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Review: Thirty Seconds to Mars

Aragon Ballroom - April 16th, 2010

By: Tanya "Southside" Vega

Though being one of many virgins attending their headlining concert, SouthSide finally understood what Pink Floyd's opening lyrics to “In the Flesh” meant. She certainly did “feel the warm thrill of confusion ...that space cadet glow” of a Thirty Seconds to Mars rock show. It wasn't simply their show, readers, it was our show and Jared Leto (vocals/guitar) wanted everyone to get f-ing crazy. And what a rock-n-roll show it was for this reviewer. Under a spectacle of strobe lighting (a bit too much for the eyes while performing the song War), Mars fans literally felt their favorite band's vibe as they opened with Hunter (off current album, This Is War). The entire Aragon Ballroom erupted into a screaming frenzy for the bright pink mowhawked hair Jared and the guys as well as singing along to each song performed. From where SouthSide sat, she saw a massive sea of bodies jumping, moshing, and crowd surfing etc on the main floor. It was totally wild (though it still doesn't really begin to describe this show) and crazy, readers, something in which Jared wanted from this crowd. And the wild and craziness wasn't contained in the crowd either. There was plenty of that seen on and off stage as well while Mars performed a mixture of songs from albums, A Beautiful Lie and This Is War. It wasn't all epic singing (as presumably reported in Friday's RedEye) during this rockin' headlining show. There was an acoustic moment by Jared as he stood in the sound/lighting fx area on the main floor. For this reviewer, that truly was the highlight of the entire show - to hear the power and emotion of his voice while acoustically singing songs like The Kill. Sorry, though there were requests heard for Bad Romance and the ever popular Freebird, he opted to keep the acoustic portion of this show to Mars songs. Surprisingly fans didn't rip off his clothes or drop him as he made his way back to the stage for Closer To The Edge. Mars performed other chart-topping hits such as Attack, From Yesterday, and A Beautiful Lie (SouthSide's favorite eco-friendly song). Her other favorite, “The Fantasy”, closed out the show before truly ending with an encore when the crowd demanded one more from this band.

What can SouthSide honestly tell you about her first Thirty Seconds to Mars experience? Un-expect the unexpected from Jared and the guys ...meaning, it'll be hard to predict what will happen next at the Mars concert you attend compared to what happened tonight in Chicago. Just be prepared to rock along with the fans around you and have a fun time doing it. Also watch out for flying half-sipped water bottles over your head from the stage. This band really loved Chicago and tacos from Zaco Taco (a friend of a friend close to the band told this reviewer that little scoop). HOWEVER, SouthSide will have to convert them into the ways of her Southside (world championship) ball team. Who know - Jared might move here someday.

SouthSide highly recommends snagging a copy of “This Is War” - though a bit more epic sounding than “A Beautiful Lie”, she had the distinct feeling Mars is ready to start (music) revolution through its bigger rock anthems (War, Hunter) and hard guitar sound. Or instead attend their Into the Wild concert while they're currently on tour.

Thirty Seconds to Mars 2010 TOUR DATES

Apr. 9, 2010 – Las Vegas, NV - The Pearl Theatre
Apr. 11, 2010 – Tucson, AZ - Pima County Fair
Apr. 13, 2010 – Tulsa, OK - Brady Theatre
Apr. 15, 2010 – Milwaukee, WI - Eagles Ballroom
Apr. 16, 2010 – Chicago, IL - Aragon Ballroom
Apr. 17, 2010 – Detroit, MI - The Fillmore
Apr. 18, 2010 – Toronto, ON - The Sound Academy
Apr. 20, 2010 – Boston, MA - House of Blues
Apr. 21, 2010 – New York, NY - Roseland
Apr. 22, 2010 – Montclair, NJ - Wellmont Theatre
Apr. 23, 2010 – Washington DC - Bender Arena
Apr. 24, 2010 – Philadelphia, PA - Electric Factory
Apr. 25, 2010 – Charlotte, NC - Uptown Amphitheatre
Apr. 27, 2010 – Miami, FL - The Fillmore
Apr. 28, 2010 – Orlando, FL - House of Blues
Apr. 29, 2010 – Atlanta, GA - Tabernacle
Apr. 30, 2010 – Memphis, TN - Beale Street Festival

