Meeting band is a thrill despite chill

Amanda Pierce, 19-year-old daughter of Deseret Morning News TV critic Scott D. Pierce, recalls her recent after-show meeting with members of the band My Chemical Romance ... and their security guards.

CHICAGO — I got to meet My Chemical Romance, and I didn't even get arrested. I got threatened with arrest, but I didn't get arrested.

On Dec. 15, my friends and I were in Chicago, where we'd flown for one reason and one reason only — to see My Chemical Romance perform. We stood outside the Aragon Ballroom in the freezing cold from 7 a.m. until they let us in at 6 p.m., and the concert itself was without a doubt the best show I've ever seen.

But the night didn't end when the concert was over at 11 p.m. About 20 of us hard-core My Chem fans went to wait by the buses for a chance to say hi to the band, and we were ready for a long night.

Venue security, however, was not. At about 11:30 p.m., a guard ordered us to leave immediately. We ignored him, talking quietly and making new friends.

Then another security guard started screaming, threatening to call the police. "My Chemical Romance isn't coming out tonight," he said. "I wish they were good people, but they just don't care about you."

And a number of discouraged fans did leave at that point.

I, on the other hand, just got angry. Not only was security being unnecessarily rude and forceful, they were blaming the band.

With five security guards yelling at us, we got up and walked a few feet down the sidewalk. At that moment, out walked Brian Schechter, MCR's manager, looking confused and frustrated. "It's OK for them to wait," he told security.

But not 30 seconds after Schechter went back inside, security was threatening us again. Still, Schechter had given us hope.

We thought that if we went across the street, security would leave us alone. Oh, how wrong we were. Three police cars showed up, lights blazing and sirens blaring. Half a dozen police officers came up to us, swinging their handcuffs and threatening us with "consequences."

It seemed now was the time to go. As we walked away, the tour buses pulled out and we waved, looking more than a little disappointed. Our disappointment quickly turned to astonishment as the buses pulled into a public parking lot across the street. Had they really just moved from the venue so we could wait to meet them?

All it took was another three hours in the freezing cold to find out. We huddled together with strangers to stay warm, and at about 2:30 a.m. the band arrived.

Vocalist Gerard Way was first. A guy in his mid-20s told him, "Thank you for everything the band has done for me," and burst into tears as Way hugged him.