Page 46 - Black Velvet Issue 97

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THIRTY SECONDS TO MARS – BIRMINGHAM ARENA, 29.03.18
Just over a week before their fifth studio album was released, Thirty Seconds To Mars wrapped up their UK tour in Birmingham.
The band had previously announced that guitarist Tomo Milicevic would be missing the shows due to personal reasons. Scheduled to come on
stage at 8pm, it’s a little later before brothers Jared and Shannon Leto make their way to the stage in the middle of the arena. As the bouncy ‘Up In
The Air’ kicks off, frontman Jared Leto immediately incites the audience to ‘jump jump jump’. With a big cape on that could almost double as carpeted
butterfly wings, Jared parades, jumps and floats around the stage from one side to the other. Fans, you see, wrap around the rectangular stage at all
sides and corners. ‘Kings And Queens’ kicks off with big ‘woah’s fueled by the audience. All eyes are on Jared and obviously this is something he is
used to. A musician down would usually affect a band, but being such a seasoned actor, artist and performer he really IS a king at his craft. His brother
Shannon is a powerhouse on the drums, and the foundation for Jared to thrive on, while every other instrument is on a recording. Some could argue
that the set is only partly a live
show – although Jared’s energy
and vocals make up for the lack
of live music. “Birmingham, do
you believe in us… because we
believe in you?” the frontman
asks during the pounding
‘Search And Destroy’. He picks
out a member of the audience
with a Hard Rock T-shirt on,
telling him he’s not rocking hard
before getting everyone to jump
harder and higher than ever.
Songs like ‘This Is War’ are life-
affirming and it’s no surprise that
Jared has the audience in the
palm of his hand. His voice is
strong as he sings out the mes-
sages in the songs. Large bal-
loons drop down from the
ceiling boosting the euphoria.
Jared gets two fans to go up
on stage during ‘Do Or Die’ to
help him decide which side of
the audience is having the most
fun, before Jared finishes the
song brandishing an English
flag around. There’s a big cheer
for the relaxing and older, rock-
ier number, ‘The Kill’, while the
band’s videographer films on
the stage. Jared stops the song
as he notices a small mosh pit,
asking if they want to open it out
for old times’ sake.
“Has anybody been in
love?” Jared asks during the
piano-intro of ‘Stay’, a Rihanna
cover. “You cold-hearted moth-
erfuckers!” he adds when
there’s not much of a cheer. He
dedicates the songs to all the
old school, true believers of
Thirty Seconds To Mars. There’s
a sea of cell phone lights and
waving arms during ‘City Of An-
gels’, while the show ends with
an encore of ‘Walk On Water’
(and Jared going live on Face-
book) and ‘Closer To The Edge’,
the final song seeing Jared ask-
ing for fans to join the band on-
stage. They pack the stage with
50 or 60 fans along the two
sides of the stage. It’s an invig-
orating ending with confetti
blasting out to cover the arena.
While the show is not the
longest of shows, being only 15
songs in total, it’s definitely qual-
ity rather than quantity. The Leto
brothers show exactly why they
have some of the most dedi-
cated and continuously growing
army of fans.
YYYY
Shari Black Velvet
Jared Leto Photo By
Shari Black Velvet
CONCERTS