MAY

May 1, 2010 – Frisco, TX - Pizza Hut Park
May 4, 2010 – St. Louis, MO - The Pageant
May 6, 2010 – Omaha, NE - Sokol Auditorium
May 7, 2010 – Denver, CO - Fillmore Auditorium
May 8, 2010 – Salt Lake City, UT - The Rail Event Center
May 10, 2010 – Seattle, WA - Showbox SODO
May 11, 2010 – Portland, OR - Roseland Theatre
May 13, 2010 – Oakland, CA - Fox Theater
May 14, 2010 – Santa Barbara, CA - Santa Barbara Bowl
May 15, 2010 – Los Angeles, CA - Greek Theater
May 16, 2010 – Tempe, AZ - Marquee Theatre

JUNE

June 5, 2010 – Germany - Rock-Am-Ring
June 6, 2010 – Germany - Rock-Im-Ring
June 8, 2010 – Tilburg, Netherlands - 013
June 10, 2010 – Switzerland - Caribanna Festival
June 12, 2010 – Donington Park, UK - Download Festival
June 15, 2010 – Dortmund, Germany - Westfalenhalle
June 16, 2010 – Leipzig, Germany - Haus Auensee
June 18, 2010 – Finland - Provinssirock Festival
June 20, 2010 – Sweden - Gothenberg Pier Festival
June 22, 2010 – Bielefeld, Germany - Ringlokschuppen
June 25, 2010 – St. Gallen, Switzerland - Open Air Festival
June 27, 2010 – Luxembourg - Rock A Field

JULY

July 2, 2010 – Werchter, Belgium - Rock Werchter Festival
July 4, 2010 – Venice, Italy - Heineken Jammin Festival
July 7, 2010 – Sweden - Hultsfred Festival
July 10, 2010 – Scotland - T in the Park
July 11, 2010 – Ireland - Oxygen Festival
July 24, 2010 – Perth, Australia - Challenge Stadium
July 28, 2010 – Melbourne, Australia - Festival Hall
July 30, 2010 – Sydney, Australia - Hordern Pavillion

AUGUST

August 03, 2010 – Auckland, New Zealand - Logan Campbell Stadium
August 07, 2010 – Tokyo, Japan - Summer Sonic Festival
August 08, 2010 – Osaka, Japan - Summer Sonic Festival
August 21, 2010 – St.Polten, Austria - Frequency Festival
August 22, 2010 – Biddinghuizen, Holland - Lowlands Festival

Thirty Seconds to Mars Biography

Thirty Seconds to Mars’ newest album title – This Is War – is more than a just a reference to the band’s personal battles, a commentary on global crises and economic turmoil and homage to their now infamous $30,000,000 lawsuit with Virgin Records. This Is War also represents the result of an 18-month creative battle, fought ferociously, but privately, inside a studio built into the side of a house tucked away in the Hollywood Hills. The result: a triumphant, sonically epic game-changer that builds on the vision laid out in their 2002 self-titled debut and 2005’s multi-platinum A Beautiful Lie.

This Is War is a major leap forward for Thirty Seconds to Mars, one that cements the trio (lead singer and guitarist Jared Leto, drummer Shannon Leto and guitarist Tomo Milicevic) as a world-class arena-crushing rock band. The L.A. Times calls This Is War “combative…sinister…the most confident-sounding thing the band has done.” Alternative Press echoes the sentiment, giving it four stars and hailing the album as “an artistic triumph for Thirty Seconds To Mars” and Kerrang! Magazine agrees, calling it the band’s “strongest and most accomplished work to date.”

Jared Leto comments: “It took two years, we went to hell and back. At one point, I thought it was going to be the death of us, but it became a transformative experience. It’s not so much an evolution as it is a revolution. It’s a coming of age.”

To guide their journey, Thirty Seconds to Mars enlisted two of the most influential producers in the world: Flood (U2, Nine Inch Nails, Depeche Mode, Smashing Pumpkins) and Steve Lillywhite (U2, The Rolling Stones, Peter Gabriel).

