Jared Leto, actor/frontman for Thirty Seconds to Mars, ripped up the stage after proudly screening his short avant-garde experimental short film to the audience. Leto not only directed the film but also plays a key role in the narrative. The film was a new type of imagery, not usually seen via the Thirty Seconds to Mars echelon’s eyes. It had a more provocative dominatrix style in sections, and a very dark story line about life and death with an ‘unlocking the key to find the answers’ theme. There was also a bit in the style David Lynch, with regards to colour tones and sexual voyeurism; a small selection had to be censored for the show.
Leto’s film has had screening rejections from MTV. However, surely after a bit of editing here and there we will see it on TV very soon. In the meantime, check it out here.
The stage at Manchester Central in the U.K. on Saturday, December 4th was filled with visual content, as per usual with Thirty Seconds to Mars; more is always better when it comes down to live performances. A huge white triad predominantly overtook the stage. To the left and right, visual content was screened in real time by two camera operators, one up front and one at the back of the room. It was an eventful night; balloons and fake snow fell from the ceiling, and at one point Leto even put on a Santa hat to get in to the Christmas vibe!!!
It’s hard to keep your eye on Jared Leto when he’s up there. He spent the entire show running back and forth across the entire stage. With the flashing lights and giant balloons floating across the crowd, it was great that people could rely on the camera projections above.
A particularly exciting moment was a bit of crowd surfing from Mr. Leto. A swarm of hands made patterns and almost elegantly danced as they tried to take hold of his body. Leto seemed to hover amongst the crowd for near five minutes. He gracefully moved from one side of the room to the other with his slight frame. The audience franticly tried to take photos but Leto was moving in out of vision in the commotion.
Mid-show, Jared Leto appeared in the centre of the stage with a giant gun-type object. It was a large transparent tube with the words “Love Gun” written on it in pink! Leto fired his love gun on several occasions, and the crowd screamed as they tried to get hold of the contents [a T- shirt and lots of silver papers…].
Thirty Seconds to Mars ended their show with a bang. Cameras and photographers covered the stage. Fans that paid for golden tickets smiled with delight out at the front and on the side of the stage. Ending with “Kings and Queens”, Leto picked out many people from the crowd to get up for the song; the stage was almost overflowing. The people that had managed to climb on to a random person’s back generally gained Leto’s attention and they were soon up on the stage.
[note to self: if you want to get on stage you must take a very tall person with you and get to the front or buy a golden ticket!]
The stage was soon filled with bright lights, fake snow and silver foil; a great end to Thirty Seconds to Mars U.K. tour.
Set List
Escape
