REVIEW [excerpt]: Blink-182 and My Chemical Romance rock at Shoreline

"...It wasn't long before My Chemical Romance came on stage, and the crowd really started to get excited. My Chemical Romance started off their set with a popular song off their most recent album, "Na Na Na." The song pretty much screams "get up and jump around," and that's exactly what people did. This vibe continued with the next two songs, "I'm Not Okay" (hit single off their 2004 album, "Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge") and "Planetary (GO!)" (from their most recent album, "Danger Days," which is one of my favorites).

The rest of My Chemical Romance's set included a few older hits ("Helena," "Famous Last Words"), and several newer songs ("Mama," "Welcome to the Black Parade" and "Scarecrow"). Something notable about My Chemical Romance that puts them in a completely different category than most of the bands with which they're usually classified is their versatility. They have poppy tunes like "I'm Not Okay," more punk-rock songs like "Our Lady of Sorrows," and ballads like "Cancer." Amazingly, they manage to pull off singing all these songs in the same set and still maintain their solid identity.

The band held the energy for which they're so well known, even with the absence of their usual on-tour drummer Michael Pedicone (who was dismissed by the band after they found out he was stealing from them). Their replacement drummer Jarrod Alexander made sure their transition went over smoothly, and My Chemical Romance knocked their set out of the park."

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