Tag Archives: My Chemical Romance

When We Were Young Announces 2024 Lineup Featuring over 50 Full-Album Live Performances & More

My Chemical Romance and Fall Out Boy to Headline with A Day to Remember, Jimmy Eat World, Pierce the Veil, The Used, Simple Plan and more!

LAS VEGAS FESTIVAL GROUNDS
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2024

PRESALE BEGINS FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 17 AT 10AM PT

When We Were Young will return for a third year to the Las Vegas Festival Grounds on October 19, 2024 with headliners My Chemical Romance and Fall Out Boy leading the massive lineup. In 2024, over 50 bands will each perform an album front-to-back with highlights including My Chemical Romance performing The Black ParadeA Day To Remember’s HomesickJimmy Eat World’s Bleed AmericanPierce The Veil’s Collide With The SkyThe Used’s In Love and DeathSimple Plan performing No Pads, No Helmets… Just Balls, Dashboard Confessional’s Dusk and SummerCoheed and Cambria’s Good Apollo, I’m Burning Star IV, along with Nada Surf’s Let Go, in addition to rare reunions from Cobra Starship performing ¡Viva La Cobra! and Chiodos performing All’s Well That Ends Well and much more. View the entire lineup with dedicated album performances below.

Fans can sign up now for the festival SMS list at WhenWeWereYoungFestival.com to receive an access code for the presale that will begin Friday, November 17 at 10AM PT. Any remaining tickets following the presale will go on sale to the general public at 2PM PT. GA, GA+, VIP, and VIP Cabana Tickets will be available, with layaway payment plans starting at $19.99 down.

VIP packages include preferred viewing areas, charging stations, a dedicated entry lane at the festival entrance, air-conditioned restrooms, and more. VIP Cabanas are available with exclusive viewing areas, featuring VIP service including food vouchers and select complimentary beverages, expedited entry and more. When We Were Young has partnered with Jampack to offer hotel and ticket packages with exclusive amenities, including discount rates on select Las Vegas hotels. For the full list of available tickets, packages, and the amenities included in each, visit WhenWeWereYoungFestival.com.

Sign up for official When We Were Young SMS and email lists to be the first to receive new information on the WWWY website.

Follow along on social media to stay in the loop for all festival announcements: 

When We Were Young is produced by Live Nation and Redrock Entertainment.

SPECIAL REVIEW: My Chemical Romance Brings Off-the-charts Seismic Velocity to Tacoma Dome (10-3-22)

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Tacoma, WA — A surreal air swept over the night that a once dormant My Chemical Romance erupted on the stage of Tacoma Dome, following a warm-up by “emo” post-hardcore cohorts Taking Back Sunday and anti-folk singer-songwriter Kimya Dawson from Olympia, WA.

My Chemical Romance at Tacome Dome 10-3-22
| Photography:
Katherine Amy Vega © All Rights Reserved

The show arrived nearly 3 years after the Halloween 2019 announcement of the reunion, and 9.5 years following the March 2013 break-up of this band with a gargantuan legacy. To top it off, it had been 11 years since Washington state had last seen My Chemical Romance (MCR/My Chem) perform on September 1st of 2011, at White River Amphitheatre on the 10th Annual Honda Civic Tour, co-headlining with blink-182. Yet, somehow, as MCR released each note into the atmosphere on the evening of October 3rd, the achingly forlorn feelings that persisted throughout the years of their absence finally melted away.  

Kimya Dawson

Setlist

On March 9th of this year, Dawson announced she would be opening for My Chemical Romance at Tacoma Dome. As an acoustic guitar wielding solo artist with a folksy sound, some fans of the rock opera stylings of MCR initially found the choice of opener perplexing.

She is best known as part of a duo named Moldy Peaches, whose song “Anyone Else But You” was at the end of the film Juno (2007), performed by Elliot Page and Michael Cera. Independent of Moldy Peaches, she contributed a whopping 12 songs to Juno – on its soundtrack, within the film but excluded from the OST, and a few “almost adopted songs” that were released on a b-sides soundtrack.

Kimya Dawson performing at Tacoma Dome
Kimya Dawson performing at Tacoma Dome 10-3-2022. Fan phone pic.

Dawson and her daughter Panda (who is also an artist), performed together in matching Ernie sweaters, à la Bert and Ernie from Sesame Street. For the duration of Dawson’s performance, the big screens on each side of the stage stayed illuminated with her name and an illustration versus live video, preventing a visual of the artist and her daughter for the majority of the audience, and leading to some bewilderment when she said they were “just a couple of Ernies hanging out.” The set included “You Are My Baby” – a song Dawson wrote for now 16-year-old Panda when she was a “little teeny tiny newborn”. Kimya expressed, “I can’t even believe it… being able to share the stage with my child is the best.” MCR frontman Gerard Way later dedicated “Teenagers” to Panda.

“‘[Moldy Peaches] are not sort of amateur, lo-fi indie,’ said Geoff Travis, the founder and president of Rough Trade, an English independent label that once signed the Smiths and the Violent Femmes, and has recently signed both the Strokes and the Moldy Peaches. ‘If Lou Reed was writing these songs at this age, he would be absolutely jealous. This is really serious, world-class songwriting … and the performance is so unusual, and it is so naked emotionally. It is very, very brave.’” - Deborah Netburn, Observer - "Sesame Street Meets Avenue A in Goofy Tunes of Moldy Peaches”

Listening to the sound of Dawson’s songs coupled with her witty lyrics brought Amanda Palmer to mind, especially during “The Beer” with black humor reminiscent of Palmer’s notorious “Oasis”. As it turns out, “The Beer” was released in 2003 and “Oasis” was released in 2008. What’s more, Palmer actually covered Dawson’s song “All I Could Do” with her father Jack Palmer in 2015, and Dawson nodded to Palmer in a Tweet sharing an MTV article from November 2016 about whether oppression from Trump’s presidency would lead to better music. 

