Gerard Way last night hinted at a
new album during his show at London’s KOKO. His UK tour which came to a close
in the capital left fans doting as he promised a new album in September 2015.
Earlier in the year, the
37-year-old had revealed his plans to debut his new solo album in the UK after
deciding to delve into Britpop and last night, Way stuck to his promise as he
performed to an audience of 1,400.
Now, however, it seems there may be new material on the way. Gerard told the audience “Next
September. New album after the tour. I don’t know what we’re gonna do…but we’re
gonna do something.”
Accompanied by his uniformed band
clad in matching white shirts and black bottoms, the quintet opened with the
first number from new album Hesitant
Alien. Bureau, a fist-pumping track with a resonant beat, was welcomed with
cheers from those standing in the stalls, to those watching afar from
balconies.
The succeeding track, Action Cat was
sung with note-for-note precision to near-studio quality. The crowd went wild
as he swapped his clean lyrics for a more “decorated” vulgarised version on the
bubble gum rock track.
Socks were thrown (amongst other
more intimate pieces of clothing) as part of an inside joke Way had made on his
Facebook page earlier in the day, to which he joked “Look at all these f***ing
socks! Is this Reading [festival] or something?” before delving into Zero Zero,
a chant-fuelled hit and one of the few tracks on the album that leaned toward
the heavy side of the rock spectrum, a side in which the frontman once
specialised in.
In
between sets, Way paid homage to his fans, thanking them “for allowing me to keep
making music” and sent commendations to his support acts and fellow comic book
artists and/or comic fans alike.
Millions,
one of two singles on the album followed. Swapping his usual guitar for a
lighter, more facile instrument, a tambourine-wielding Way moved across the
stage in what can only be described as spasmodic. Known for his jerky,
convulsive dances, the unnatural ginger was the epitome of awkward glory.
The
next song on the set list was Juarez, a promising number set to become a single
and an all-around crowd-pleaser by the enthusiastic response of the audience.
Way mostly
breezed through each number, his range evermore indisputable as he hit high
notes without a fail, but was shaky when plunging to low notes.
Heavy reverb in the vocals worked
well with Way’s voice, yet it seemed as though the musician was hiding his
talent behind an overpowering lead guitar, which may have been a fault of the
mixing desk or a deliberate action.
Gerard Way rose to fame as the
frontman of internationally acclaimed American rock band My Chemical Romance.
The band, which split up in March of last year have since all returned to the
music realm, although separately, with Frank Iero performing in London two days
ago (Nov 8).
Gerard’s next stop is in Mexico
City, where he will perform at popular venue José Cuervo Salón on November 14th 2014
