Is there anything Jared Leto can’t do? From Academy Award-winning actor to producer, activist, rock climber, entrepreneur and rock star, Leto boasts an impressive resume. Therefore it’s no surprise the talent led Thirty Seconds To Mars in a rousing performance on what Leto called the most ambitious tour to date.
The band’s 12-song, 90-minute show was grandiose from front to back. Starting with four openers, there was never a lack of music. 30 minute sets from Sir Sly, Joywave, Misterwives and Walk The Moon set the energetic tone for the night and kept concert-goers in their seats and dancing in the lawn despite a brief rain shower. Seats under the Pavilion gradually filled in as the show progressed and by showtime the pit brimmed with the group’s Echelon. Fans in the front row cried tears of joy while Thirty Seconds To Mars’ crew handed out oversized flags and when the enormous LCD screen opened to reveal the Leto brothers.
The band raced into a charged version of “Up In The Air” following the instrumental intro “Monolith” of Thirty Seconds To Mars’ fifth studio album, AMERICA, which was released in April. The flags that littered the pit waved as Leto whirled from stage left to stage right in his colorful kimono. His award-winning showmanship blended with his musicianship to create more than just a one-sided performance. Stunts that accompanied every song added to the ambitious production. During “This Is War,” dozens of large, inflatable white balloons floated through the pavilion as fans punched them about into the sky, all while a bright spotlight followed Leto out onto his catwalk that extended into the pit.
The frontman consistently commended his crowd for matching his exuberance. After inviting a local Charlotte guitarist onto stage with him, he brought four young dancers up during “Rescue Me” for a dance-off with Misterwives frontwoman Mandy Lee. All of this preceded Leto’s solo show, in which the gigantic digital screens laid down to lift the frontman high above the audience during “Great Wide Open.”
At this point, Leto has already surpassed the definition of “ambitious” when it comes to a live show. But on par with what we’ve come to expect from Leto, someone who sent Will Smith a box of bullets and a letter and gave Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje “sticky Playboy magazines when playing the Joker, he went above and beyond expectations. For Thirty Seconds To Mars’ grand finale during “Walk on Water” and “Closer to the Edge,” Leto unexpectedly raced through the audience, cutting left and right through the aisles - something he hadn’t been doing during previous shows. After eventually making his way back onto stage, he summoned not one or two, but a hundred fans onto stage with him.
“You, you and you,” Leto pointed and directed similarly to Oprah.
Nearly the entire venue joined Thirty Seconds To Mars on stage for the spirited conclusion. Leto huddled around the microphone with his friends and colorful confetti rained from the pavilion ceiling during the anthem. It was a fitting finale for a show that certainly lived up to the hype that Leto created. The venue cheered as the duo exited through the fan tunnel that formed on stage, but not before they reminded Charlotte that they’d be back soon, perhaps with an even more ambitious show the next time.
No comments