My Chemical Romance at The Hollywood Bowl – Live Review
My Chemical Romance, The Hollywood Bowl, October 21, 2026
MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE WELCOMES US TO THE UNITED STATES OF DRAAG
Where to start with My Chemical Romance. I guess we can get the logistics out of the way. On October 21st, MCR played their first of five nights at the grandiose Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, CA. The first three of these nights in support of their Long Live The Black Parade tour, which they have been on since last summer. For those who don’t know, The Black Parade is MCR’s third album, released in 2006. It is perhaps one of the greatest albums released this milennium. Anyway, back to the show.
The weather forecast warned us for days we were set to get some rain on the 21st. Quite a rare event here in SoCal. The possibility of this, rather than deterring the fans, excited them at the prospect of getting an MCR rain show. Alas, the rain stopped early into the night, though not early enough to push out the show to 8:45 pm rather than its regularly scheduled 8 pm show. Nevertheless, the moment the show started, we the audience were suddenly thrusted into an alternate universe, wholly created by Frank Iero, Ray Toro, and Mikey and Gerard Way.
Before getting into the show itself, there are several key facets one must know as it pertains to the fictional world the band created. There’s a history, there’s a cast and characters, and there’s a story that the band has been continuing to develop show by show. Walk with me here. In this world, MCR exists as a band called The Black Parade. They all wear military-style, marching band-esque matching uniforms that indicate a collective identity – but to what? This becomes clear in the live shows. DRAAG is known as the fictional, authoritarian country in which The Black Parade resides that is ruled under the Grand Immortal Dictator. He assumes complete and total control over every aspect of life in DRAAG, including how The Black Parade is presented to the people. The Black Parade has no say in the matter, as much as they oppose it. This is part of the Grand Immortal Dictator’s propaganda. They are a symbol of the state, and their performances under the regime indicate a cultural achievement.
In addition to using The Black Parade essentially as his puppet, he insists the country as a whole is prosperous and stable, as the band showcases the DRAAG national anthem, ceremonies, flags, slogans and even the official language called Keposhka as proof of a solidified state during their shows, but the reality is, that is not the case. There are other characters to be in tune with, including The Clerk who, in 2025, functioned as the standard bureaucratic intermediary within the DRAAG system who ensures the day-to-day horrors continue by way of administrative procedures the DRAAG system must follow. Though in 2026, as these shows were revealed to be a prequel to the story, The Clerk was seen as a fellow institutionalized prisoner alongside Gerard Way, so they shared a codependent companionship onstage. Then there’s Marianne and Slyvia, opera singers who, fans theorize, are twin sisters. Marianne, an ally to The Black Parade and the unfortunate position they are in, and Slyvia, part of the DRAAG authoritarian regime.
Still with me? As I mentioned before, there are several little progressions to the overall story that have happened show by show, going back to 2025 and certainly with the shows this year as we essentially went backwards. But the above is the overall premise of the MCR lore, which now takes us to the show at the Hollywood Bowl on October 21st.
The United States of DRAAG. For the first time all tour, there was an American flag draped as a backdrop to the setting of the stage. DRAAG has taken over America. In a powerpoint presentation Gerard showed us on the screens, Mount Rushmore, which we know to be a carving of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and Abraham Lincoln instead had four replica faces of the Grand Immortal Dictator. There’s also the White House, now known as the Grey House. These were just a few examples of how DRAAG has taken over America. After the powerpoint presentation, the band continued with performing their tracks from The Black Parade album. The fans around me were singing every word.
Welcome to the Black Parade really is a song of a generation. No matter how many times it’s performed, every person in the audience sings that song in unison with Gerard. It’s really quite special. During the song I Don’t Love You, the crowd was a sea of pink, as everyone held their phones up with a pink slip of paper given by fellow fans before the show as part of the MCR fan project. It was beautiful to see with my two eyes. As part of the story with DRAAG, it happened to be the Grand Immortal Dictator’s birthday, so Gerard sang happy birthday to him as he sat in a chair onstage with a large birthday cake in front of him. But after Gerard finished the birthday song – POP! He pulled out a gun, and shot the Grand Immortal Dictator in the back of the head. The most evil man in this universe is now dead. This is very important to the overall story, as what happened later is perhaps the most spectacular moment of the night.
First though, the band played Mama, one of their most popular from The Black Parade album. This was a spectacle, as fireworks shot out atop the Hollywood Bowl. And it wasn’t just a few. It had me wondering what on earth the budget was. Nevertheless, as a fan who was in the moment, it was an incredible display. The band continued with Sleep, and then: the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders. No, not the actual DCC, but lookalikes to the very tee. To the point that people, both online and in person, were legitimately confused. They came out during the band’s performance of Teenagers, a la their music video, and danced in sync to the song. They were badass, I can’t lie.
At the end of Disenchanted, the drama reached its peak, as a firing squad on behalf of The Ministry came out attempting to execute the band for killing the Dictator. Full riot gear, assault rifles to their faces. Who came out to protect the band? America’s Sweethearts: the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders. In riot gear of their own over their famous blue and white cheerleading outfit, the girls drew up their own assault rifles against the firing squad, and the two sides waged war and shot each other dead. If the band wanted shock value, they got it. It’s pretty clear at this point, as it has been this whole tour, that MCR have in their own way disavowed what is currently happening in the United States. They won’t say it in so many words, but they don’t need to. It’s all there in their live show.
To round out the end of the A Stage, the band ended with Famous Last Words, as licks of fire, and fireworks, erected from the stage. What a journey.
And yet, even after all of that, there was more! The band continued with their B Set. The biggest immediate distinction between this one and their previous was that rather than donning the same uniform as before, Gerard had on a simple green hoodie, representing a return to normalcy. They kicked off this portion of the show with fan favorite, I’m Not Okay (I Promise), leading into some deep cuts from Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge and I Bought You My Bullets, You Bought Me Your Love. Which, for deep cuts, elicited quite a response from the crowd. Gerard found himself saying “Fuck yeah!” a lot after performing these songs. It’s clear the band was having a blast and so were the fans. The show ended with Helena, the end all be all of show closers. The band bid us so long and goodnight.
As of this writing, the band have finished up three of their five night residency at the Hollywood Bowl. They have two more shows on Halloween weekend before wrapping up in the United States and heading to Asia to close out 2026.
(Review by Jennifer Garcia – Photos by Jesse DeFlorio)
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