Breathing Life into Prog-Rock
Leto & Co. show they can pull it off live

Advertisements

>> Jared Leto shows he can do much more than act >>

>> Anaheim, CA, February 18, 2003 >> For Jared Leto, frontman of progressive-rock outfit 30 Seconds To Mars, forward thinking seems to be the rule of the day.  Maybe it's because he wants to differentiate his musical forays from his theatrical life, for fear of having 30STM lumped in with the list of bands fronted by TV and movie stars, most of which are horrible.  They did a fairly good job of keeping Leto's membership in the band off the headlines  - the music has been the focus.

It's been a good plan; the music speaks volumes.  With futuristic sounds and lyrics, their Orgy-meets-Queensryche sound and their apparent desire to push the alternative envelope, letting the record do the talking was the best thing the band could have done.  Their self-titled debut is a breath of fresh air in the pre-fab corporate rock world as it offers up tracks that are at once progressive but also keenly accessible.  With Leto's future-focused lyrics and rock radio voice, the question was whether or not they could make it happen live or only on the celluloid.

>> Leto lets it rip. >>

If the crowd at the House of Blues is to be used as any sort of an indicator, 30STM have the live show down, too.  Leto's vocals are as solid live as they are on the record, which is pleasant surprise.  The guy sings as well as he acts, and he's got that natural ability to control the crowd.  Leto plunged out into the crowd numerous times, much to the delight of those being mashed against the barrier, and though this crowd may have been here to see headliners Chevelle, they got firmly behind Leto and his mates very quickly.

Their first single, "Capricorn," has received enough airplay that a good portion of the crowd had heard it before and got into it.  The track's musical ebb and flow works well in the live milieu, and it sounded a little better live, without the entire studio post-production extras, than it does on the record.   Another nice highlight was the epic "Welcome to the Universe," which should find it’s way to radio before spring is over.  30STM's second single, "Edge of the Earth," which is currently in rotation, was probably Leto's best vocal effort.  His voice held up admirably live, and he showed that 30STM wouldn't be a flash in the pan.

>> Jared gets in to the moment. >>

Leto's stage antics were, for the most part, effective and cool, but his love for the f-word occasionally got a little overwhelming.  Using it every other word takes the effectiveness of it away entirely.  The Orgy-like dress code was also a bit much - less eyeliner and removing the duct-tape X from his shirt will actually allow the music to do more of the talking.  And the music says volumes on it's own, so let it speak.