One link between Dawson and My Chemical Romance is their outspoken LGBTQ+ allyship.

During “I Like Giants”, Dawson tweaked the lyrics after, “She said, ‘I like giants, especially girl giants’” to add, “and trans and non-binary giants!” Before following “The Beer” with “Loose Lips”, she said, “I don’t know why I put this one back-to-back but we’ll see what I can do,” presumably because both songs are rather fast-paced. 

Excerpt from “Loose Lips”:
And we'll pray, all damn day, every day
That all this shit our President has got us in will go away
While we strive to figure out a way we can survive
These trying times without losing our minds 
(...full lyrics)

Mid-song, Dawson shout-sang, “Fuck fascism!” and proceeded to give an impactful monologue:

“On this day in 1967 Woody Guthrie died, and he was very outspoken against fascism, and I just wanted to acknowledge him, uh… he is the OG!” She went on to say, “…so, the original, like, lyric was, ‘Fuck Bush’, but that was like 20 years ago, and then I was saying ‘Fuck Trump’  but I don’t even want to think about that guy. And I could be like, ‘Fuck Marjorie Taylor Greene!’, you know, ‘fuck Matt Gaetz, fuck Ben Shapiro, fuck Mitch McConnel… DeSantis,’ you know, ‘Bezos… Proud Boys, TERFs… the list is endless… but not clowns. I love clowns.” (Video

Dawson’s modest 6-song set was finalized as a trio with Panda and a surprise guest – MCR’s rhythm guitarist Frank Iero – performing “Anyone Else But You”.

Frank Iero (Guitarist), My Chemical Romance
| Photography:
Katherine Amy Vega © All Rights Reserved
Iero later wrote on Instagram

“Last night i got to play one of my favorite songs with one of my favorite artists, before getting back up on that same stage a little later and playing more of my favorite songs with my best friends… all while my daughter watched and filmed. Life is pretty darn ok sometimes.

Thank you Kimya and Panda for being the absolute raddest and for sharing your stage with me, it was a dream come true. thank you Tacoma. Thank you rock and roll. music is magick. KTF 🖤 xofrnk”

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Taking Back Sunday

Setlist

Taking Back Sunday from the back of Tacoma Dome 10-3-2022. Fan phone pic.

“We’re here to warm you up for My Chemical Romance… Mikey Fuckin’ Way is not coming out to a cold audience!” frontman Adam Lazzara declared amidst their set, referring to MCR’s bassist.

Mikey Way (Bassist), My Chemical Romance
| Photography:
Katherine Amy Vega © All Rights Reserved

Indeed, fellow “Taste of Chaos” tour veterans Taking Back Sunday (TBS) served as an integral segue between Kimya Dawson and My Chemical Romance. 

Taking Back Sunday’s 8-song set started with “What’s it Feel Like to Be a Ghost?” from their 2006 LP Louder Now. The mix of Lazzara’s dirty vocals and the band’s instrumentals seemed to be off for the first few songs, and his stage banter felt a bit obligatory and forced. However, what may have seemed to constitute standard intros to band members between songs was actually rather significant to any fan aware of the band’s dramatic history. Guitarist John Nolan and bassist Shaun Cooper left TBS in 2003, but returned in 2010.

Before starting the second song of their set, “A Decade Under the Influence”, Lazzara gave big-ups to drummer Mark “Thunderbolt” O’connell, who lives true to his nickname “when his foot hits the kick drum”. Following the song “Tidal Wave”, he shouted, “…this is my pal, and yours… John Nolan on guitar!” 

Taking Back Sunday at Tacoma Dome 10-3-2022. Fan phone pic.

Their energy spiked and sound solidified with “Error Operator” and sustained through the 4 remaining songs, transforming them into that promised pre-heater. Unfortunately the screens continued to merely display a still image – Taking Back Sunday’s panther logo – until My Chemical Romance performed. However, the energy of this rock band along with the spectacle of colorful stage lights brought satisfactory stimulation to the crowd.

Taking Back Sunday at Tacoma Dome 10-3-2022. Fan phone pic.

It was surprising how much space was available in the general admission between the crowd and front row of seats, even after it later filled out a little more for the headliner. One of the most entertaining parts of TBS’s performance was when someone dove beneath the barricade (separating row A of seats from the pit) as if they were on a stealth mission, and strolled up to the crowd.

Taking Back Sunday at Tacoma Dome 10-3-2022. Fan phone pic.

“Ladies and gentlemen, we have but a-two songs left for you this evening,” said Lazarra, which elicited a shocked and disappointed, “WHAT?!” from some fans. He continued, “Now, make no mistake, we are very well aware (as we feel it too), of how long you’ve been waiting for this show tonight… Us, too! So, with that said, I would like to thank each and every one of you for being so kind and showin’ us a good time… Now, my pal John over here… he’s gonna blow your minds. They don’t call him ‘tomcat’ for nothing.” (Video)

The last 2 songs of Taking Back Sunday’s performance, “Cute without the ‘E’ (Cut from the Team)” and “MakeDamnSure”, are guaranteed crowd-pleasers. Their most recent studio album Tidal Wave was released 6 years ago. Eddie Reyes, who originally founded TBS with former member Jesse Lacey of Brand New, departed the band in 2018 citing alcoholism as the culprit. In 2019, they released Twenty, a 20th anniversary compilation, and of course COVID-19 took over the world in 2020. All things considered, if they are resting on their laurels (mind you, touring and performing are no small tasks), perhaps they can be forgiven for doing so while the nostalgia of individuals formed on their music is still running high.

As part of a culmination of the emo revival that has been steadily expanding over the last several years (which has conflated emo and pop punk), Taking Back Sunday will continue to perform in the shadow of My Chem up through the last day of the seemingly-impossible “When We Were Young” festival, which is spread out over 3 dates on 2 weekends at the Las Vegas Festival Grounds. 

