Classic Live Review: My Chemical Romance's 2005 Headlining Tour | September 17, 2005 | Ypsilanti, Michigan
Part six of my classic live reviews series. My Chemical Romance's 2005 headlining tour with Alkaline Trio and Reggie & the Full Effect in Ypsilanti, Michigan. September 17, 2005
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Ah, dear Eastern Michigan University and your convocation center, you're a hard place to find- a huge arena, but hard to find.
My friend and I woke up early and headed north to Michigan to see MCR again just two days after we had seen them in Ohio!
Eventually we did find the convocation center and went to wait in line. We met two awesome girls who came from Cincinnati while we were waiting, began a beautiful friendship and... found out our tickets weren't for floor?! DAMMIT!! And just a few seconds before that tragedy occurred I had saved a poor, innocent daddy-long-leg's life. That's how I'm re-payed... UPPER BOWL!!! Noooo!!!
Oh, how I wanted to cry. Ticketmaster... Oh, those slick fuckers. said NOTHING about any "upper bowl" shit! Just general admission... UUGGGHHHH!!! Oh, I was pissed. I don't think I've ever cussed as much as I did when I got to that damn "upper bowl."
In the end, since we were had gotten to the venue so early, my friend and I managed to get the best possible spots in the balcony, which was good, but we were still heartbroken that we wouldn't be in front of the stage as we had planned.
So the show from the balcony was A LOT different from seeing it up close, and everyone around us was really calm and quiet, but whatever. Reggie and Alkaline were still awesome from a distance, and I scared the hell out of the majority of people in the balcony by owning face during their songs and flinging my upper half over the rail to point and sing along better.
I'm sure I scared them most during MCR, though. I mean, to be nuts in the midst of a huge crowd can go generally unnoticed, but not in a balcony. My friend and I got so many horrified looks for going so crazy. It was hilarious. People gaped as we talked along with Gerard, having heard his little rants so many times that we now know them by heart, and sang along with bits we remembered of "Shut Up and Play," their brand new song. We scared them all, oh yes... I thought several times that I would fall completely over the balcony railing, especially during "Our Lady of Sorrows" and "Vampires..." It was so exhilarating even at a distance. I felt so excited and -like- empowered as if the music were just surging into me and giving me insane energy. It was completely different and very strange to be that far from the stage, though.
Before they played "Helena," Gerard gave a speech telling us it was "a very special lady named Elen's birthday" and made us all "look to the sky and say 'Happy Birthday, Grandma' on the count of three." It was a really, really touching and powerful moment. I almost cried.
Later, at the hotel, we met the girls from Cincinnati and found out that they had gotten meet-and-greet passes and got to meet the guys after the show! Before the show started, they were at the barricade and two girls behind them told them they would trade them the M&G passes they had gotten for their spots at the barricade, and our friends obliged. Our friends told us that the girls had won the passes by donating food for tsunami victims. HMMM! Next stop of this tour we go to, we're DEFINITELY going to try that!
Our friend said that the guys were all very nice and that when they came into the gymnasium where they met MCR, Gerard was going karate moves in the middle of the floor. They got a picture signed by all of them, and Gerard drew a skull on his arm in the picture and wrote "bad-ass" and had an arrow pointing to himself. It was hilarious! Oh, those lucky, lucky girls!
Next tour stop: OPERATION DONATE AND GET PASSES!!
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Previous entries:
2005 Taste of Chaos | Green Day & MCR | Warped Tour, Columbus | Warped Tour, Charlotte | 2005 Headlining tour, Columbus
The reason behind this blog series.
Check out next week's entry to see if my meet-and-greet plan worked!
XoXo
c.
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