My Chemical Romance kicked off their Black Parade 2026 Tour last month to the enjoyment of the fans in South America who had to endure FOMO watching the Jersey emo rockers stoke North American audiences last year.
As you may have heard, the band is performing the entirety of The Black Parade for the first half of the set and then on the back half they have been playing favorites like "I'm Not Okay," "Helena" and 8-9 others from their catalogue.
One thing they haven't changed is Gerard is still using dramatic faux blood to drive home the emotion. It's a theatrical device they've been using for a while and it's pretty striking close up as seen in this image from their Santiago show on 1/29.
The kids in Buenos Aires got to see it on 2/1 too.
The use of stage blood is nothing new in rock and goes all the way back to Greek tragedies 500 years BC with playwrights like Aeschylus and Sophocles.
Sadly we don't have any access to clips of those dramas, but there are examples of others using it, more recently.
Lady Gaga "Paparazzi" (2009)
Not only is Lady Gaga a fan of the over dramatic, operatic, and goth theatre of her art, but she has always loved Madonna, who knew if you're gonna bring it, you gotta bring it at the MTV VMAS.
Gaga did just that in 2009 when she took an already wild performance of "Paparazzi" to an intense place about three minutes into the song when she began bleeding from her chest.
If you don't remember it, it's because that was also the year Ye jumped on stage when Taylor Swift, then just 19, won a video he thought Beyoncé deserved.
In 2017, she explained in her documentary, Gaga: Five Foot Two, that she didn't do it just for shock value. Mother had a message.
“When they wanted me to be sexy, or they wanted me to be pop, I always put some absurd spin on it that made me feel like I was still in control, she explained.
"If I’m gonna be sexy on the VMAs and sing about the paparazzi, I’m gonna do it while I’m bleeding to death and reminding you of what fame did to Marilyn Monroe and what it did to Anna Nicole Smith.
The Mayhem Ball rolls on starting Valentine's Day in Arizona. It goes on for four nights at the Forum in LA and continues around North America.
Get tix on Gaga's site.
Olivia Rodrigo, "Vampire" (2024)
In 2021 when Olivia Rodrigo was asked about Gaga's VMA bloody performance she said it “gives me chills every time I watch it. I think Lady Gaga is the best performer of our generation.”
So it's hard not to think that when Olivia performed "Vampire" at Staples Center in 2024 she wasn't thinking about Gaga when she decided to add a little blood to the performance.
Doja Cat - The Scarlet Tour (2023-24)
If anyone knows how to raise eyebrows these days it's Doja Cat who has never been afraid to push boundaries, use her body as a canvas, and bring the most out of her lyrics and themes.
The Scarlet Tour was a tour-de-force with Doechii as the opener on many dates and Doja wearing outfits which from the cheap seats gave the illusion that she was nude.
Meanwhile her white corset was bloodstained and it looked as if she had been grabbed by Nosferatu himself. Even her promotional photos lived up to the demon imagery, and then some, because, seriously, how else is a girl supposed to paint a town red?
These days she's toned that part of her show down a smidge. Today she kicks off her Ma Vie World Tour in Brazil and continues to entertain around South America and then Europe. Tix available on her site.
GWAR, "If You Want Blood, You've Got It"
Ever since these scumdogs of intergalactic warriors from Antarctica broke free from their alien overlords and thawed from being frozen beneath the ice, blood has been center of their metal show.
In fact if you are anywhere near the pit for more than a few minutes you will walk out of the venue soaked in blood due to the countless characters the group will slash, stab, or shove in a grinder which then spews a fountain of the red stuff.
Nearly a decade ago in Cleveland, the band began covering AC/DC's "If You Want Blood, You've Got It," which instantly became a crowd pleaser. The song originally comes from the Aussies' 1978 classic, Powerage, then later that year they named their first live album after it.
For GWAR, the red stuff is more than a prop, it's just as important as the electric guitars, costumes, and humor.
They hit the road next month for their US tour. Let's hope they perform "Pink Pony Club" as beautifully as they did last month on the AV Club. Tix available on Gwar's website.
GWAR 2026 US Tour
3/19 The National, Richmond, VA
3/20 Reverb, Reading, PA
3/21 Empire Live, Albany, NY
3/22 The Paramount, Huntington, NY
3/24 The Webster Theater, Hartford, CT
3/25 The Queen, Wilmington, DE
3/26 Starland Ballroom, Sayreville, NJ
3/27 Citizens House of Blues Boston, Boston, MA
3/28 Town Ballroom, Buffalo, NY
3/29 Newport Music Hall, Columbus, OH
3/31 Mercury Ballroom, Louisville, KY
4/1 The Pageant, St. Louis, MO
4/2 Concord Music Hall, Chicago, IL
4/3 Piere’s Entertainment Center, Fort Wayne, IN
4/4 The Vault, Saginaw, MI
4/5 EPIC Events Center, Green Bay, WI
4/7 First Avenue, Minneapolis, MN
4/8 Val Air Ballroom, West Des Moines, IA
4/9 Cain’s Ballroom, Tulsa, OK
4/10 Granada Theater, Lawrence, KS
4/12 Mesa Theater, Grand Junction, CO
4/14 Roseland Theater, Portland, OR
4/15 Treefort Music Hall, Boise, ID
4/17 Channel 24, Sacramento, CA
4/18 Belasco Theater, Los Angeles, CA
4/19 House of Blues, San Diego, CA
4/20 The Rialto Theatre, Tucson, AZ
4/21 Sunshine Theater, Albuquerque, NM
4/23 Emo’s, Austin, TX
4/24 Warehouse Live, Houston, TX
4/25 Soul Kitchen Music Hall, Mobile, AL
4/27 The Signal, Chattanooga, TN
4/28 The Orange Peel, Asheville, NC
4/29 The Fillmore Charlotte, Charlotte, NC
10/30-11/3 Headbangers Boat, Miami, FL