When We Were Young festival admat
“When We Were Young” festival line-up

Despite the fact that multiple massive festivals have taken place and continue to be planned since the pandemic eased up (such as Coachella, Lollapalooza, Innings, Bonnaroo, Firefly, Aftershock, Austin City Limits, Zona, and more), this particular festival stood out as “too good to be true” and has received heavy speculation and criticism over logistics and feasibility – especially initially, when only one 1 day was announced. It was called “the next Fyre festival” by the faithless and snarky, and sensationalized by the uninformed as being put on by the company behind Astroworld: Live Nation – the company that puts on nearly all major concerts in the United States. Perhaps it is simply difficult for the “misunderstood” demographic to which this festival caters to believe that it is possible to get what they want.

An updated site map for an expanded general admission (GA) area was posted on October 6th, much to the ire of the VIP section. It will be interesting to see how this all plays out. 

“Ladies and gentleman, we are a band called Taking Back Sunday… and we hope all your dreams come true!” said Lazzara as their performance finished.

Taking Back Sunday live at Tacoma Dome
Taking Back Sunday at Tacoma Dome 10-3-2022. Fan phone pic.

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My Chemical Romance

Setlist

“My Chemical Romance were undoubtedly the rock superstars of the 21st century.” – Paul Travers, Kerrang’s “10 Moments that Made My Chemical Romance Superstars”

Gerard Way (Vocalist), My Chemical Romance
| Photography:
Katherine Amy Vega © All Rights Reserved

Despite the grueling wait for the return of My Chemical Romance, who are now nearing the end of their reunion tour, the show at Tacoma Dome felt like it went through a time warp.

Gerard Way (Vocalist), My Chemical Romance
| Photography:
Katherine Amy Vega © All Rights Reserved

Sure, the band may have been stripped of costumes, make-up, and theatrics – given permission to be more of a normal rock band – but the magnitude of their performance spoke the prevailing truth that all of that is just fluff – the real power lies in the showmanship and musical expertise of the group. Gerard Way (lead vocalist), Mikey Way (bassist), and Ray Toro (lead guitarist, backup vocalist) especially radiate in their stage presence.

Gerard Way (Vocalist), My Chemical Romance
| Photography:
Katherine Amy Vega © All Rights Reserved

When they took the stage they launched into their newest single “The Foundations of Decay” (released May 12, 2022) – a track that beautifully combines the raw essence of their debut LP I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love with musical maturity that one might say channels Tool.

Mikey Way (Bassist), My Chemical Romance
| Photography:
Katherine Amy Vega © All Rights Reserved

The stage setup included a backdrop and props of a decaying city. On this tour, MCR’s setlists have varied wildly in comparison to most tours, which tend to stick to the same songs or change up just a couple of songs on most stops. However, the introductory song has remained the same throughout their reunion tour, and that works well – because one of the most exciting things a fan can experience after all of this time, on top of the ecstasy of seeing them live, is to kick it off with a fresh, explosive sound. If “The Foundations of Decay” is any indicator of what can be expected of a future studio album, there is no end to the anticipation.

Ray Toro (Guitarist), My Chemical Romance
| Photography:
Katherine Amy Vega © All Rights Reserved

Including the encore, My Chemical Romance performed 19 songs at Tacoma Dome. For anyone who discovered them when “I’m Not Okay (I Promise)” was released as a single, it was the perfect song to follow the first, flipping from the present to the start. This track of course comes from their second studio album, Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge, however many fans were not turned on to the Bullets album (fun fact: it was produced by Thursday vocalist Geoff Rickly) until after being introduced to this album.

Jarrod Alexander (Drummer), My Chemical Romance
| Photography:
Katherine Amy Vega © All Rights Reserved

Still more were blind to the magic of My Chem until after “Welcome to the Black Parade” was released. The music video for this track was awarded the title of MTV’s “Greatest Music Video of the Century” in 2017. This achievement was deeply gratifying to a fanbase aware of how criminally underrated MCR once was, and every heap of praise this band has received since the announcement of their return continues to be sweetly satisfying. 

“They offered up spiritual solutions to real problems, and they did it with huge riffs and big theatrical stage shows, with rarely a hint of irony or detachment… it’s unlikely there will ever be a band quite like them again.”

Kyle Anderson, Entertainment Weekly’s “My Chemical Romance: the last most important band on the planet”
Gerard Way (Vocalist), My Chemical Romance
| Photography:
Katherine Amy Vega © All Rights Reserved

The encore began with Gerard reading an excerpt from Interview with the Vampire with heavy distortion over his voice, and it consisted of the banger “Vampire Money”, the classic “Vampires Will Never Hurt You”, and closed with the solemn “Cancer”.

Jamie Muhoberac (Keyboardist), My Chemical Romance
| Photography:
Katherine Amy Vega © All Rights Reserved

Before starting the delightful “Ballroom Blitz”-esque intro of “Vampire Money”, Gerard professed his and his wife’s love for The Batman: “…Lyn-Z and I watched the new Batman. We had like a little weekend getaway, it was really fucking rad, and… we really fucking liked it. We LOVED it. We watched it two times in a row it was so fucking good! …It was that good…. THAT. FUCKING. GOOD! …and Robert is really, incredibly fuckin’ handsome.” (Video)

Gerard Way (Vocalist), My Chemical Romance
| Photography:
Katherine Amy Vega © All Rights Reserved

This is worth noting because Gerard Way is the creator and writer of The Umbrella Academy, a comic book series which was adapted into a Netflix series that broke numerous records in viewership. So if you have wavered at all on whether another adaptation of the Batman story is worth your time, this endorsement may tip the scales for you.

Gerard Way (Vocalist), My Chemical Romance
| Photography:
Katherine Amy Vega © All Rights Reserved

In an NME article, “My Chemical Romance defend ‘Cancer’ track”, Gerard is quoted as saying, “It’s not a poetic track… It’s very direct, very brutal, but that’s the way disease is. Obviously cancer is being used as a metaphor… But I also wanted the song to be directly about the disease, because it’s something that the patient has gone through and it’s a very powerful thing. For me it was almost like an attempt to write the darkest song ever, and I think we achieved that.”

