
April 4ParisFrance Élysée Montmartre
April 6BerlinGermanyColumbiahalle
April 7 Hamburg Alsterdorfer Sporthalle
April 9 Malmö SwedenBaltiska Hallen
April 10 Copenhagen Denmark K.B. Hallen
April 14 Houston United States Reliant Arena Muse [8]
April 15 Frisco Pizza Hut Park
April 16 San Antonio AT&T Center
April 18 Pensacola Pensacola Civic Center
April 19 Tampa St. Pete Times Forum
April 22 Sunrise BankAtlantic Center
April 24 Duluth Arena at Gwinnett Center
April 25 Nashville Nashville Municipal Auditorium
April 26 Charlotte Cricket Arena
April 27 Columbia Merriweather Post Pavilion
April 28 Williamsburg William & Mary Hall
April 29 State College Bryce Jordan Center
May 1 Columbus Nationwide Arena
May 2 Pittsburgh Petersen Events Center
May 3 Glens Falls Glens Falls Civic Center
May 4 Reading Sovereign Center
May 5 East Rutherford The Bamboozle
May 6 Portland Cumberland County Civic Center
May 8 Worcester DCU Center
May 9 Montreal Canada Bell Centre [9]
May 10 Ottawa Scotiabank Place
May 11 Toronto Air Canada Centre
May 12 London John Labatt Centre
May 15 Winnipeg MTS Centre
May 16 Saskatoon Credit Union Centre
May 17 Edmonton Rexall Place
May 18 Calgary Pengrowth Saddledome
May 20 Vancouver Virgin Festival [8]
May 21 Seattle United StatesWaMu Theatre
May 22 Portland Veterans Memorial Coliseum
June 1 Nürburg Germany Rock am Ring [34]
June 2 Nuremberg Rock im Park
June 3 Prague Czech Republic T-Mobile Arena
June 5 Amsterdam Netherlands Heineken Music Hall
June 8 Castle Donington England Download Festival
June 11 Saint Petersburg Russia Ice Palace
June 13Moscow Luzhniki Palace of Sports
June 15 Venice Italy Heineken Jammin' Festival
June 16 Nickelsdorf Austria Nova Rock Festival
June 17LondonEnglandWembley Stadium
June 19ParisFrance Zénith de Paris
June 20 Bordeaux Le Krakatoa
June 22 Bilbao Spain Bilbao BBK Live
June 23 Madrid Metrorock
June 24 Lisbon Portugal Coliseu dos Recreios
June 26 Barcelona Spain Razzmatazz
June 28 Werchter Belgium Rock Werchter
June 30 Arendal Norway Hove Festival
July 1 Gothenburg Sweden Pier Pressure
July 3 Helsinki Finland Helsinki Ice Hall
July 4 Dresden Germany Ostragehege
July 6 Roskilde Denmark Roskilde Festival
July 7 Kinross Scotland T in the Park
July 8 County Kildare Ireland Oxegen
October 7 Mexico City Mexico Palacio de los Deportes [12]
October 24 Hoboken United States Maxwell's [35]
October 30 Bratislava Slovakia ŠH Pasienky [34]
November 2 Vienna Austria Wiener Stadthalle
November 3 Milan Italy Palasharp
November 4 Zürich Switzerland Eulachhalle
November 6 Brussels Belgium Les Halles de Schaerbeek
November 7 Luxembourg Luxembourg Den Atelier
November 8 Düsseldorf Germany Philipshalle
November 11 Newcastle England Metro Radio Arena
November 12 Aberdeen Scotland Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre
November 13 Sheffield England Hallam FM Arena
November 15London The O2 Arena
November 17 Belfast Northern Ireland King's Hall
November 28 Brisbane Australia Brisbane Entertainment Centre
November 30 Sydney Sydney Entertainment Centre
December 1 Melbourne Rod Laver Arena
December 3 Adelaide Adelaide Entertainment Centre
December 6 Auckland New Zealand Vector Arena
December 9 Kuala Lumpur Malaysia Stadium Merdeka
December 11 Singapore Singapore Singapore Expo
December 14 Honolulu United States Neal S. Blaisdell Center
Shows in 2008
Date (2008)CityCountryVenueOpening act(s)Ref.
