Pretty Face, Shame About The Live Act
30 Seconds To Mars have had a very mixed reaction from the media with their second album 'A Beautiful Lie', and this apprehension was carried over into their main stage set on Saturday. Beginning with an overblown intro before playing "A Beautiful Lie", things seemed to be going fairly well... until frontman Jared Leto opens his mouth. Instead of the smooth vocal work displayed on 'A Beautiful Lie', Leto sounds vaguely rushed and out of tune as his voice strains to fill the Main Stage. Perhaps it is simply because of the sudden jump in stage size that the band sound a little off, but there is sadly very little that earmarks Leto as a rock star- the attitude, the swagger, his mild mannered banter... it all seems like an act.
With the vocals sounding slightly off and sound quality not fantastic, the odds are already stacking against the band. To make matters worse, the large crowd they have gathered is somewhat unresponsive and many people are stood around wondering what on earth the fuss is about.
"The Fantasy" sounds somewhat sloppy, but the mid-song breakdown of Leto's warbling gets the crowd singing again. "The Attack" sees the band get more into the swing of things and sound a little tighter. Overall however, the band leave the crowd feeling disappointed - a weak set for those who are not a rabid fan, a let down for people who had high hopes and far too short for those in the crowd who are genuinely excited by their music.