The emo icons’ historic return to Tampa Bay was 15 years in the making, and there’s no doubt that fans got their money’s worth after fighting another Eras Tour-style TicketMaster war. During the first half of the “Long Live The Black Parade” tour—which celebrated the impending 20th anniversary of MyChem’s The Black Parade—frontman Gerard Way announces a plan to execute some prisoners (the ultra-theatrical concert’s setting is in a dystopian dictatorship. Sound familiar?). The crowd then votes on whether the execution should go forward with free signs given out before the show, typically saying “yea” or “nay” on them. But at the Raymond James Stadium show earlier this month, the election turned out to be rigged, with every single sign saying “yea.” Rhythm guitarist Frank Iero attempted to protest with a handmade sign saying “Nope!,” to no avail, and the four prisoners were shot, which opened the ever-devastating “I Don’t Love You.”—Josh Bradley
Arts & Entertainment
Finalists: Patrick Wilson, Arianna Williams
Winner: Dunedin Fine Art Center
Finalists: Morean Arts Center, FloridaRAMA Gallery
Finalists: Pride and Passion at Tampa Museum of Art, Suenos at The Dalí Museum
Winner: Gasparilla Festival of the Arts
Finalists: Straz Center for the Performing Arts, Creative Pinellas
Few performers can take a Broadway warhorse and make it sound brand new, but Matthew McGee does just that with “Some People” from "Gypsy." Where Merman belted, Lansbury crackled, and McDonald soared, McGee refracts the anthem through his own prism—funny, furious, and defiantly alive. He strips away decades of diva baggage and lets us hear the song as freshly as if Jule Styne and Stephen Sondheim had written it yesterday. It’s a thrilling reminder that the Bay Area’s most beloved chameleon doesn’t just perform—he reinvents. freefalltheatre.com—Jon Palmer Claridge
Winner: MiniM
Finalists: The Wandering Hours, Whale Feral
Winner: Crossfire Creek
Finalists: The Wandering Hours, The Applebutter Express