With regard to the closing song, on the walk toward the exit of the dome, a fan could be overheard saying, “…why did you end on this? Now I’m going to cry myself to sleep!”

Frank Iero (Guitarist), My Chemical Romance
| Photography:
Katherine Amy Vega © All Rights Reserved

Sprinkling in upbeat songs from Danger Days throughout the set list certainly contributed to a continuous buzz throughout the show. The only songs from the same album that were performed consecutively were “Famous Last Words” and “Welcome to the Black Parade” from The Black Parade – obviously fan favorites, as it seemed that every person in the 23,000-seat venue was singing along.

Ray Toro (Guitarist), My Chemical Romance
| Photography:
Katherine Amy Vega © All Rights Reserved

Mixing songs from their 4 studio albums created an excellent ebb and flow, and the inclusion of the “I’m Not Okay” b-side “Bury Me in Black” was also a treat. Unfortunately, Washington was not treated to a live experience of any of the songs from the Conventional Weapons compilation album of unreleased tracks. However, surrounding shows in Portland, OR (Oct. 2) and Oakland, CA (Oct. 5) included “Boy Division” and “The World is Ugly”.

Gerard Way (Vocalist), My Chemical Romance
| Photography:
Katherine Amy Vega © All Rights Reserved

This weekend, My Chemical Romance is appearing in the truly incredible line-up of “Monster Energy Aftershock 2022” festival alongside the likes of Muse, Evanescence, Slipknot, Kiss, Bring Me The Horizon, Stone Temple Pilots, Rob Zombie, The Pretty Reckless, Halestorm, Ice Nine Kills, Judas Priest, The Struts, Motionless in White, and many more. 

The last date of the “When We Were Young” festival, October 29th, will be the last show of the North American leg of MCR’s reunion tour. Afterward, Mexico City will see them in mid-November. Finally, after touring since mid-May of this year, they will get a break until March 2023 when they are scheduled to perform 1 show in New Zealand and 6 more in Australia.

My Chemical Romance
| Photography:
Katherine Amy Vega © All Rights Reserved

My Chem made the Cascadian crowd sweat that night, and you can bet money that the MCRmy (their dedicated fanbase) is insatiably hungry for more – they won’t let go. May this not be considered the famous last tour of My Chemical Romance, but rather just the beginning of a new era with great longevity.

“It’s pretty much accepted canon at this point that My Chemical Romance are one of the most significant rock bands this side of the millennium. And as yesterday’s teenagers become today’s arbiters of acceptable nostalgia, that sentiment isn’t going anywhere soon.”

– Eli Enis, Paste’s “The 10 Most Underrated My Chemical Romance Songs”

Photo Gallery

Photographer: Katherine Amy Vega

My Chemical Romance – Tacoma Dome 10-3-22

Photography © Katherine Amy Vega, Kataklizmic Design
All Rights Reserved.

When We Were Young Adds Third Date To Highly Anticipated Festival

PRESALE STARTS MONDAY, JAN. 31 AT 10AM PT FOR FANS WHO SIGN UP FOR EARLY ACCESS TO PASSES ONLINE AT WHENWEWEREYOUNGFESTIVAL.COM

The When We Were Young Festival has announced a third date has been added to the highly anticipated fest, taking place on Saturday, Oct. 29, 2022 at the Las Vegas Festival Grounds.

The festival will feature the same lineup on all three dates, with the exception of Alex G replacing Wolf Alice on Saturday, October 29th and La Dispute will not be performing on the newly added date.

The full lineup for October 29th includes:

My Chemical Romance, Paramore, AFI, The Used, Bring Me The Horizon, Taking Back Sunday, Dashboard Confessional, Alkaline Trio, Manchester Orchestra,  A Day To Remember, Pierce The Veil, I Prevail, The Story So Far, Dance Gavin Dance, The All American Rejects, Boys Like Girls, Car Seat Headrest, Sleeping With Sirens, Knocked Loose, JXDN, Avril Lavigne, Motionless in White, Black Veil Brides, Ice Nine Kills, Senses Fail, Bayside, Mom Jeans, Mayday Parade, The Maine, Neck Deep, Silverstein, Palaye Royale, Bright Eyes, Poppy, Nessa Barrett, Wolf Alice, Acceptance, Story of the Year, Atreyu, PVRIS, Saosin, Glassjaw, Lilhuddy, TV Girl, The Starting Line, Thursday, Anberlin, Jimmy Eat World, 3OH!3, State Champs, Four Year Strong, We The Kings, The Wonder Years, Royal & The Serpent, The Ready Set, Kittie, Hawthorne Heights, The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, The Garden, Horrorpops, Meet Me At The Altar, The Linda Lindas, Prentiss and Alex G.  

There will be a presale beginning Monday, Jan. 31 at 10am PT for fans who sign up for early access to passes online at WhenWeWereYoungFestival.com. Following the presale, any remaining tickets still available will go on sale to the general public beginning Monday, Jan. 31 at 2 pm PT. 

General Admission tickets start at $224.99, GA+ tickets start at $399.99 and VIP tickets start at $499.99. VIP cabanas will also be available to purchase for guests 21 years of age and older. 

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“When We Were Young” Emo Music Festival Sells Out, Adds Second DatE

Due to overwhelming demand, a second date has been added to the When We Were Young Festival at the Las Vegas Festival Grounds on Sunday, Oct. 23, 2022. Tickets for the new date are on sale now.

The festival will run the majority of the day, from 11am to 12am. There will be multiple stages of varying sizes placed around the festival grounds with several bands performing at the same time. The length of set times will vary. Opening acts will have shorter set lengths while headlining performances can range up to an hour or more. 

Full lineup details including set times and performances by stage will be released closer to the festival. 

