Fandom Snowflake Challenge: Day 7

[jiksa_x]

Day 7
In your own space, share a favorite piece of original canon (a TV episode, a song, a favorite interview, a book, a scene from a movie, etc) and explain why you love it so much.

"The Black Parade Is Dead!- Live in NJ (HD) My Chemical Romance" (Watch on YouTube)

One of my favorite pieces of MCR canon is 1:09:30 into this show at Maxwell's in Hoboken, NJ. The show takes place in late 2007, at the tail end of their exhausting touring for Black Parade, about a month after LynZ and Gerard got married on the last date of the Projekt Revolution tour. The show itself is an frantic, intimate affair on a tiny stage in a crowded venue. It's clearly hot in there; it looks like the sort of show where condensation from sweaty bodies rises to the ceiling and then drips disgustingly back down as rain. The cameras are close and shaky and constantly zooming in and out. Ray and Frank's backing vocals are wonderfully audible and there are close ups of their fingers on their guitars. It's late in the tour, everyone's haircuts have all grown out of shape. It's messy, raw, visceral.

At 18:45, Gerard talks about how he and Mikey's grandma only ever saw them play once, 5.5 years ago at this same venue. At 30:20, Frank says "Lie to me" instead of "Trust me" in I'm Not Okay. 34:30, Gerard mimes giving blowjobs, seemingly in Frank's direction during You Know What They Do To Guys Like Us In Prison. At 57:00, they play Stay/Someone Out There Loves You. At 1:09:56, Ray seems to be wearing a T-shirt with a photo of Pete Wentz's face(...?). It's an excellent show with countless little special moments.

But at 1:09:30, after they've played Helena, everyone walks off stage except Dewees and Gerard, who stay for a piano version of Cancer. And Frank - who slumps down against an amp with his guitar still in his hands, looking wrecked and exhausted and wrung out and beautiful, his lips parted and his sweaty hair in tangles across his face - who just openly watches. It's a heartfelt performance of Cancer, an intimate moment between Gerard and a room of sweaty bodies and Frank at his side. And in my fannish little heart, I can't help but make up stories about what this show could mean to them, who they are to each other in this moment in time, what's happened and happening and about to happen.

Comments

[glitteryv]

ALL OF THIS! ALL OF IT!

I didn't get to watch this video until many years later (I want to say 2011?) and it hit all of the feel!buttons in a bittersweet kind of way.

Also, yeah, the Cancer bit (especially Frank--who looks ten kinds of wrecked but enchanted).

[jiksa_x]

Aw. I didn't see this video until they'd been broken up for a while... which just put more hurt on top of the original hurt. Bittersweet indeed :)

[syrupwit]

I have not watched this and don't have time to do it now, but holy moly, now I am absolutely going to. *dog-ears this write-up*

[jiksa_x]

I'd suggest you have something close by to clutch to your chest if you are prone to overwhelming feels. :)

[turps]

That is a very excellent choice!

[jiksa_x]

Cheers :)

[akamine_chan]

I have the audio of this on my phone, and some of Gerard's patter is so familiar - him talking about the Lawn Darts and how he didn't understand how Elena didn't go deaf standing in front of the speaker, how he thanks the fans for being in the band, etc.

I have a lot of feels.

And Frank. I always remember, when seeing stuff like this, that Frank has always, ALWAYS been My Chem's #1 fan. Forever and ever, amen.

(Random aside, this show is what I imagine G's show in our angsty epic is like, intimate and raw and so heartfelt. Also, at 1:05, G reaches out and twines his fingers with a fan's - that connection I mentioned... :))

God, the feels.

[jiksa_x]

I remember Frank saying somewhere (tried to find it for this post, but no luck) that his favorite moment of any show is when Dewees and Gee close with Cancer, that it's this gorgeous intimate moment that floors him every time. Frank loved this band like we loved this band. <3

Oh shit, yes. I've had this in my head for that beautiful first show scene, jaded and dark and beautiful:

[turlough]

Oooh, I remember the first time I watched this and how envious I was of the people who got to see them in such a small venue. I must watch it again soon.

[jiksa_x]

I never got to see them at all (sad face) but if I had, I would have wanted it to see them like this. :)

[thislossofsleep]

This entire thing is just marvelous!

[jiksa_x]

They are such lovelies. :)

[boozey]

I love this so much, the video and all you've said about it. I think it might be time for a re-watch.

I found my way into bandom very shortly after this was recorded. I go to NJ for shows all the time. I like to tell myself even if I came into bandom a year earlier, tickets were so impossible to get I still would have missed it. But I'm not so sure. Should have been, could have been, those are always the worst. I'm glad we will always have this recording. I really miss this band sometimes.

[akamine_chan]

I know these feels, but I always remind myself of all the awesome, tiny tiny tiny venue shows we're seeing with Frank and Dewees and the Used and MSI, and it's not the same, but it's just as good in its own way.

[jiksa_x]

Naw. :) I never got to see MCR at all, so I'm so happy we have this shakily filmed show where everyone's close and sweaty and beautiful. We're lucky we got all this footage of them to hang on to.

I'm about to see Frank in a smallish acoustic afternoon gig and hang out with him for a little bit of time at a signing after - that blows my mind. It's not what it was, but maybe that's okay and even better in some ways.

(Sidenote: I read a post recently about someone being over the MCR breakup and realized I'm actually starting to get there myself. It's only taken 2.5 years, haha.)

[boozey]

It's not the same, but as Aka said, it is just as good in it's own way. She and I, and so many others, have had such good experiences over the past couple of years, since My Chem split. I wouldn't trade those memories for the world.

I am content with the way things are now. I'm not sure if I will ever be truly over the break-up because I will always love and miss that band, but I don't want them to get back together (at least at the moment) because I don't want them unhappy and in it for the wrong reasons. And selfishly, I don't want to give Frank back, lol. I've gotten to used to having him around.

[jiksa_x]

Aw. You guys are so lucky to have gotten to spend so much time with him and to go to so many shows. And yes, Frank especially has been so wonderfully generous with us since the split. I think part of me is always going to hurt about MCR, but I think things actually ended up being OK in the end. Everyone seems happy and healthy and fulfilled and I think it's a good time to be fan. :)

[akamine_chan]

I'm not sure if I will ever be truly over the break-up because I will always love and miss that band...

This.

I'm sad that we won't ever get to hear more music from them, something that's a unique synthesis of these four talented people. Because what they had together was amazing.

But yeah, I never wanted the band to be at the expense of anyone's happiness.

I'm still not over it. I don't know if I ever will be. But I'm okay with that.