#lltbp thoughts

[percocet]

and others have said this but . of course it had to be the black parade that they toured again. of course they had to go back to it and finally put all their demons to rest, instead of letting the original experience fade into unsettled obscurity. the sheer relief on gerard's face tonight and the smile on charlie's when they blew themselves up--embracing the destruction and the agony of those years, finally making amends with the personification of all the horrors they dealt with. hugging and treating the pain with kindness, courtesy of over a decade of introspection. also addressing that shaky aftermath in 2008, when they didn't know if the band would even continue, when they wanted it to continue but couldn't see a way forward, and to contrast that with who they are now, to see how fucking happy they are every night, to know they have plans to keep going??? i need to lie down

[vampmoneys]

A rant about how the LLTBP tour relates to MCR as an IRL band

The entertainment industry is a mess. Especially in recent years, the idea of “quantity over quality” is being pushed more and more, with increasing pressure on artists to deliver content even if it is mediocre.

Now as MCR fans, we know that throughout their careers, they have suffered a lot of pressure from multiple outside forces to deliver on certain things. However, a very special thing about MCR is how they have consistently refused to fold to said pressure: they scrapped multiple albums because they didn’t fully believe in them, they rejected multiple deals for projects they weren’t passionate about even when they could have brought them a lot of money, they even ended up breaking up when their hearts were no longer in it. This band is known to never do things half-heartedly or conform to the pressure.

Now we get to this tour. And honestly, yeah, they could easily get up there and just play the album, and they would still sell out the stadium. But instead they created a full-on theatrical display set in an entire new world with the most elaborate production and insane details, complete with a wildly intriguing and layered story with so many messages and applications for the real world.

A very interesting aspect of that narrative to me, is how that in many ways it serves as a meta critique and examination of the well oiled-machine and cycle that the entertainment industry has become. Parts of it intentionally force the audience to confront and examine how they interact with and consume art and the people who make it. The band portrays themselves as literal shells of who they were, being forced like puppets to perform for our entertainment. They purposefully depict themselves as parts of a machine being forced to just “shut up and play the hits.”

It forces you to ask yourself uncomfortable questions…When the band is paraded out like animals: What are you really here for? When Gerard is forced to put his jacket back on: Is this what you wanted? And when the finale of it all ends in destruction and violence: Was the spectacle worth it?

Btw, none of this is to say that you shouldn’t be cheering and excited at a concert, lol. The band expects and wants you to be. It is just even that is an intentional part of the narrative. It is so brilliant how the show forces us to examine these ideas of art vs entertainment…what does it take for something to actually mean something? how far are you willing to go for it? As well as passion vs conformity…what are your reasons? Do you actually care about this? Or did someone else just ask for it?

It’s all just very smart especially considering the band’s history, as well as the way some people talked about this tour when it was announced. Because unfortunately, it is true that many groups and artists can become almost a sad parody of themselves after doing it for decades. People threw these accusations at MCR before this tour started, calling it “nostalgia bait” or a “lazy rerun.” And the thing is, it easily could have been. But instead, MCR actually tackles those very ideas head-on in a show that is the exact opposite of those things.

This show clearly has so much love and dedication behind it and the band and everyone else involved is so clearly very passionate and excited about it (as they should be, it is utterly incredible). They truly care about their work and music and art as much as we do. But I think that it is just so genius for them to incorporate themes that examine authenticity and passion as well as the dynamics between industry, artists, and audiences.

This band is seriously one in a million and they never cease to amaze me with how thought-provoking and powerful their work is. MCR, the band that you are…

[percocet]

it's the arrow pointing at madison square garden for me and the well-documented way mcr's msg show wasn't anything like they originally dreamed it would be and medicine square garden by frank iero and the future violents and

[percocet]

waking up in a cold sweat and racing here to say of course frank would be the one to hold up the "nope" sign at the prospect of his band being executed. he was always the one who wanted them to stay together even as things fell apart

[vampmoneys]

LLTBP AND MCR’S MESSAGE

Wanna talk what I got from the LLTBP show because it’s been driving me crazy in all the best ways since my show (thanks mcr)

MCR has made such an elaborate story that it actually completely includes us in it. We are the citizens of DRAAG. Some of us cheer on the dictator. Some of us boo him. Some of us vote “yea.” Some of us vote “nay.” Some of us cheer on the band’s “punishments.” Some of us cheer on their rebellion. Most of us do some of both.

However, regardless of how we react, the show always remains the same. The events will always occur how they always occur. There is nothing you can do to stop it.

This is a show put on by the dictatorship to reinforce their power over us. Even if you resist them, they remain in charge. They remain in control. They decide the outcome. Even if you support them, you could be next. There is nothing stopping them from disposing of you as easily as your “heroes” if you step out of line. The whole show is a display of their power over us.

In the end, nothing we can do will change anything, just like how nothing the band does changes anything. Regardless of what we or the band does, the ending is there from the start - in a literal outline of Gerard’s body on the floor.

