75 Miles per Hour to See My Chemical Romance
(Okay, we all know I don’t ever go the speed limit, but it was too perfect a play on words not to use)
To steal a phrase from a particular guitar player, tonight is my night. Tonight is my 75th My Chemical Romance show. Because I am a nerd, I have a list in Airtable (IYKYK) of all the shows I’ve been to, and when you sort it by My Chem, tonight marks seventy fucking five. What the hell?
In San Diego, someone asked me what the number was, and while I keep track, I don’t really “keep track”. I guesstimated 70 something cause it definitely felt like that, and I was surprised to see it was actually in that range.
Most know I started going to their shows back in 2003 when I didn’t even know who the fuck they were, and they opened up for Story of the Year, which I knew of because they opened for Linkin Park. I flew to Los Angeles to see SOTY at The Avalon, which is not too far from where I live right now. My Chem opened and blew my fucking 18-year-old mind.
Rocking a 2000s aesthetic collage of going to My Chemical Romance shows over the years (2003-2026)
Then in 2005, as a newly 20-something “adult,” I followed them around the country on their Revenge tour. And because of that tour, I flew to Kansas City, Missouri to see Billy Johnson play in Shots Fired (he was the drummer for Reggie and the Full Effect at the time). Because of the Revenge tour, I also then followed around Alkaline Trio on their 10 year Goddamnit Anniversary tour, and their next tour and somewhere in there, more My Chem shows, so I ended up seeing Circa Survive and Thursday. Oh and because of that one Alkaline Trio tour, I started going to see Against Me!, and then more Linkin Park and somewhere in there, because of them I saw Coheed & Cambria… I could go on and on and on… But I owe much of my musical influences to My Chemical Romance and of course Linkin Park.
Not that this is some sort of birthday, but it is a special day to me. So I’m going to make a wish. I wish for everyone who goes to shows, to go see the openers cause you never know who you might discover.
Like JIMMY EAT WORLD! So stoked for tonight!
