Concert Corner: 30 Seconds To Mars
By First Coast News Staff
March 14, 2006
First Coast News

JACKSONVILLE BEACH, FL -- There is just one word to explain this band. Explosive.

The lyrics jump off the speakers and sting the ears, intertwined with a melodic hook that revs the soul. 30 Seconds to Mars' front man Jared Leto, yes ladies, Jared Leto from "My So Called Life" and “American Psycho” fame takes to the mic and bares his soul. It only takes a moment and you are transfixed, not on his good looks, but only on the songs. Which seem to take you on a journey to another planet?

The band includes Jared's brother Shannon, Matt Wachter and Tomo Milicevic. These guys are true musicians with a mix of comedy added in. Just one conversation with them and you see how seriously they take their music, but you also get a sense of how much fun they are really having making it.

Right now, the band is hitting the road to support their second album “A Beautiful Lie.” The CD came out in August of last year. With hits like “Attack,” “A Beautiful Lie” and “Kill,” their second album is well on its way. So what’s behind the albums name? “A beautiful lie is everywhere around us. I look at it as an optimistic thing. No matter what we all keep pushing forward as people regardless to all the insanity to the right and to the left," says Jared Leto.

Monday night, the band brought its first headlining tour, "Forever Night Never Day,” to Freebird Live at Jacksonville Beach. And what a night it was, standing next to the stage and looking out among the crowd, you could almost feel the electricity from the fans as they awaited the guys to take the stage. And with just one note of the opening song, the crowd erupted into a thunderous roar. So piercing, you knew what was coming next. Shannon, Matt and Tomo entered the stage with Jared pulling up the rear. Jared was wearing all black with a priest collar. He walked to the center of the stage, straddled the barricade and stepped out into the audience. He was holding a baton in his hand as if to say “I rule this stage, all eyes on me!” At that moment Jared was these fans' fearless leader taking them on a musical journey.

Jared tells First Coast News, “Kids are in the audience, they’ve got this connection and the songs have become a soundtrack to their lives. They are singing along, some songs people are jumping around to top of each other and other songs people are in tears. It’s a very deep experience. It’s very powerful.”

If you missed last night’s performance, the band is keeping a strict schedule. They are playing several dates all across Florida. You may want to check their website and see where you can catch them in Florida. Their album “A Beautiful Lie” is available in stores everywhere.