January 20 Ho Chi Minh City Vietnam Quân khu 7 Stadium [36]
January 22 Seoul South Korea Olympic Hall [37]
January 25 Manila Philippines Fort Bonifacio Open Field-Taguig [38]
January 27 Taipei Taiwan National Taiwan University Sports Center [39]
January 29 Chek Lap Kok Hong Kong AsiaWorld–Expo [40]
January 31 Jakarta Indonesia Jakarta Convention Center
February 15 Rio de Janeiro Brazil Vivo Rio [41]
February 17 Curitiba Hellooch
February 18 São Paulo Via Funchal
February 19
February 22 Buenos Aires Argentina Estadio Ricardo Etcheverry [42]
March 28 Tempe United States Tempe Beach Park Amphitheater [43]
March 29 Tucson Rialto Theatre
March 30Las Vegas The Joint
March 31
April 2 San Jose San Jose Civic Auditorium
April 3San Francisco The Warfield
April 4
April 6 Irvine Bamboozle
April 8Portland Crystal Ballroom
April 9
April 11 Magna Saltair
April 12Mexico CityMexico Zero Fest
April 14DenverUnited States The Fillmore Auditorium
April 15 Kansas City Memorial Hall
April 17 Chicago Congress Theater
April 18
April 19 Detroit The Fillmore Detroit
April 20
April 22Cleveland Agora Theatre
April 24 New Orleans House of Blues - New Orleans
April 25 Baton Rouge X-Fest @ Baton Rouge River Center
April 26 The Woodlands Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
April 27FriscoPizza Hut Park
April 28 Austin Stubbs Amphitheatre
April 30 Birmingham Sloss Furnaces
May 2 Memphis Beale St. Festival
May 3 St. Louis The Pageant
May 4Columbus Lifestyle Communities Pavilion
May 6Philadelphia Electric Factory
May 7
May 9New York City Madison Square Garden [5]

References

  1. "The Black Parade — Album by My Chemical Romance — Apple Music" . Retrieved July 14, 2024.
  2. Stephen Thomas Erlewine. "The Black Parade – My Chemical Romance". AllMusic . Archived from the original on September 4, 2017. Retrieved July 2, 2008.
  3. Martin, Dan. "My Chemical Romance: The Black Parade". NME. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved March 26, 2007.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Thompson, Ed (March 21, 2007). "My Chemical Romance Bring Ostentatious Behavior To The Masses". IGN . Archived from the original on April 1, 2012. Retrieved July 18, 2008.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Bryant 2014, p. 208.
  6. 1 2 3 Punknews.org (December 18, 2006). "Tours: My Chemical Romance / Rise Against". www.punknews.org. Retrieved February 19, 2025.
  7. 1 2 NME (October 11, 2006). "My Chemical Romance plan spring tour". NME. Retrieved February 19, 2025.
  8. 1 2 3 Punknews.org (February 1, 2007). "Tours: My Chemical Romance / Muse". www.punknews.org. Retrieved February 19, 2025.
  9. 1 2 Punknews.org (February 18, 2007). "Tours: My Chemical Romance (Canada)". www.punknews.org. Retrieved February 19, 2025.
  10. Bryant 2014, pp. 210–211.
  11. Bryant 2014, pp. 212–217.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Bryant 2014, p. 224.
  13. 1 2 3 4 Bryant 2014, p. 225.
  14. Bruce, Sophie (2008). "Review of My Chemical Romance - The Black Parade is Dead". BBC . Archived from the original on July 13, 2024. Retrieved July 13, 2024.
  15. 1 2 "The 10 Greatest Tours Of All Time". Kerrang!. August 13, 2020. Retrieved March 9, 2025.
  16. 1 2 "Food poisoning halts Muse tour". BBC. May 2, 2007. Archived from the original on January 12, 2009. Retrieved July 17, 2008.
  17. "My Chemical Romance Guitarist Leaves Japanese Tour". Spin. January 12, 2007. Archived from the original on January 17, 2016. Retrieved July 17, 2008.
