My Chemical Romance finally began their North American reunion tour after multiple COVID-induced delays, and they had some surprises in store at opening night in Oklahoma City (8/20). They played "I'm Not Okay" B-side "Bury Me In Black" for the first time in over 20 years, and -- according to Setlist.fm -- only the fourth time ever. They also played live rarity "This Is the Best Day Ever" from their 2002 debut LP I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love for the first time in 17 years. "Bury Me In Black" got played again at the San Antonio show the next night (8/11), and that one also found them breaking out "Hang 'Em High" from Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge for their first time since reuniting. Both shows also opened with their great new song "Foundations of Decay," and had plenty of the fan-faves you'd expect. Here's an excerpt of Ben Luschen's review for Consequence of Sound of the OKC show:
Way dedicates “Ghost of You” to an unnamed friend of the band who recently died, saying it had been a particularly difficult summer for the band. It is easily the most beautiful moment of the night when the lights cut off and the arena is lit only with the swaying twinkle of thousands of cell phone flashes. It’s a palette cleanser — both a transition from some of the set’s more hectic numbers and a sweet ode to the fallen.
At one point between songs, Way candidly elaborates on the trials of the past few months, describing a frustrating voice problem that forced him to seek the guidance of a vocal coach, and then tangentially relating his anger to a specific 1980s wrestling match between Hulk Hogan and Nikolai Volkoff. When Way finally catches himself rambling after close to five minutes, he explains that he has been really anxious about how he’ll sound on this tour, and has been blown away by the crowd’s amazing response thus far.