I am not afraid to walk this world alone as My Chemical Romance at Anfield Stadium was worth the wait

The Black Parade marched into Anfield on Tuesday 30 June and transformed one of football's most iconic stadiums into something closer to a theatre than a rock gig.

My Chemical Romance performing Mama at Anfield Stadium, Liverpool. | Credit: Jack Michael Taylor

I'm writing this wearing a Black Parade T-shirt, with the album spinning on vinyl beside me, still trying to process what I witnessed.

My Chemical Romance's Long Live The Black Parade Tour wasn't just one of the best concerts I've ever attended; it was one of the most immersive live performances I've seen in years.

Having lived in Liverpool, toured Anfield as a child and a Red myself, the venue added an unexpectedly personal layer to the evening.

There was something surreal about hearing an album that shaped my teenage years performed in a stadium I'd associated with football long before music.

Released in 2006, The Black Parade has always been far more than an album. It's a concept record that explores death, fear and redemption through one of the most theatrical bodies of work in modern rock. Twenty years on, those themes haven't lost their impact.

At Anfield, they became even bigger.

Towering sets, striking visuals and bursts of pyrotechnics transformed the stadium into a fully realised production. A dystopian narrative unfolded alongside the music, complete with authoritarian imagery and the fictional regime of Draag, making it feel less like a concert and more like performance art.

Underneath all of this, The Black Parade remains a remarkably strong piece of songwriting.

Performed in full, The Black Parade sounded as vital as ever.

Tracks including Welcome to the Black Parade, Mama, Famous Last Words and my personal favourite, I Don't Love You, reminded everyone why the album continues to resonate with so many people nearly two decades after its release.

The setlist for the Liverpool night was as follows:

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 (my personal favourite)

7. House of Wolves

8. Cancer

9. Mama

10. Sleep

11. Teenagers

12. Disenchanted

13. Famous Last Words

14. The End. (Reprise)

15. Blood

    
    

B Stage

16. From A to B

17. Vampire Money

18. I’m Not Okay (I Promise)

19. Summertime

20. Save Yourself, I’ll Hold Them Back

21. Cemetery Drive

22. Na Na Na (Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na)

23. Thank You for the Venom

24. Helena

25. The Kids From Yesterday

The second half of the night celebrated the rest of the band's catalogue, with fan favourites including I'm Not Okay (I Promise), Helena, Thank You for the Venom and Cemetery Drive ensuring every era of My Chemical Romance had its moment.

One of the evening's highlights came during the B-stage performance, when the band moved into the centre of the crowd.

Liverpool fans will know Frank Iero’s connection to the club, and in a nod to that, Gerard Way and Iero appeared wearing Liverpool shirts.

Way wore Liverpool’s iconic 2005 Champions League shirt, with Steven Gerrard’s number 8 on the back.

Gerard Way sporting Steven Gerrard’s number 8 | Credit: Jack Michael Taylor

Surrounded by thousands of fans on all sides, the performance became intimate, with the connection between band and audience taking centre stage.

At one point, a full football chant swept around Anfield, briefly merging the city's football culture with emo nostalgia. It was one of those moments that simply wouldn't have happened anywhere else.

Echo & the Bunnymen opened the show, a choice that made more sense as soon as they stepped on stage.

Their atmospheric post-punk grounded the evening before My Chemical Romance pushed everything into something bigger, louder and more operatic.

Then came the rain. Rather than dampening the atmosphere, it somehow elevated it.

Thousands of fans stood soaked through, singing every word without hesitation as black clothing, smudged eyeliner and drenched hair became part of the night's aesthetic.

And trust me, by the end my black clothes were completely drenched.

The Black Parade still means something to every generation, and judging by the reaction inside Anfield, its legacy isn't fading anytime soon

As the band left the stage and You'll Never Walk Alone echoed around the stadium, the crowd was reluctant to let the night end.

Having grown up with My Chemical Romance underscoring so many moments in my life, seeing The Black Parade performed in full at Anfield felt genuinely surreal.

As I now have to deal with serious post-concert depression, it feels unavoidable to end this review with ‘Welcome to the Black Parade’: ‘To lead you in the summer, to join the Black Parade’.

By the end of it, it felt like the Black Parade had been joined, and it’s not something I’ll be leaving behind anytime soon.