Thirty Seconds to Mars Brings the Star Back to Rock…

It’s a Thursday night in Montclair, New Jersey. Hundreds of people are gathered in one location, chatter and laughter fill the air. The lights drop and the chatter turns to screams of approval and anticipation. Bright lights behind a huge white screen display the silhouette of a dude with one sweet ass mohawk. Where are you? You’re at the Wellmont Theater for the 30 Seconds to Mars concert. (And you’re lucky, because you’re about to see a hell of a show…)

Photo by Mark Weber/ambush.tv

April 22, 2010, a night Montclair won’t soon forget. 30 Seconds to Mars brought themselves, along with a couple other sweet bands, to the Wellmont, for a night of ass-kicking energy and musical enlightenment. The opening act, aptly named Street Drum Corps, unveiled an interesting combination of “STOMP” drum line style with pop-punk vocals/guitars, and one VERY energetic front-man (who closed the act by disrobing down to a pair of yellow and black striped tights, twirling about in circles on the stage.) Street Drum Corps definitely kept the audience “interested,” to say the least.

Neon Trees, a fresh faced group out of the heart of Utah, definitely earned their spot on the stage. They gave a refreshing performance with driving beats, clever lyrics, catchy melodies and a chick drummer to boot. It was like a combination of Paper Route and 30 Seconds to Mars with vocals reminscent of 50s rock.

Photo by Mark Weber/ambush.tv

The  pièce de résistance? 30STM. (Of course.) The set began with a little monologue from a cold-having Jared Leto… “Hello, Montclair!” *pause for thunderous applause* “Man, I am SO sick!I have no voice, and I might sound like sh*t, and you might have to help me sing, but; I’m here and we are going to f****** rock tonight!” *more applause* “I could have stayed back at the hotel, you know, all cozy…no clothes, watching ‘hotel movies.’ Hmmm, what’s this section? Adult content?” Every girl in the audience screamed for that one…and thus the show began.

Photo by Mark Weber/ambush.tv

Cold or no cold, Leto definitely delivered on the vocal front. Every note and scream came out crystal clear, not sacrificing a bit of style or energy. Street Drum Corps joined them on the third song, giving a bit more of the backbone heard on the album (This is War.) They continued accompaniment throughout the rest of the show, which enhanced the dynamic of the performance without taking away from 30STM’s own presence. The trio also showcased their being multi-talented as Jared sang, played keys and guitar, and Shannon easily switched from drums to acoustic when their set calmed down a bit mid-way through. They took it acoustic and connected with the audience for awhile as Jared took to the keys, narrating the evolution of “Search and Destroy,” from a keys-driven ballad to full-on rock song. The set was a perfect balance of the newest album, This is War and penultimate Beautiful Lie with a few hits from their self-titled debut album, for nostalgic purposes.

Photo by Mark Weber/ambush.tv

Jared kept the crowd engaged throughout, which was easily achieved considering the new album was written with so many epic choruses and spots perfect for crowd oohs and ahs. He even ran out into the audience and stood on the rail to perform, “mushing” a guy’s face before he jumped down and ran back to the stage.

The end of the show came too soon for the diverse collection of fans (we had everyone from the teenage girl to the angst-ridden boy, the white-collar businessman to the hipster, and everything in between.) It didn’t end without some hilarity, though. Jared beckoned all the people standing in the back to “get balls” and come down to the main floor for the last song. He then declared his serious stubbornness and refused to start the song until everyone complied. Houselights came up and he called people (like the “Flash Dance girl with her one shoulder out” and the “Girl who auditioned for the Hill’s three months ago”) out individually, which had the entire audience laughing, and of course got results. And before finishing with “Kings and Queens” he invited a slue of fans onto the stage to help close the set. It was nothing short of awesome and everyone left happy, certainly a show to be remembered.

*By Nicole, who somehow didn’t realize she’d get a sunburned neck if she looked down for an entire afternoon to stomp grass-seed into the ground.

WATCH OUR ON THE VERGE INTERVIEW WITH 30 SECONDS TO MARS here.

VIEW BEHIND-THE-SCENES PHOTOS AT Facebook.com/PlanetVerge.

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• Virtuoso David Garrett Rocks the Wellmont Theatre