  18. "MCR News". My Chemical Romance. April 23, 2007. Archived from the original on February 23, 2011. Retrieved April 24, 2007.
  19. Bryant 2014, p. 279.
  20. 1 2 Bryant 2014, p. 210.
  21. 1 2 3 Bryant 2014, p. 209.
  22. 1 2 3 4 Bryant 2014, p. 207.
  23. 1 2 3 4 5 6 NME (March 22, 2007). "My Chemical Romance: The Forum, LA; Saturday, March 10". NME. Retrieved March 9, 2025.
  24. Scarlett, Liz (October 25, 2022). "My Chemical Romance's former drummer is selling his Black Parade uniform on eBay". louder. Retrieved March 12, 2025.
  25. 1 2 Chonin, Neva (March 19, 2007). "REVIEW / My Chemical Romance, a.k.a. Black Parade, claims glam's mantel". SFGate.
  26. Norris, John (February 23, 2007). "My Chemical Romance Bring The Black Parade To Life: John Norris Reports". MTV News . Archived from the original on December 25, 2015. Retrieved March 9, 2025.
  27. Bryant 2014, pp. 207–208.
  28. Lipshutz, Jason (August 4, 2022). "Why My Chemical Romance's Reunion Tour Has Proven 'Bigger Than Anyone Thought It Could Be'" (PDF). Billboard . p. 24. Retrieved March 11, 2025.
  29. McLennan, Scott. "My Chemical Romance parades into DCU Center". The Worcester Telegram & Gazette. Retrieved March 9, 2025.
  30. Hardman, Neville. "My Chemical Romance announce The Black Parade stadium tour". Alternative Press Magazine. Retrieved March 13, 2025.
  31. "My Chemical Romance: The Forum, LA; Saturday, March 10". NME. March 22, 2007. Retrieved February 19, 2025.
  32. 1 2 Thompson, Ed (March 22, 2007). "My Chemical Romance Bring Ostentatious Behavior To The Masses". IGN. Retrieved February 19, 2025.
  33. The Black Parade Is Dead! (Compact disc liner notes). Reprise Records. 2008. 357436-2.
  34. 1 2 3
    • Multiple references to My Chemical Romance's archived touring website:
    • April 1 –May 22 : "MCR Tour-". My Chemical Romance Official Website. Archived from the original on March 31, 2007. Retrieved March 8, 2025.
    • June 1 –September 1 : "MCR Tour-". My Chemical Romance Official Website. Archived from the original on May 30, 2007. Retrieved March 8, 2025.
    • August 25 –November 17 : "MCR Tour-". My Chemical Romance Official Website. Archived from the original on August 24, 2007. Retrieved March 8, 2025.
    • November 28 –December 14 : "MCR Tour-". My Chemical Romance Official Website. Archived from the original on November 18, 2007. Retrieved March 8, 2025.
  35. The Black Parade Is Dead! - My Chemical Romanc... | AllMusic , retrieved March 11, 2025
  36. "American Rockers to Play at Viet Nam's "Rock Your Passion" Gig". SGGP English Edition. January 4, 2008. Retrieved March 9, 2025.
  37. "Celine Dion, My Chemical Romance, Maroon 5 to Hit Seoul in 2008". The Korea Times. December 18, 2007. Retrieved March 9, 2025.
  38. Gil, Baby A. "The Black Parade comes to town". Philstar.com. Retrieved March 9, 2025.
  39. "Love them or loath them - Taipei Times". www.taipeitimes.com. January 25, 2008. Retrieved March 9, 2025.
  40. Almo, Nerisa (January 25, 2008). "My Chemical Romance rocks the Bonifacio Open Field January 25". PEP.ph . Retrieved March 9, 2025.
  41. "G1 > Música - NOTÍCIAS - Cariocas curtem primeiro show do My Chemical Romance no Brasil". g1.globo.com. Retrieved March 9, 2025.
  42. "Tocó My Chemical Romance". LA NACION (in Spanish). February 23, 2008. Retrieved March 9, 2025.
  43. Punknews.org (March 20, 2008). "Tours: My Chemical Romance / Billy Talent / Drive By". www.punknews.org. Retrieved March 9, 2025.

Sources