My Chemical Romance's Hollywood Bowl residency has drawn a legal challenge from an unlikely direction. Pro Silver Star Ltd., the company that owns the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders brand, filed on Friday, Oct. 23, for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction to stop the band from putting dancers in uniforms modeled on the squad's, NME reported.
The costumes first appeared on opening night, Wednesday, Oct. 21. The dancers came out during "Teenagers" and later took part in a staged gunfight with soldiers during "Disenchanted," carrying prop rifles and appearing to be shot before crawling off the stage.
What the company is claiming
In court documents obtained by TheWrap, Pro Silver Star argued that the uniforms are protected and that tying them to a violent sequence could hurt the squad's reputation. It said concertgoers and people online believed the dancers were the actual Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, and that the confusion spread on social media.
The company also said it had asked the band to stop and been refused. It framed its request narrowly: "Silver Star asks only that those performers not wear the DCC Uniform while doing it," the filing said, according to NME, after stating it was not asking the band to change its setlist, choreography or politics. Beyond an injunction, Pro Silver Star is seeking unspecified damages.
The legal action did not appear to change the show right away. Fan footage from the second Hollywood Bowl night on Friday seemed to show the dancers back in the same outfits.
The residency
The five-night run caps the band's Long Live The Black Parade anniversary tour, on which they have played their 2006 album The Black Parade in full. NME reported they are the first band to play five consecutive nights at the venue, with the final two shows set for Oct. 30 and 31.
The band has also released an expanded 20th anniversary edition of The Black Parade with six bonus tracks, and frontman Gerard Way recently told fans the group hopes to make another studio album, though he did not say when.
Reporting sources: Music News | First For Music News | NME, “My Chemical Romance face legal action from Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders over Hollywood Bowl costumes”.