Give ‘Em Hell at Raymond James, Gang!
Give ‘Em Hell at Raymond James, Gang!
My Chemical Romance - Raymond James Stadium
9/13/2025
Words and Photos by C. Tuel
I cannot understate how much of an absolute pleasure it is to see My Chemical Romance, much less to the capacity of the Long Live The Black Parade Tour, much less a secondary time. Nonetheless, of course, this will serve as my full-bodied attempt to recap everything we had experienced at the Raymond James Stadium. First and foremost, an absurd amount of gratitude to Warner Brothers and the entirety of the My Chemical Romance team - three cheers for your hard work forever, and so many thank yous.
Admittedly, the stadium itself is gorgeous, and as much as I despise the traffic in the bay, I will never deny the incredible amount of tourism and community the stadium itself and the Buccaneers have brought to my immediate surrounding area. I love living here, and I love being near the stadium. You can feel the energy that still lingers from Taylor’s Eras Tour, as well as the Superbowl wins. If you don’t, signage will certainly remind you, or perhaps the insanely large pirate ship that sits around the lower bowl 100’s. Having the privilege to go with one of my brothers and his partner, I know I’m in for a phenomenal time - this was my first time not tailgating a show at this venue, but not my first inside. This is because my alma mater had played their football games there, and will continue until the football stadium my tuition has (in part) built sees its completion. It’s always quite an enjoyable time, and I appreciate a venue who has a streamlined process for the sheer amount of people it sees. In all accounts, it felt entirely smooth especially with parking (as well as leaving), which is absurdly impressive when you note that the venue has a capacity of 75,000…and was a sold out show. Even if 10% of the venue was not being ticketed, you’ve got over 65,000 people to account for. Shoutout to the venue staff that evening, I love being blown away by the town I live in, truly.
It is, by all accounts, a standard stadium experience in regard to foods, drinks, and their pricing. We did score free Monsters on the walk towards the entrance. Even if I accepted it, this is a Red-Bull fueled magazine by all accounts (we’re not sponsored, but G-d knows we love the drink. Redbull, my beloved, we would accept PR of any variety from you), and I was physically buzzing at this point. From energy drinks or the pure excitement of the dream show the three of us had had since what felt like we were tots, we’re still unsure. I think my favorite part of the venue experience was walking through the player tunnels - as a football fan myself, that can’t be described, but I know I had the most obscenely wide smile on my face walking to my seat. Seeing the turf poke out under the temporary flooring for the concert was admittedly a little bit entertaining, as were the themed drinks for the evening. We do know I’m a sucker for a bit of theming, yes? Have we not picked up on that? If you need a reminder of the Magick of Philly, please, feel free to refresh. Being around folks I knew despite being separated from my family was an absolute pleasure, and always nice to meet everyone that I had not known previously, folks from out of town, everyone and everything… I love people and their work across all forms, what do you want me to say? Again, there is magick everywhere where you go, just look a little closer than you normally would.
As a recap of the stage itself and the designings of it, it remains the same as the prior designs and will remain that way in fundamentals alone. I am here and as focused as possible on every conceivable detail that I could find with given and assisted eyesight, so this review will in part consist of the “Black Parade”’s set, the potential dismantle of the time loop, the additional details, and the B-Stage performance.
The first new fixture is overtly obvious - the signs we’d been given that evening upon walking into the venue for the execution are double sided white-on-red YEA signs. There is no longer an option for the execution, but truly I’m unsure if there ever was one to begin with. When the clerk, and subsequently the Black Parade appear, the clerk’s arm is cased inside a sling, and there are no punch-cards for the group this evening. In an attempt to try to piece when this is taking place, I’ve collected some of my other healthcare and history nerds. The closest we can concur is that the sling itself, and the time loop? Is more modern than suspected - the sling can be traced to as soon as the 1960’s based upon its fabric (or what it seems to be), as well as the amount of coverage it provides. We’re back to the cold war, your honor. This could also indicate that the Clerk is a victim of the Dictator as well, considering there was nothing that happened on stage of relevance between the band and the clerk the show prior to Tampa.
Frank, or rather, his portrayed member of the Black Parade holds up a sign this evening that says “NOPE!” as his objection after The Sharpest Lives. However, it is to no avail. The (rigged) execution begins after Welcome To The Black Parade, where the audience sees four individuals (dressed as?) the Black Parade themselves executed. Hypothetically, this could be in tune with the time loop, but considering The Parade themselves, or rather Gerard had commentary “We don’t really have to kill these guys, do we?”, I’m unsure if it was a warning to the band or if it was a plea to the audience. I’m unsure of how powerful the dictator truly is.
Image depicting Gerard and their New Jersey postcard. PHOTO BY C TUEL
After this, the Clerk and Gerard share a tender moment, a warm hug that is wildly unexpected and the crowd surges with quite frankly what I suspected to be terror. Not a soul had any idea what was going on - it’s not like I did, either. Before Sleep, when Gerard has a proper moment and a prop to ponder, They whip out a New Jersey postcard. They look bewildered, confused, and for a brief moment their face shows remembrance. It eludes to the fact that the band is, or has been, repeatedly waived of their prior lives before being at the dictator’s disposal. Gerard is acting particularly emotional during the song, a possibility that the reconditioning was unsuccessful. The dictator makes a phone call during Famous Last Words, before the stage is set ablaze.
To close out, the time on the clock was different. It is possible we are no longer looping, it is possible they can get out and I have all these feelings of hope as Gerard survives the attempt on their life thrice over, and then hugs the clown we had been seeing during Blood for ages.
The B-Stage performance is something to be held in my heart for ages. I finally got to scream “My gun fires seven different shades of shit, so what’s your favorite color, punk?”. Life altering to hear My Way Home being played live for the first time since 2008. I cannot believe I got DESTROYA a second time. A second DESTROYA has hit the tower! I was, in fact, clutching my pearls at every second of everything, especially reeling about Fashion Statement, Boy Division, and Bury Me.
I love being lucky.
Even thinking about it afterwards and after the performance the following day in Piedmont Park at the festival, I’m still unsure if we’re trapped in a time-loop. Gerard continued to survive the stabbing, except this time on the Peachtree Stage in my hometown. That’s special to me, all professionalism be damned. My Chemical Romance will always be the topic I attempted to do my second grade class presentation on and got grounded for. (Christian Moms Against MCR was real and it was in my household)
It’ll always have been worth it.
Thank you forever.
MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE SETLIST
The Black Parade (Full Album)
From A to B
(Clarice Jensen song) (performed by Clarice Jensen)
I'm Not Okay (I Promise)
Bury Me in Black
My Way Home Is Through You
(first time live since 2008)
Na Na Na (Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na)
Helena
DESTROYA
It's Not a Fashion Statement, It's a Fucking Deathwish
Boy Division
The Kids From Yesterday
(with extended outro of Ray Toro Shredding like nobody’s business)