Turns Out It Wasn’t Just a Phase
The Long Live The Black Parade Tour Comes to Glasgow
Bellahouston Park in the summer is a vibe. Host to a series of summer sessions, the grass turns to mud as night after night musicians hit the stage to crowds of thousands.
Saturday 4th July
2026
Glasgow
My Chemical Romance.
Weather= nothing a plastic poncho couldn’t sort out
My sister scored tickets over a year ago and we were beyond excited to emo up and relive teenage-hood.
The name of the tour- long live the black parade- gives you a good idea of the bulk of the set list. Needless to say it was all I wanted to listen to in the car on the pilgrimage to Glasgow.
Who Was in the Crowd? Elder Emos, Picnic Blankets and Plastic Ponchos
This was very much the average age of why-does-my-back-hurt-mid-30s. Sure there were fun, young things with knees capable of jumping and standing 8 hours down at the front, but the bulk was more like me. Many were vibing during the Idlewild support on their picnic blankets. My sister and I enjoyed some casual beers sitting at the back on benches. Kudos to the venue for being so well laid out with bars, food stalls, areas just to chill out. The bladder appreciates that after 2 pregnancies.
Back in 2007, when I last saw the Black Parade tour, everything revolved around illness. Hospitals, chemotherapy, death. Gerard Way had shaved his head and bleached his hair to complete the patient aesthetic.
Roll around to 2026 and things had become much more unhinged. The band, admittedly, weren’t the only ones. Having kids does that to a person.
But regardless of age, as the opening piano notes of Welcome to the Black Parade rang out thousands of people who remembered every damn lyric did exactly what you’d expect. We all went feral.
A Dictatorship, Clowns and a Lot of Fire
The theatrical premise was dictatorship in brutalist Eastern Europe. My Chemical Romance played the role of a parade band playing for the glory of Draak, a fake nation made for the purpose of the gig. There were rules flashed onto the screen. There were images of farming and ironworks. It was all very Stalinist Russia.
Want really unhinged? Halfway through Act 1 there was an election to vote in 4 people or keep the glorious leader- a man sitting on a throne in military garb. Cue fake firing line and an extended edition of Mama.
Way sat during a musical interlude of Sleep reading a copy of ‘the executioner’. Various bureaucrats morphed over time from suits to clowns. It felt like an episode of The Umbrella Academy, which makes sense given Gerard Way created the comic.
Then there was the pyrotechnics. I’ve been to gigs with the occasional fire burst, but those were nothing compared to the propane budget of MCR. Over time the dictator state crumbles into literal ash. Flames. People on fire. Pillars on fire. Clown on fire. Stage on fire. To be frank, it was cool af.
The second half was more varied. In a waterproof and with much more ease the band talked to the crowd, played hits from Three cheers for sweet revenge (notably I’m not ok and Helena), from the newer albums I don’t really like and the lesser known first album I brought you my bullets you brought me your love. Way outright said they were playing songs such as Ambulance purely because they wanted to. Respect.
Do My Chemical Romance Still Sound Good Live?
100%.
Way’s vocal is just as strong, the drums hit into your feet, the riffs were sympathetic to the recordings while still giving a show flair. This may have been a nostalgia gig but it didn’t rely on rose tint. It earned every one of the thousands in attendance.
Twenty Years Later, The Black Parade Still Hits
After nearly twenty years, The Black Parade hadn’t slipped quietly into nostalgia. Standing in a field, screaming Famous Last Words while flames engulfed the stage was oddly healing. Some songs play and instantly remind you that a part of that little weird emo kid is still there.
Back in 2007 I was 17, happy with a bit of black eyeliner pencil and a customised black shirt. This time round, in my 30s, I have access to much more black make up, beer and merch. The tour shirt is really cool. I’ll defo be wearing it to all the cool places that I go like the Tesco and the library.
Best song, Biggest Surprise and Full Set List
Best song? Toss up between Helena or Famous Last Words.
Most unexpected moment? Black and white clown strapped with explosives singing Blood.
Below is the full My Chemical Romance Bellahouston Park set list from the Glasgow Summer Sessions show on 4 July 2026.
the end. (intro)
dead!
this is how i disappear
the sharpest lives
welcome to the black parade
i don’t love you
house of wolves
cancer
mama extended
sleep
teenagers
disenchanted
famous last words
the end
blood
—– Act 2 (with albums for your info)—-
bury me in black = Life on the Murder Scene
na na na = Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys
ghost of you = Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge
i’m not okay (i promise) = Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge
ambulance (debut) = Number Two
our lady of sorrows = I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love
hang em high = Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge
helena = Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge
vampires will never hurt you = I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love
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