A Solid Performance
There’s no escaping the diva-esque antics of 30 Seconds To Mars. Apparently refusing any photographers into the photo pit, the US rockers go as far as to cloak the stage in a white sheet ahead of their set leading many to suspect a theatrical stage setting being arranged. As they finally take to the stage, as the white curtain drops all is revealed…well more to the point nothing is as apparently there was nothing going on besides the drums being set up and yet as Jared Leto strides onto the stage, pink Mohawk blazing for all to see, the crowd couldn’t give a damn about theatrics.
A 30 Seconds To Mars set is all about crowd participation with Leto acting like a ring master, conducting his followers expertly as he leads them in rousing mass sing alongs from the hard hitting ‘Night Of The Hunter’ as it bombards all inviting fists to punch the air to the vocal shredding of ‘Attack’, it is a faultless display of pure showmanship. Its unsurprising then that Leto continuously thanks the crowd, indeed he does let them sing the majority of the songs and whilst it is great that he has such a strong connection with them, you can’t escape the feeling that you’d rather hear more from the man himself who is more than capable of carrying the whole set. That said 30STM are always an engaging band to watch with Leto senior proving again what a great drummer he is as ‘This Is War’ pounds and stamps aggressively and with added passion. ‘The Kill’ gets the added boost from Deftones Chino Moreno as he lends his vocal skills to the mix, although Leto later quips at the Deftones frontman for taking his time getting out on stage.
All too soon though the set comes to an end with ‘Kings And Queens’ acting as a victory call, straining the last shreds of singing from the crowd as members of the Echelon, 30STM’s fan base, take to the stage to bring the set to a spine tingling finish for what has been a solid performance if only there had been more singing from the front man.