The festival will feature the same lineup on both dates, which includes:

  • My Chemical Romance
  • Paramore
  • AFI
  • The Used
  • Bring Me The Horizon
  • Taking Back Sunday
  • Dashboard Confessional
  • Alkaline Trio
  • Manchester Orchestra
  • A Day To Remember
  • Pierce The Veil
  • I Prevail
  • The Story So Far
  • Dance Gavin Dance
  • The All-American Rejects
  • Boys Like Girls
  • Car Seat Headrest
  • Sleeping With Sirens
  • Knocked Loose
  • JXDN
  • Avril Lavigne
  • Motionless in White
  • Black Veil Brides
  • Ice Nine Kills
  • Senses Fail
  • Bayside
  • Mom Jeans
  • Mayday Parade
  • The Maine
  • Neck Deep
  • Silverstein
  • Palaye Royale
  • Bright Eyes
  • Poppy
  • Nessa Barrett
  • Wolf Alice
  • Acceptance
  • Story of the Year
  • Atreyu
  • PVRIS
  • Saosin
  • Glassjaw
  • Lilhuddy
  • TV Girl
  • The Starting Line
  • Thursday
  • Anberlin
  • Jimmy Eat World
  • 3OH!3
  • State Champs
  • Four Year Strong
  • We The Kings
  • The Wonder Years
  • Royal & The Serpent
  • The Ready Set
  • Kittie
  • Hawthorne Heights
  • The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus
  • The Garden
  • Horrorpops
  • Meet Me At The Altar
  • The Linda Lindas
  • Prentiss

General Admission tickets start at $224.99, GA+ tickets start at $399.99 and VIP tickets start at $499.99. VIP cabanas will also be available to purchase for guests 21 years of age and older. 

When We Were Young lineup - Sold Out

What health & safety protocols will be implemented for the festival?

The safety of fans, artists and staff is thoroughly planned for among event organizers and in coordination with local authorities.

They will follow all guidelines as set forth by the city of Las Vegas and state of Nevada at the time of the festival. Preventative health measures (e.g. proof of negative COVID-19 test or full COVID-19 vaccination, etc.) may be required for this show. Details of any necessary measures will be communicated as early as possible and will be shared on the event/venue website and social media channels.


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RECAP: The Second Twitch Goes Emo (05-08-21)

Yesterday, the second Twitch Goes Emo musician streamer festival was held on the Twitch platform. In celebration of primarily early 2000’s emo and pop punk music, the line-up included artists from all over the world: Kintsuku, SabySpark, Sayanoe (dropped out), TylerLevsMusic, GabiStreams, JordinLaine, CERIANmusic, JulienBelhumeur, Andrewcore, AnnaCarmela, ClosureClub, and JonLiMusic.

The first Twitch Goes Emo took place on December 5th, 2020 and featured many of the same artists, as well as MattWaldenAC and Annelle:

Twitch Goes Emo 2020 line-up

1. Kintsuku

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Ellie, who goes by the alias Kintsuku, is a musician based in Manchester, Northern England. She writes, produces and performs atmospheric / experimental pop, playing guitar, keys and vocals. Kisuku has been streaming on Twitch since December 2019. Hoping for a release later this year, she is currently writing her debut album. 

Watch the Full Stream VOD Here

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Bonus Clips:

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2. SabySpark

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Saby is a singer-songwriter from Slovenia, “trying to spark some joy in the world”, who has played the guitar for 10 years, ukulele for 3, and is slowly learning piano. By starting to stream last year, she is conquering shyness and self-consciousness, and following her deepest dreams.

Watch the Full Stream VOD Here

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Bonus Clip:

“My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Light Em Up)” (Fall Out Boy cover)

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3. Sayanoe

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Budapest-based singer-songwriter Mimi – stage name Saya Noé (pronounced: sigh – ah – no – ay) – was unable to make the event (for reasons outside of her control). She plays the guitar and keyboard, and performs originals and covers, with acoustic, live production, and looping.

Connect with Sayanoe

4. TylerLevsMusic

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Tyler Levs is a singer/songwriter from Maine USA. With a taste for multiple genres and a passion for music, he performs live loop tracks as well as unplugged. Tyler has streamed live on Twitch.tv since 2017, and has been featured on the Twitch front page for approximately 23,000 people. He has performed for various causes through Saving Music Live (a Twitch charity stream) as well as talent shows (The Austin Talent Show and “Gamers Got Talent” Luminosity gaming). Twitch helped enable his transition to full-time musicianship in February of 2019.

Watch the Full Stream VOD Here

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Bonus Clips:

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5. GabiStreams

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Gabi Belle is from the East Coast of the US, and she has been streaming since February 2020. Not only does she produce her own music, sing, and play the keyboard and guitar, she also directs and edits her music videos. She was vocally trained for theatre, and she has experience playing the flute, trumpet, and saxophone. Gabistreams is also a gamer who loves Nintendo games – her favorite being The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.

Watch the Full Stream VOD Here

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Bonus Clip:

“The Ballad of Mona Lisa” (Panic! at the Disco cover)

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6. JordinLaine

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Singer-songwriter JordinLaine has been focusing heavily on writing music, creating content, and live streaming since 2018. Through the universal language of music, she has shared that she  found the power to express herself in the most open and authentic form. 

Watch the Full Stream VOD Here

(JordinLaine does not allow clips on her channel)

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7. CERIANmusic

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Cerian is a singer-songwriter from London that plays harp, piano, and guitar. She plays a mixture of originals and covers,  switching it up between instruments. Cerian(a Welsh name, pronounced: Kerry-Anne) released her debut EP in April 2020. She has worked as a musician for many years with an impressive resume, singing backing vocals and playing harp for lots of incredible artists, like Radiohead, U2, Sam Smith, Imogen Heap, Thom Yorke, David Attenborough, Neneh Cherry, Charlotte Church and games like The Sims, Guitar Hero Live and Those Who Remain. Although she has been streaming for a while on other platforms, she is new to Twitch.

