#unkillable

[rottid]

[bentwolioo]

Ok so why did Gerard wear the same costume for 6 shows???

Like a lot of people, I noticed the Aotearoa (NZ) & Australia tour drum head messages seemed to be about 9/11. The costume also tells a very specific story that lines up with this--and there was more to Melbourne Night 2 than Gerard deciding it was casual Friday. I'm gonna go through my personal interpretation and explain why I think MCR did this at the end of their tour. 

TLDR: This Is Not The End.

I will include image credits in the reblog since there are a lot!

AUCKLAND, March 11 2023

Based on the skirt suit and drumhead ‘FIX FAX FUCK YOU’, Gerard is dressed as an office worker. For simplicity I will refer to the costume as the Secretary, I see it as both a character and a metaphor. Auckland establishes the monotony and repetition of daily life prior to 9/11, ‘FIX FAX FUCK YOU’ showing an attitude of boredom unaware of the events to come. 

BRISBANE 1, March 13 2023

The main difference between Auckland and Brisbane 1 is the briefcase. This indicates the point in time--Auckland is the days before 9/11 and Brisbane 1 is the morning before the attacks begin. The secretary travels to work, thinking ‘Everything under Control’.

BRISBANE 2, March 14 2023

The drumhead message ‘Here Comes the AIRPLANE’ marks this as minutes or even seconds before the towers are hit. Brisbane 2 is the first time Gerard wears the coat, representing everyone taking cover. 

MELBOURNE 1, March 16 2023

I unfortunately could not find a good photo of Gerard wearing the coat from this show but you can see it on the floor behind him!

The Melbourne shows are as the towers collapse. Pretty straightforward from the Melbourne 1 drumhead ‘TERROR’. This show also had the only appearance of the umbrella, which I interpret as representing the rubble and destruction raining down. The umbrella is closed, showing the secretary is unprotected and ultimately killed when the towers fall. 

MELBOURNE 2, March 17 2023

It seemed odd at first that Melb 2 was the only show that Gerard didn’t wear a costume for, but I actually believe he still did. This is the key to my interpretation: Gerard is dressed as himself witnessing the towers collapse, on his way to work at Cartoon Network. This the only show on the Oceania leg where they played Skylines and Turnstiles*, the song Gerard wrote immediately after 9/11. The drumhead ‘BARK BARK BARK’ makes you picture, a chained dog, representing the powerless horror of only being able to watch as the destruction unfolds--the deeply personal experience that drove Gerard to form MCR. 

SYDNEY 1, March 19 2023

Blood!!!! At Sydney 1, we see the continuing aftermath of the 9/11 attacks. The secretary has died but keeps moving, picking up her briefcase and carrying on. This could be showing how a lot of people’s faith in the US government and in the world died, but life had to find a way to move on. 

SYDNEY 2, March 20 2023

At Sydney 2, the addition of Gerard’s white contacts shows the Secretary decaying--but she has not stopped. Frank changed the drumhead message from ‘UNKILLABLE’ to ‘UNKILLABLES’, expanding the meaning from the context of his accident in Sydney to include the band, the fans, and on a wider level everything MCR represents. 

I think all of this is a metaphor for the band’s career in multiple ways. Firstly, the Secretary being undead of course reflects MCR’s return, and her zombified appearance aligns with the imagery of their new era (decay, swarm, the destroyed buildings of the stage set). Secondly, it is very interesting to me that they did this sequence of costumes and drumheads at the end of their headlining tour, rather that at the start. The story they told seems to imply a rebirth--MCR was ‘born’ out of the trauma, pain and confusion of 9/11, so the fact that they represented the start of the band on stage signifies a second beginning. 

(Thank you for reading to the end and if I got anything wrong please let me know!)

*EDIT 1 (23/03/23): They actually also played Skylines at Brisbane 2. I do think the position of Skylines in the Melb 2 set is still significant. They played it as the first encore song which mirrors it being the first MCR song and written shortly after 9/11.

EDIT 2 (30/03/23): So actually 8 shows of Secretary Gerard when you include Japan! Tokyo and Osaka analysis here

[overalls]

my pages for the mcr Unkillable zine :-) about my chronic pain and seeing "the foundations of decay" live

transcription below

I've spent the past few years in constant pain. My pain makes it easy for me to separate myself from everything, and to convince myself I'm less of a person.

When I finally saw my favorite band, it was the first time in my life that I actually felt like I was a part of the world. I realized that if the music that had pulled me through the worst parts of my life could touch the strangers surrounding me in the exact same way, I could never truly be alone.

"YOU MUST FIX YOUR HEART / AND YOU MUST BUILD AN ALTAR WHERE IT SWELLS."

"Foundations" was the most special song to witness live because it's the ultimate reminder that whether or not my illness goes away, and no matter how difficult it is to live sometimes, I have no choice but to grieve, endure, and survive. I've made a promise to myself that I'll spend the rest of my life making it a place I can devote myself to, alongside the people I care about deeply.

[tyforthevnm]

My Chemical Romance at Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney, Australia on March 19, 2023 | Josh Groo for Musicology

[burningchandelier]

Frank Iero is in Sydney, Australia, playing music he loves with his favorite band, and he is unkillable.

[arts-by-omar]

☢️Utsuho reiuji vs Urick the Godkiller💥 2

Round two fights

[chemnections]

some good threads and comments about the frank hate. i’m glad to see people standing up for him

[gimakesart]

No words just I love Frank sm

[justicekylar]

Unkillable Beehive, my beloved

Its the only way I guarantee that I can beat it with full challenges, and full challenges is the only way that I can push myself

[d32tr0y4]

Got my copy of UNKILLABLE :3

[takemyfucking-hand]

you're running after something that you'll never kill

[tyforthevnm]

frank writing unkillable on the drumhead (sydney, enya.savory)

[mitzy33]

AO3 IS BACK! (Hopefully forever)

[burningchandelier]

What now? We keep ourselves alive.

The past year has proved that we have so much to live for. We have so much to look forward to. We have art, we have literature, we have in-jokes, we have our collective love for something that transcends the boundaries of itself.

We have the music.

There will be more.

[arts-by-omar]

Lizzie and suika

[chemnections]

the statement put out by one of the zines creators