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My Chemical Romance/Taking Back Sunday/Drive By
| May 6th, 2008 @ Electric Factory |
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by Courtney Campbell
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After a year of touring for The Black Parade, My Chemical Romance had announced that they were going off the road for a bit to relax and work on new music but not before a small tour. That tour included two nights at the Electric Factory in Philadelphia Pa and earplugsrequired.com was there for night one.
Joining MCR on the bill was Drive By, a band that MCR's Mikey Way has already given his stamp of approval. Back before their album A Delicate Situation was released Mikey Way issued a statement recommending that everyone go out and grabl this album. He called it amazing and honest rock songs.
No matter what Mikey Way thinks, this band has a sound that fits right in on the bill and did what an opening band is supposed to do, warm up the crowd. Unfortunately for me, while I liked them, they tended to just blend in with the other bands within their genre. That's not a bad thing and they will garner many fans along the way but I don't see them being the break out band like MCR was.
The second band that had been listed previously on the bill was Billy Talent but Billy Talent was currently on their way overseas. There were many rumours as to who the direct support would be and security whispered to us early on so we knew before the crowd. Taking Back Sunday were taking the stage next. Now Taking Back Sunday is a band that could easily pack and sell out this venue by themselves and to see them as direct support for MCR, well the fans were in for a treat. The band came out in white masks to the Superman theme. They tossed the masks and launched into their set. The floor went wild! For anyone that has seen Taking Back Sunday, you know how the crowds can be and these MCR fans were loving them. Tonight frontman Adam Lazzara introduced their new guitarist Matt Fazzi. Adam spoke about how Matt wanted to play in front of a hometown crowd and the crowd had a field day with that statement.
For all intense purposes this was a hometown crowd for these bands. Being from New Jersey and playing in Philadelphia is as close to hometown as many get. The place was packed with fans, family and friends that crossed every generation. My Chemical Romance took the stage and the place went wild. They kicked off their set with "Give 'Em Hell Kid" and the crowd didn't stop singing and moving along until the last notes of the last song of the encore. Having seen MCR in everything from small clubs to amphitheaters, I can say that nothing beats a sold out show at the Electric Factory. This is a band that is on top of their game, gone through the trials and tribulations that come with success and have risen above that. As I mentions, MCR announced that they will be taking a break. Frontman Gerard Way actually said it would be for 2 years. While that announcement was met with sadness, it's understandable. We can only look forward to what the future brings to this band.
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