Watch the Full Stream VOD Here

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Bonus Clip:

“Hear You Me” (Jimmy Eat World cover)

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8. JulienBelhumeur

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Hailing from Québec, Canada, Julien Belhumeur is a singer, musician, and loop artist that plays both originals and covers. With a minimalist bio, he lets his prowess speak for itself!

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9. Andrewcore

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Andrew has, in his humble words, ‘been faking his way through playing drums for about 20 years’ – beginning with learning completely by ear, and focusing on learning more basic principles and improving overall now that he’s streaming. He is a member of the band Fable Cry, which includes another popular music streamer, joplaysviolin. He began touring in 2006 and has hit the road and recorded with a number of metal, rock and hip hop artists. 

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10. AnnaCarmela

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Anna Carmela is a self-described “hyper-active singer/songwriter” and music student with musical theatre training as a youth in her background. She has toured in the US and Canada. A bit of an autodidact, Carmela is self-taught on guitar, bass, piano, ukulele, kazoo, and mouth trumpet. She certainly does have energy to be contended with, and with a voice well-suited for it, loves performing blues, rock, and soul music.

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11. ClosureClub

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Full-time artist, songwriter, and musician Heathy goes by ClosureClub, and is referred to by many more names (ex. j, lostcause, jarebear, red, clo) as he has streamed across multiple platforms for several years. His experience shows through his performance, and his music is “inspired by 80’s tones, dreamy lo-fi aesthetics, and melodic intervals drawn from the moody years of never escaping ‘the punk phase’.”

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12. JonLiMusic

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Jon Li, arguably the headliner – if not co-headliner – of Twitch Goes Emo 2021, closed out the night with a respectable 4 hour and 40 minute stream, despite having performed a bachelor party gig prior. The expanse of his catalogue is impressive, to say the least, and what he doesn’t know, he can offer quite a decent Live Learn performance.

Li started performing by ear in high school after many years of studying and performing classical piano. While in the process of earning his math and music degrees in college, he was introduced to the world of Dueling Pianos that set him on a career path that led him to travel the world and play with hundreds of talented musicians. Li released Finding February in 2010. In 2020, COVID-19 began his live streaming journey on Facebook, followed by Twitch.

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Coffee, Comics, and Wine Coming from Musicians – Is This A New Fad?

co-written by Katherine Amy Vega & Nate Wert

March, 2020 – in just a few short months, the world went from whispers about a mysterious new virus overseas to a growing buzz around the virus and some signs of concerns. In mid-March, the unthinkable happened: the bars, concert halls, stadiums, and every other live music venue went dark as the virus took root and started to spread quickly worldwide. 

As the music world reeled from the sudden and shocking shutdown – and as it became painfully apparent that we would likely be throwing a birthday party for the “two weeks to flatten the curve” promise – bands started looking into different ways to stay relevant during the shutdown. 

During the past year, we have seen releases of coffee, graphic novels, and wine from the likes of Lamb of God, Jimmy Eat World, and Incubus.

In August of 2020, Lamb of God announced their Memento Mori medium roast coffee, in collaboration with Nightflyer Roastworks, owned by the guitarist of Between The Buried and Me.

Jimmy Eat World recently made their 555 graphic novel with z2 Comics, conceptualized from the uncharacteristically sci-fi music video for “555”, available for pre-orders with an expected release date of May 21, 2021.

Incubus’ Make Yourself Foundation has a long history of partnering with various organizations over the years – at least 47 since 2003 – and is partnering with Rebellium Wines on the limited stock “Our Love” Rosé. The label was designed by artists at Secure the Arts, an organization whose ethos is described simply as: “Rebels, trouble makers, the round pegs in the square holes.

One might think it is possible that Claudio Sanchez of Coheed and Cambria with The Amory Wars comic series, and Maynard James Keenan (Tool, A Perfect Circle, Puscifer) with Caduceus Cellars and Merkin Vineyards, largely paved the way for such releases from musicians. Each of Coheed and Cambria’s studio albums (except The Color Before the Sun) tell a chapter of The Amory Wars, beginning with the release of the album Second Stage Turbine Blade in 2002. As a descendant of northern Italian winemakers, Keenan’s passion for winemaking is in his blood: the aptly titled 2010 documentary Blood Into Wine offers insight into his journey, creativity, and personal growth involved in this fruitful endeavor. 

This begs the question as to whether these were aspirations of other artists prior to the pandemic.

Comics & Graphic Novels

Long before becoming frontman of the legendary My Chemical Romance, a young Gerard Way found his passion in comics. Pursuing a career in comics, in 1999 Way graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the School of Visual Arts in New York City. He created Eisner-award winning The Umbrella Academy series (2007) – which went on to become a wildly popular series on Netflix that has a third season in the works – followed by comic mini-series The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys (2013) and co-founded DC Comics’ Young Animal imprint (2016). 

Canadian electropop artist Lights wrote and illustrated her own comic Skin&Earth – a story of a girl looking for hope in a hopeless world – along with her album by the same name in 2017. Following suit, dancing electronic violinist Lindsey Stirling, well known for editing her own music videos, creating the costumes she wears, and having a huge hand in the choreography of her videos and shows, released her own comic book Artemis in 2019. In it, the story of her album of the same name comes to life, adding another layer of complexity to the already fantastic album.

In 2004, Courtney Love co-wrote the manga series Princess Ai about a female rock star that Love described as, “like my alter ego, bust in a fantasy setting.” The manga was illustrated by Ai Yazawa, the acclaimed artist behind the award-winning music-based manga NANA (2000-2009), which focuses on the pursuits, rise, relationships, and mentality of members of the fictional bands Black Stones (aka BLAST) and Trapnest.

z2 Comics actually specializes in helping musicians tell stories through graphic novels. In addition to Jimmy Eat World, they have worked with Poppy, Gorillaz, Machine Gun Kelly, Dance Gavin Dance, and Ice Nine Kills, to name a few.  

