Photo: Emma Viola Lilja
Waiting to see ex-My Chemical Romance frontman, Gerard Way is like waiting to see your oldest, favourite friend. Nostalgia-inducing songs like 'Iris' by Goo Goo Dolls and greatest hits from Way favourite, David Bowie, soar out of the speakers as girls with mohawks, bleached Gerard-a-likes and newly adult emos (the author's penchant for black has never gone away...) wait in anticipation.
The sadder, littler sister of the alternative scene may have all but faded away, but the memory and importance of the emo movement, to so many people, is still epitomised in Way. His iconic status enough to sell out the packed London KOKO even on his own - not to mention the strength of huge solo debut, Hesitant Alien.
As the singer states later on in the show, these audience members have grown up with him and also, he jokes, had to see him "get old".
Way appears amid excitable chanting, dressed in his album cover's electric blue suit and a red tie, topped with lurid hair, the firiest of orange. Tapping his leg hard as the band march into the bold sound of the slow-building 'Bureau', he then propels into bouncy, hook-laden 'Action Cat', with it's emo-centric refrain of "DO YOU MISS ME? COZ I MISS YOU" leaving the crowd in open, raw mood.
The singer's new Britpop inspired direction becomes evident - especially in the lo-fi track, 'Drugstore Perfume', which is an ode to everyone "who wants to leave home, not in a bad way, in a let's get the fuck out of there and do something way!", a sentiment that triggers thunderous applause from the younger members of the crowd.
The set's best moments however, are when Way delivers emotive tracks like like the anthemic, piano-led 'Brother', perhaps the most theatrical moment of the night instrumentally, and his visceral cover of James Cecil's 'The Water is Wide' (O Waly, O Waly)' which breaks the hearts of everyone present.
As well as the music, Way's empathetic messages of positivity to the crowd are beautifully sincere, in a way not many other artists can manage. He talks sensitively of trans-gender people and mental illness, challenging everyone to 'never comment negatively on anyone's body again' which garners huge cheers from everyone present.
His work has always represented the marginalised and the misunderstood and no one feels left out, with Way at one point yelling: "Let's hear it for the women because you're going to be in charge and they're all terrified!."
Closing with 'Dasher', Way may be alone, a little more fragile (he admits to self-medicating since the end of MCR), but he is also and more importantly, one hell of a performer, possessing that rare feat of making every single person in the room feel remarkable: "I didn't think I'd make it past 25 but it's all gonna be alright".
