FRNKIERO ANDTHE CELLABRATION @ The Key Club, Leeds 17/04/2015
“Ah, man,” Frank Iero croons, leaning back from his microphone, sweat stained and triumphant. He’s halfway through delivering an eclectic set of angst-soaked tracks from his most recent output, Stomachaches, to a venue so tiny that the whites of his eyes are visible. “It’s nice to see some familiar faces.”
Indeed, it is.
It’s his first UK headline tour post-My Chemical Romance, and the band are very much more in their comfort zone that they were in their previous UK support slot. This is obvious; Iero’s energy is palpable and contagious right from the first screeches of feedback. Of course, this is not a solo project, and every member of The Cellabration are captivating in their own right.
Support comes from Milk Teeth, a garage punk four piece from Bristol, and The Homeless Gospel Choir, an acoustic one-man band with a set so magnetic is almost steals the show.
The support is almost as unlikely as Iero himself; introverted and raw as hell, but those familiar with his frenzied live performance as part of My Chemical Romance were not disappointed. The guitarist-gone-frontman plays with reckless abandon, even leaping out into the crowd when the set peaks with Joyriding, an eclectic three minute experience.
It was a volatile and cathartic ending; fitting perfectly the brutal honesty that only few can pull off like Iero.
9/10