In May of 2017, MentalFloss.com offered “10 Musicians Who Have Also Written Comic Books”, detailing some interesting releases from Tom Morello (Rage Against the Machine, Audioslave), Rob Zombie, Tyrese, Jane Wiedlin (The Go-Go’s), and more. Interestingly, many of the musicians mentioned explore post-apocalyptic themes in their comics in their pre-pandemic releases.

Coffees

Touring is a grind in and of itself, and many bands turn to coffee to wake themselves up in the morning and keep themselves going throughout the day. Indeed, DrinksFeed.com posted “Metal bands with coffee brands” in February 2020, confirming that many bands have offered their own branded brews, including Korn, Metallica, and Judas Priest.  Separate from their bands’ branding, David Ellefson of Megadeth owns the coffee business Ellefson Coffee Co., and Joey Kramer of Aerosmith offers a subscription for his coffee brand Rockin’ & Roastin’.

Lamb of God’s second signature coffee, the Overlord dark roast, was revealed in December of 2020. Frontman Randy Blythe mused, “I like my coffee strong, dark, and BLACK like my soul.” Both blends’ beans were grown in El Salvador. In collaboration with J Gursey Coffee, Korn first offered nu metal fans the chance to “Wake the F Up” with some fair trade Korn Koffee in 2018.

Green Day dropped a sustainably grown organic coffee through Oakland Coffee Works in 2019, which was named “Father of All… Dark Roasts” – a name derived from their thirteenth studio album Father of All Motherfuckers (censored as Father of All… or FOAMF) released in 2020, but recorded prior to the game-changing year. 

Wines, Beer, & Liquor

Wines that Rock boasts the production of wines for many artists, such as All Time Low, Pearl Jam, Grateful Dead, Pink Floyd, AC/DC, The Rolling Stones, KISS, and for Graceland and Elvis Presley’s estate. Made for The King of Rock ‘N Roll’s 86th birthday, the limited-edition wine is quite reasonably priced at only $24 a bottle.

Bottles of wine from Wines that Rock

Slayer’s Reign in Blood red wine comes in tantalizing packaging consisting of blood-like red wax dripped from the cap, Slayer branding, an inverted typographical cross, a limited edition coffin-shaped box, and other features, resulting in quite a work of art inside and out that appeals to both wine aficionados and music memorabilia collectors.

Over the last two decades, craft beer has enjoyed an explosion in popularity. Unlike wine and many other alcoholic drinks, many beers take two weeks or less to go from the raw materials to a cold, refreshing beer. As the turnaround time is much shorter, it is far easier to set up a collaboration that is still relevant when it comes out. A great example of this is the ongoing collaboration between the Deftones and San Diego-based Belching Beaver. By far, the most popular of the six beers to come out of this is the “Phantom Bride,” first brewed in 2016.

Dogfish Head created “American Beauty,” a Grateful Dead-inspired beer with granola and wildflower honey which was first released in 2013. Less Than Jake offered a limited edition beer by JDub’s Brewing Co. in 2018. Last, but certainly not least, is the Queen creation appropriately named Bohemian Lager. Brewed in Pilsen – the Bohemian now-Czech Republic city where the Pilsner style originated from – the limited edition beer was brewed in 2015 for the 40th anniversary of “Bohemian Rhapsody“.  

Finally, we have liquor. First is the Motorhead vödka made in Malmköping in Sweden since 2019. Motorhead also partnered with Hillrock to make some very limited bourbon, retailing for a whopping $275 per bottle.

Bob Dylan unveiled a line of whiskeys called Heaven’s Door in 2018. Multiple artists have their own tequila brands, such as Justin Timberlake, Rita Ora, Sammy Hagar, and Nick Jonas. Timberlake entered the tequila business in 2009, co-founding 901 Tequila – which was rebranded as Sauza 901 when Beam Inc acquired a stake in 2014. With hopes to push boundaries in the industry as a female-founded brand, Ora launched Próspero Tequila in the US in 2019.

Rita Ora

Hagar has been in the tequila business for almost 30 years, having launched the award-winning Cabo Wabo brand in 1991. In contrast to the once-Van Halen frontman, Jonas is the most green of the listed musicians, having joined the game in 2019 with Vanilla One.

These are just a few of the many types of alcoholic beverages that musicians have owned, made, or collaborated on. Ultimate Classic Rock shared an impressive list of “73 Rock Star Beer, Wine and Booze Brands.”

While the pandemic has indubitably unleashed a tsunami of projects that fall outside the typical domain of the music industry, the question one must ask when examining said projects for originality is: are these artists trailblazers, going down a path none have tread before, or are they innovators in their own right who take a path others have cut before them to bring a product to market that the world might not have expected from the source? The overwhelming body of evidence is that in the decade or so before the pandemic began, the trends in the industry were increasingly leaning toward this path. As such, releasing coffees, graphic novels, and wines during the pandemic may not be a unique course of action, but it does allow for creative release in a different medium, and perhaps an opportunity for many of them to manifest a once-dormant dream into a delectable reality.

My Chemical Romance Finally Reveal Full U.S. Tour After Teasing Fans With Cryptic Clues

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This morning, My Chemical Romance announced an intensely anticipated 18-date U.S. arena tour — their first in nine years. Tickets go on sale Friday, January 31 at noon local time — find them here. Tour dates below.

Ever since My Chemical Romance (“MCR”/”My Chem”) started trickling out international tour dates following their sold out Los Angeles reunion show on December 20th, 2019, fans in the States have been on the edge of their seats and scouring the internet for any clues they can dig up — even analyzing the source code of the band’s website.

The disciples of the legendary emo/pop punk/post-hardcore group (the “MCRmy”) were quick to pick apart visuals they found in photos and the multi-cam full show posted on YouTube, comprised of a compilation of fan footage. They found a symbol on frontman Gerard Way’s jacket, which they learned was a sigil.

This behavior of MCR fans is clearly no secret to the band, and they put quite a bit into generating hype with media crafted to keep their fans anticipating what is to come. Amidst all of the taunting clues, those with knowledge of the occult, witchcraft, angels, and magic have been able to lend their knowledge to the fanbase. Many have speculated that considering all of the new branding and merch we have seen, there must certainly be a new album in the works. In the band’s videos, they have noted a star of which they believe the 5th point represents what would be the band’s 5th studio album — but this is purely one conjecture of many.

My Chem really started letting the cat out of the bag yesterday afternoon, when they posted a video that fans picked apart, just as they had been with other mysterious videos posted on Jan. 19, Jan. 16, and Jan. 9. By now, they were quick to recognize the sigils that flashed in the footage like subliminal messages, and they got to work deciphering them straight-away. It did not take long at all for the community to discover that they were U.S. cities.


Meanwhile, there were also allegedly leaks from a Houston radio station and a Dallas venue, which further cemented the belief that a tour announcement was impending.

Last night, a tweet requested that their audience visit their YouTube or official website at 8:35am PST/11:35am EST.

This morning, a cinematic video with the reveal was posted to YouTube at the promised time, and the suspected tour was confirmed.

The MCRmy’s theory was validated, but their hunger for more is insatiable after years grieving over the loss of the band since their hiatus beginning in 2013. Fans want a new song, a new music video, a new album… They want My Chemical Romance fully resuscitated.


North American Tour Dates

  • Sept. 9 – Detroit, Mich. @ Little Caesars Arena
  • Sept. 11 – St. Paul, Minn. @ Xcel Energy Center
  • Sept. 12 – Chicago, Ill. @ Riot Fest
  • Sept. 14 – Toronto, Ontario @ Scotiabank Arena
  • Sept. 15 – Boston, Mass. @ TD Garden
  • Sept. 17 – Brooklyn, N.Y. @ Barclays Center
  • Sept. 18 – Philadelphia, Pa. @ Wells Fargo Center
  • Sept. 20 – Atlanta, Ga. @ Music Midtown
  • Sept. 22 – Newark, N.J. @ Prudential Center
  • Sept. 26 – Sunrise, Fla. @ BB&T Center
  • Sept. 29 – Houston, Texas @ Toyota Center
  • Sept. 30 – Dallas, Texas @ American Airlines Center
  • Oct. 02 – Denver, Colo. @ Pepsi Center
  • Oct. 04 – Tacoma, Wash. @ Tacoma Dome
  • Oct. 06 – Oakland, Calif. @ Oakland Arena
  • Oct. 08 – Los Angeles, Calif. @ The Forum
  • Oct. 10 – Sacramento, Calif. @ Aftershock Festival
  • Oct. 11 – Las Vegas, Nev. @ T-Mobile Arena

International Tour Dates

  • March 20 — Ascot Vale, Australia @ Download Festival
  • March 21 — Parramatta, Australia @ Download Festival
  • March 25 — Western Springs, New Zealand @ Outer Fields at Western Spring
  • March 28 — Osaka, Japan @ Intex Osaka
  • March 29 — Hibino, Japan @ Download Festival
  • June 18 — Milton Keynes, U.K. @ Stadium MK
  • June 20 — Milton Keynes, U.K. @ Stadium MK
  • June 21 — Milton Keynes, U.K. @ Stadium MK
  • June 23 — Dublin, Ireland @ Royal Hospital Kilmainham
  • July 04 — Bologna, Italy @ Sonic Park Fest
  • July 06 — Bonn, Germany @ Kunst!rasen
  • July 11 — Moscow, Russia @ Park Live


My Chemical Romance Online:

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube



REVIEW: I’m Not Okay — An Emo & Pop Punk Dance Party at High Dive (12-28-19)

SEATTLE — High Dive was host to an Emo and Pop Punk dance party called “I’m Not Okay” amidst the Emo revival that is sweeping the globe. Being named after their hit single, there is no doubt that some attendees came out to ease the pain of missing out on My Chemical Romance’s December 20th reunion concert in Los Angeles.

The animated DJ Baby Van Beezly led the night, appearing at home amongst the community — many whom were teenagers when the music spinning was new and permanently impacting them. Heard throughout the night were artists such as My Chemical Romance, Yellowcard, Blink-182, The Offspring, Panic! At the Disco, Paramore, Taking Back Sunday, Good Charlotte, The Used, Green Day, and more.

A sole band performed — MySpace Romance, who some may have assumed was strictly a My Chemical Romance cover band. Rather, they additionally covered the likes of Arizona’s very own The Format and Jimmy Eat World, along with Coheed and Cambria, The Starting Line, Fall Out Boy, Dashboard Confessional, and more. (Find the setlist in the photo gallery below.) The band had good energy and put on a delightful set for those that longed to experience these songs in live performance again.

Emo nights occur frequently nowadays, and there is certainly no shortage of them in Burning Hot Events’ home — Phoenix. The venues The Rebel Lounge, The Van Buren, and Pub Rock are some that have been host to emo nights, so keep an eye on their upcoming events. As for Seattle: “The Emo Night Tour” took place at El Corazon the same night as “I’m Not Okay”, but there is another opportunity to experience this event on February 22nd! Wherever you may be located, if you are a fan of the genre, do find an emo night nearby and experience catharsis, nostalgia, community, and the passionate energy that comes with this type of music.

Photo Gallery

Photography: Katherine Amy Vega

I’m Not Okay – Emo & Pop Punk Dance Party – High Dive 12-28-19

Photography © Kataklizmic Design
All Rights Reserved.

PHOTOS: Gerard Way – Marquee Theatre 10-25-15

Photos of Gerard Way (of My Chemical Romance) performing at Marquee Theatre in Tempe, Arizona on October 25, 2015.

Gerard Way – Marquee Theatre 10-25-15

Photography by Katherine Vega, © Kataklizmic Design
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