My Chemical Romance delivered a standout moment during their ‘Long Live the Black Parade Tour’ when Billy Corgan joined them onstage to perform “Bullet with Butterfly Wings” in Chicago on Friday night.
The collaboration took place in the Smashing Pumpkins frontman’s home city. Gerard Way delivered an emotional introduction before Corgan’s appearance, explaining his deep connection to the Smashing Pumpkins and their impact on My Chemical Romance’s trajectory. Way recalled seeing the band’s Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness tour, stating: “We saw that and was like, ‘We would love to do this, it would be real fucking amazing.'”
The My Chemical Romance vocalist then shared a more personal moment from the pandemic period, describing how he discovered a video of a young fan playing along to “Bullet with Butterfly Wings” while scrolling through Instagram late at night. Way described the experience in vivid terms: “I’m watching this thing and I felt the blade of Christ enter my chest, it was wild. I never felt anything like that in my life.”
Way’s praise for the song was effusive, calling it “the ultimate rock defiance” and declaring: “[…] it’s like searing an imprint on the universe in pure fucking defiance. It is the best rock n’ roll song ever fucking made.”
The collaboration wasn’t entirely unexpected, as My Chemical Romance had been incorporating “Bullet with Butterfly Wings” into their setlist throughout the past month, performing the Smashing Pumpkins classic several times during recent shows.
Following the performance, Corgan expressed his enthusiasm on social media, writing: “Great fun! And fantastic gig by the boys. Just killed it in front of a massive Chicago crowd.”
The partnership reflects a long-standing mutual admiration between the artists. In a 2005 interview, Way had previously identified Smashing Pumpkins as one of his “favourite bands of all time” and revealed: “I had patterned our career off The Pumpkins because they were able to do such free and artistic music.”
During a performance in their native New Jersey, My Chemical Romance surprised audiences with a rendition of Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ on a Prayer”.
