Carling Apollo, Manchester. 8 November 2005

I don’t know about you but when I go to a pop/rock concert I want to be entertained to bursting point, with great songs; tight instrumentals, a blindingly good stage set; and a lead person who can both sing and grab an audience by the balls. Now here I’m talking about the more populist bands; bands that get into the single and album charts; bands that the younger generation adore and would steal from their mothers to go see. I’m not talking about the over-hyped; the bands that mags like NME declare as ‘the best band in the world’ just to find a headline for their dreadful covers, and sell a few more copies to the unsuspecting.

No, I’m talking bands with substance and stage savvy. The very best are few and far between and at August’s V Festival the venerable Robert Plant and Ireland’s Frames gave such involving performances; full of passion, and ball-grabbing in the extreme.

And when you’re privileged enough to witness such a band performance, you’ll remember it for the rest of your life. I have been lucky enough to catch several in recent years including the Frames, Radiohead, Low, White Stripes, The Black Crows, Metallica, and The Dirty Three - with and without Nick Cave (who always ratchets up his solo performances when playing with these demon fellow Aussies). To this list I can now add My Chemical Romance who the other night at The Carling Apollo, Manchester, gave the performance of its brief life.

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In fact it was such a great performance that supporting bands Every Time I Die and Drive By looked and sounded pedestrian in comparison - hell, these are very good American bands! I mentioned stage set at the beginning of this piece and this one was a stunner. Elevated drum set flanked on each side by huge ecclesiastical stained window style screens, extra lighting rigs – a stage set fit for rock kings. In front of it was a sell-out and enthusiastic crowd, consisting mainly of teens and older buggers like me and my mate JJ.

I last saw the band at the Download Festival when the guys gave a good but not special performance in less-than-ideal surroundings. The last album THREE CHEERS FOR SWEET REVENGE was one of our picks of 2004 and included some of the best chart material of the year, including Helena released later in 2005. In short I was not sure of what to expect from a USA band that UK fans took to their hearts before their American cousins. However, with the right venue and a capacity crowd the chance of fireworks was a distinct possibility…

Darkness was followed by the most intense welcome from the crowd as Way and Co sped onto the stage. Gerard Way took position centre stage and the fireworks commenced with a storming rendition of Thank You For The Venom. From my position in the stage pit I could sense that this was going to be a special performance. Way’s eyes were intense and blazing as he snaked his way round the stage, while guitarists Frank Iero, Mikey Way Ray Toro held their positions and played with rare venom. Elevated and bathed in a pale, eerie spotlight was Bob Bryer, just about perfect on drums.

It wasn’t long before lead man Way started spitting words and commands out to a largely obedient audience. First it was to seek approval for his silver threaded jacket, then to his often used term of endearment, ‘Mother Fuckers’, demands for arm waving and backing vocals. I haven’t witnessed many performances where the band has commanded the audience’s attention in such rapid time.

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The set list was masterful with full-on rock of songs like Helena, Ghost Of You interspersed with slow numbers. But there were also some surprises including the band’s rendition of Blur’s Song 2 with assistance from support band members. It was a masterstroke that secured the most vociferous acclaim of the night, and it wouldn’t surprise me to see this song on a future album – it was that good.

Midway into the set Way announced that for the first time the band would be performing a brand new song that I think is called Sad Song. It was a slow screamer and, surprisingly, I heard the audience singing along with it… It will be the band’s next number one UK chart hit when released late next year.

Later in the show a Gerard Way road sign nicked by a fan was paraded around the stage accompanied by a comment from Way that fans would go to jail for the band. Then it was all over and a long show seemed to be over in minutes. But not before the final encore of the song that Brit fans bought in droves to break the band worldwide. I’m Not Okay (I Promise) was delivered with a rare passion and signalled a fond farewell to fans before the band retreat back to the USA to record the next album.

This show had everything and if you see reports that Way sang badly, ignore them. He and his tight band have never performed better, and with this quality and audience involvement entered the top echelon of contemporary, popular, mainstream rock bands.