“Flood has a karmic ability to work with bands in these intense transformational periods of their creative lives,” Jared says. “We knew we were ready for something new, something different, something unexpected. Flood was the perfect person to help guide us down this path.”

“Sonically it’s a new beginning, a rebirth,” Tomo says. “And as a songwriter, Jared was relentless. He went to a place that I’d never seen before.”

Flood and Lillywhite gave the band the freedom and confidence to explore different sounds, textures and ideas. “It’s a process that requires truth, honesty and a lot of hard work,” Flood explained, telling the press that the band set out to make a classic album by pushing themselves to a place they all knew wouldn’t be easy to go to. He added, “Those sorts of things I find very rewarding.” It was a process that began with Flood at the helm and concluded with the reigns in Lillywhite’s hands. The duo succeeded in heightening the emotional power of the songs, revealing themes of faith, morality, vindication, freedom and resurrection in recording their most personal and politically charged project to date.

“Flood began this long journey with us and it was an unforgettable experience. He helped us on this quest to find out more of who we really are as a band and as individual musicians,” says Shannon. “Steve helped us finish, which is often the most difficult part of the recording process. We went to war alongside each of them and came out with love and respect for both.”

In addition to Jared’s searing, no-holds-barred vocals, propulsive and melodious bass, guitar and keyboards, Shannon’s huge and inventive percussion, and Tomo’s searing six-string, This Is War buzzes with dozens of imaginative effects and indomitable layers of vintage synths. Authentic Tibetan monks chant to begin the album on “Escape” and close the album on “L490,” the voice of a French girl narrates “Night of the Hunter,” and the cry of a wild hawk screams to introduce the first single, “Kings and Queens,” which the band wrote in the same house in South Africa where they recorded their smash Modern Rock single “The Kill.” And that hawk scream is no studio trickery. “The hawk lived above the house,” explains Jared. “We spent hours waiting for him to appear so we could climb up on the roof and record him live.”

But perhaps the most stunning and profound instrument on the album is the euphoric sound of thousands of Thirty Seconds to Mars fans – a more-than-100,000-strong legion infamously dubbed The Echelon – singing in unison throughout the record. Initially a simple recording experiment, “The Summit” took place at Hollywood’s Avalon Club in April 2009 and was comprised of roughly 1,000 Echelon who traveled from around the world to lend their stomps, shouts, screams, claps and hums to the record. An unmistakable success, Buzznet called this 1000-piece human orchestra “field recordings of fandom” and “almost custom-built to play live.”

The success of the initial Summit quickly manifested into eight additional Summits held around the globe, resulting in tens of thousands of participants. Additionally, the band received a Twitter message from a fan in Iran who couldn’t get to any of the Summits, prompting Jared, Shannon and Tomo to open the experiment even broader. Embracing the digital culture that has for years buoyed the band’s global success, Thirty Seconds to Mars introduced the “Digital Summit” in August 2009 and invited anyone with a computer or mobile recording device and an Internet connection to record sounds and vocals and submit them through TwitVid. As a result, entries poured in from the U.S., Australia, Italy, Germany, France, Japan, Mexico, the U.K., Canada and Iran, giving Thirty Seconds to Mars’ biggest supporters around the world an opportunity to be a part of the new album.

“The Summit was an integral part of the making of this record,” Jared says. “It was an interactive recording experiment that succeeded far beyond our hopes and became a defining element to this album. It was an exciting and unique way for us to share the experience with our family around the world.”

“Kings & Queens,” which emerged as This Is War’s first single, has been called “epic rock at its most affecting” by Billboard and inspired a short film called “The Ride,” directed by Thirty Seconds to Mars video director alum, Bartholomew Cubbins (“The Kill,” “From Yesterday”). The film features a critical mass crank mob movement, founded with forward-thinking and eco-conscious intentions, and celebrates this amazing community of riders on a nighttime journey from downtown L.A. to Santa Monica, a fitting love letter to the city of Los Angeles, an ever-present character in the band’s history and certainly in the making of This is War. Soaring into Alternative Radio’s top 3 barely a month after its impact, “Kings & Queens” has set the pace for the promise of things to come.

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