By Dabrowka Nowak, Third Year, English
Self-described as ‘a tribute band by My Chem fans, for My Chem fans’ means that to review My Chemical Hoemance is to give an appraising overview of the effects of emo culture and MCR’s legacy. I find that there can be a special, specific magic created by a dedicated tribute band which aims, in the words of Phoebe aka. Gerard Slay’s words, not to replicate but to ‘present a love letter.’ Music here is used for the delightful purpose of bringing together a like minded community.
The gig itself was simply just super fun, with an hour and a half of MCR’s greatest hits from across their discography performed by a cover band with CD-perfect, energetic backing music and great stage presence from ‘Gerard Slay.’ The opening band ‘allium!’ was energetic and vibrant and the DJ set from Tasmin Taylor boasted danceable alternative classics. However, there are two main things which struck me about MCH which I want to talk about.
Firstly, the obvious: being the only female fronted MCR cover band. Phoebe expresses her shock in this to me, finding it ‘wild’ as ‘My Chem have their commercial bangers and reached mainstream success, but the niche references play into their femininity and androgyny in such a fun way that should be appreciated and empowered.’
Queerness, androgyny and theatrical expressions of sexuality are explicit in MCR’s music. It doesn’t take much effort to find old tumblr posts quoting ‘You should have raised a baby girl/ I could have been a better son’ and my personal favourite ‘my cellmates a killer, they make me do push ups in drag.’ Throughout their discography, MCR dedicate themselves to ideas of excess, from grand, theatrical album concept stories and goth-y music videos to showcasing sexuality on stage. In Phoebe’s words they are ‘campy, theatrical, queer-coded and straight-up slutty.’
The importance of alternative communities for queer young people cannot be underplayed, and MCR was there as emo role models during many people’s coming-of-age through their open expressions of camp and creativity. Hence, to blend emo music with an uprooting of gender expectations is to ‘carry on’ possibly the most positive and significant part of MCR’s legacy. For this, MCH deserve grander recognition.
This brings me onto my second point of interest: MCH’s dedication to visual performance. It is clear that the band isn’t formed on a whim, as Phoebe tells me she has been an MCR fan from a young age: ‘I cried at the salad bar of a Pizza Hut when the news broke that they were breaking up in 2013,’ that she had the ‘backcombed black fringe and thick eyeliner’ and wrote her dissertation on ‘emo subcultures, online emo communities and mental health.’
The band’s love and knowledge of MCR was so fabulously clear throughout. I got excited every time I noticed one of many of their visual indicators to the band’s lore. From the writing on the shirts evoking the Bullets era to Gerard’s live performance ad libs Phoebe confirms to me that were used, MCH essentially put together a live pin board of references, or in their words a ‘sexy Frankenstein’s monster.’ Furthermore, the costume changes created a perpetual theatricality and storytelling, not copying but embodying Gerard Way’s character making and campiness. It is always great to see artists having genuine fun, especially since it was Phoebe’s birthday!
The fact that the band ‘never really left [their] emo phases’ is beautifully evident. In my adulthood I find that emo doesn’t consciously cross my path that much. However, stepping into MCH’s gig I found myself getting excited over MCR references I had forgotten about, in a room full of people also word perfect to songs I haven’t put on in a while. I can’t put it down to nostalgia as it is so clear that these ‘phases’ are still fundamental and present within us and their importance should be celebrated and showcased, just like My Chemical Hoemance does.
Music at times has the power and potential to bring together communities, to build safe spaces and encourage creative self-expression. It can fill a room with joy and nostalgia. I always find it fascinating that a single ‘g’ on a piano can turn heads and create an anticipation for a select group of people. So, whilst this all seems like a grand, large-scale thing to ask of music, it is something I managed to find at a local gig of an MCR tribute band. Killjoys, make some noise!
Featured image: Epigram | Dabrowka Nowak
Have you ever seen My Chemical Hoemance live?
