Who Said Romance Was Dead?
Emo darlings MCR graced us with their presence this evening. Evidently, this is the band a lot of Download patrons are waiting for.
As we emerge in the Snickers tent, the sound is incredible. In fact MCR are fortunate - the sound levels in this tent have been awesome so far, unlike the main stage, where it seems as though the faders have been flipped around with reckless abandonment.
. . . but back to MCR. Pretty boys strutting their stuff onstage, but what's wrong with that. He whips the crowd up "Fuck you, fuck you" he screams in true rock and roll style. And, to fulfill the cliché, the crowd went wild! But with good reason, My Chemical Romance is one tight ship. Their timing and musicianship spot on, and the showmanship . . . perfect.
So this is Friday night. The weekend really does start here. And what better way to start, MCR span the bridge between indie headliners Feeder and the heavier Black Sabbath and System Of A Down effortlessly. This is the type of artist I love. Commercial enough to appeal to a big audience, but edgy enough to be cool. And you know that MCR have planned it that way. From the make-up and dress sense to the videos and album artwork right down to the words uttered on stage. But sat here listening to them, I see the reason why. It's so they can do exactly what they've done tonight . . . get on stage and with the greatest of ease, really pull it off.