We are as powerless against DRAAG as the band is and we share in the same senseless cycle of violence and control that we are simultaneously the perpetrators and victims of. The show is about us. All of us. The band, the audience, the entire world, both in the narrative universe as well as in the real world. It’s about that powerless feeling that there is nothing you can do to truly make a difference.

…not a very MCR message I hear you say. But just you wait my friends cause now allow me to go even deeper!

Every single night, despite already knowing the outcome, despite staring at the literal outline of his own body right in front of him, Gerard continues to rebel. He refuses to read the papers, even though he knows he will be met with a slap. He takes off his jacket, even though he knows it will be forced back on. The band rebels every single time despite KNOWING they will be destroyed because of it. And THAT is where we get the true message of the show. And it’s the same message that MCR has been sending throughout every era throughout multiple decades: never give up.

Even when you are at your lowest, even when you are faced with impossible odds, even when it seems like there is no way out: YOU HAVE TO KEEP FIGHTING. You have to stay true to yourself. You cannot give up.

DRAAG has trapped us in this cycle of inevitable tragedy. They want us to feel like there is no point, nothing we can do to change things. But even in the face of that, the band STILL fights against it - Mikey runs for his life, Frank and Ray fight to stay on stage even as they are dragged off, Gerard desperately uses the last of his strength to continue singing and reach for that button. Every night they continue to try.

The message is that even when we feel like we are powerless, that there is nothing we can do to actually make a change, that is when we need to fight the hardest. Get up and keep going. And never give up, no matter what.

This band has said it again and again in countless ways over the years. It’s practically their thesis at this point. And I just think this show is a such a nuanced brilliant way to spread that message, especially in a world where it is so desperately needed.

[vampmoneys]

before this tour leg ends, I have to throw out my puppet rants (and other phrases only MCR fans understand)

So Gerard treats the puppet with this gentle almost maternal attitude- he is a caregiver, a protector, a friend, an ally - however at other times he meets the gentleman with random violence - recklessly flinging him into the air and carelessly swinging him around

I think this is in many ways a reflection of how us as an audience treats the band: oscillating rapidly between ally and enemy - sometimes we defend them even against draag's wishes but other times we cheer on the senseless violence and the very cycle that has trapped them for our own entertainment; yes, we scream for Gerard as he's dying, we might choose to vote nay, maybe we heckle the clerk, but we also cheer when the jacket is forced back on, we cheer for the dictator, we cheer during the missile launch in sleep

We care about and try to help the band, but we also enjoy the show - just like how Gerard cherishes this puppet but also makes him sing, dance, jump, essentially perform for him

The band members are puppets. In the sense that DRAAG is forcing them to do this yes, but ALSO in the sense that we as an audience are demanding a show. We care about them but we have still become part of this movement they are forced into - just like how Gerard treats the gentleman, with such love and tenderness but also forcing him to be a part of the show with him. We are all trapped in the same cycle of violence that we are simultaneously the perpetrators and victims of.

And I just think both the in-show story as well as the real world implications of that are so brilliant - it forces audiences to examine how we interact with and consume media/art and also provides a commentary on the ways the industry works and how it often limits, controls, and even destroys creativity and expression

And of course this whole puppet metaphor really was nailed home last show when it ended with Gerard’s body being literally puppeted by the clerk to sing along so yeah

And then the real kicker is the outcome…I read someone saying Gerard is protective of the puppet because he thinks that maybe something can be done to prevent the same thing happening to it that happened to them. Similarly, us as an audience have tried to “save” the band; when we vote nay or boo the dictator or and the clerk, we are trying to take down draag, to change the outcome, to do something…but it’s never worked… in the end it doesn't matter...just like how nothing the band does can stop the outcome, nothing we do can either. There is no saving the puppet and there is no saving the band.

No amount of kindness or care has been able to help free them or change things…until recently…It seems the band is finally breaking out of their conditioning, they seem more aware of who they are and what draag is and they WANT OUT. This last show we saw Mikey step in and take the hit for Gerard, Frank ushering G away from the clerk’s bs, Ray showing clear concern for them, they are reacting and taking a stand that has FINALLY had some effect on the outcomes. We’re slowly changing things, and I am SO curious to see what happens this last show of this leg…

This show is just so brilliant - the ways it examines and depicts forced conformity and how sometimes we need people who care about us to help us escape things, the message of fighting back over and over even if it feels like nothing is changing. Just the level of messages in this show- the thesis imo being the what I consider the thesis of the band itself which is simply “keep going”

THIS TOUR IS WILD AND GENIUS I absolutely love it, anyway good luck to the gentleman and the band for this next show…I have a feeling it might be a big one…

[vampmoneys]

hey just wanna point out how the elexecution segment of the show used to so crazy and shocking but now we’ve all just accepted it…the desensitization to violence blinding us to reality and causing us to become complacent…

[percocet]

i need a tag for my lltbp theorizing that isn't "lltbp theory" it makes me feel like a matpat wannabe