Peak New Jersey Achieved: The 5 Most NJ Moments of My Chemical Romance’s MetLife Stadium Show

My Chemical Romance has been on the road for a few weeks on the band’s Long Live the Black Parade tour, performing its fiercely beloved 2006 album in its entirety since kicking off the stadium run in Seattle on July 11; they’ve also been reunited for a few years, hitting the road in 2022 after years of inactivity and weaving a few festivals into the tour itinerary. All of which is to say, the band has been around lately — yet Saturday night was different.

On Aug. 9, My Chemical Romance made its headlining debut at MetLife Stadium East Rutherford, N.J., a few towns over from their childhood homes in Belleville, with a show that was at once triumphant and extremely Jersey-coded. Although the Long Live the Black Parade tour has involved a theatrical slant — in which the band members don costumes as their alter egos The Black Parade, and incorporate none-too-subtle political commentary as “His Grand Immortal Dictator’s National Band,” leading fake executions and performing while people run across the stage while lit on fire — My Chemical Romance’s catalog naturally bristles with the intensity of a North Jersey basement show.

No matter how large the band’s venues get or how elaborate the framing of the performances may be, that energy is always front and center; it’s made MCR one of the most vital rock bands in the world right now, and is the reason why thousands of ticket buyers are always ready to welcome them back with open arms.

Sure, My Chemical Romance played the hits on Saturday night, but the MetLife show was more than one stop on the road. Here are the best New Jersey moments from My Chemical Romance’s homecoming, at the state’s biggest venue: