There was something fishy at the Meadowlands.
My Chemical Romance did indeed give Belleville Mayor Michael Melham a wrapped dead fish on stage after he presented them with the ceremonial Key to Belleville at the band’s Aug. 9 MetLife Stadium homecoming show.
“That fish? Not a prop. A real (dead) fish, wrapped in cherry blossom branches — a nod to Belleville,” said Helman in an Aug. 13 social media post.
Belleville is known for the cherry blossoms, specifically in Branch Brook Park. Lead singer Gerard Way and his brother, bassist Mikey Way, were raised in Belleville, as was guitarist Frank Iero.
My Chemical Romance performs “The End” & “Dead!” followed by “This Is How I Disappear” at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford during their “Long Live the Black Parade” tour on Aug. 9, 2025.
The Key to Belleville presentation happened during the band’s Long Live the Black Parade tour show, that features My Chem’s 2006 hit album “The Black Parade” performed as a conceptual theatrical presentation about a dystopian fascist country called Draag.
The band members did not break out of character when Melham gave them their ceremonial key.
They bowed to him. Gerard then gave Melham a bouquet of wheat and what was referred to as a fish wrapped in paper from Draag.
Gerard’s “clearly the creative leader and had been thinking about it for days, determined to weave it into the show’s storyline,” said Helman of the presentation. “Ever the gentleman, he wanted to make sure I understood the band would remain in character — and that if I was bestowing an honor from my ‘land,’ they would reciprocate with an honor (or two) from theirs.
“He teased that it would involve ‘a sickle and an animal.’ We laughed about what that animal might be … In the end, it turned out to be a bundle of wheat (from their land) and a fish — freshly ‘caught’ from the moat in their fictitious land of Draag.”
My Chemical Romance, who play emo rock, formed in 2001. “The Black Parade” debuted at No. 2 on Billboard’s album chart in 2006. MCR broke up after the 2013 Bamboozle Festival on the beach in Asbury Park but in December 2020, the band played a reunion show at the Shrine Expo Hall in Los Angeles.
In the intervening years, emo underwent a revival thanks to the deejay nights across the country, where MCR’s songs are the highlight of the night.
The band’s show at MetLife Stadium was their debut at the stadium, and they became only the third Jersey group to headline the venue after Bon Jovi and Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. The Jonas Brothers, from Wyckoff, headlined MetLife on Aug. 10 to become the fourth.
“It is my distinct honor to present My Chemical Romance with the keys to their hometown, Belleville New Jersey,” said Helman form the stage. “It’s long overdue. They deserve it and Belleville couldn’t be prouder of them.”
MCR plays next Friday, Aug. 15, at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.
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Chris Jordan, a Jersey Shore native, covers entertainment and features for the USA Today Network New Jersey. Contact him at [email protected]
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: My Chemical Romance gives Belleville mayor a dead fish, MetLife
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