30 Seconds to Mars!

This past Saturday Neil and I had tickets to see 30 Seconds to Mars at The Hollywood Bowl, the last of my Birthday concerts...thank you Daly!  We didn't want to miss the show (or be late) but thankfully an insider tip from my lovely friend, Thi, said the band wasn't starting until 9 pm, after the two openers including Panic At The Disco!

'Night Of The Hunter'

With a bottle of wine packed and some candy after being at The Hollywood Bowl a couple weeks prior for the Keith Urban concert, this time we came prepared.  Our seats were incredible, the boxes to the right of the stage with a great view of both the stage and a giant TV screen.  We sat for a few minutes but as soon as the band started there was no more sitting down!  There was a short instrumental but then they opened with 'Night of the Hunter,' went into 'Search & Destroy,' and then 'This Is War.'  During the first song they had giant beach balls in different colors that were lit up and glowing so that was super cool and people kept them going for a long time so that was really neat to see.  The video for 'This Is War' was really graphic and interesting and had the words going across the screen so people could sing along.  I was actually really surprised because maybe it was where we were sitting but I felt like we were the only ones in our section that knew the lyrics to all of their songs.  Why go to a concert if you're not going to enjoy it?!  They had acrobats between songs and perhaps they had a bad night but I thought the two guys on the teeter-totter were going to fall off the stage and the guy dancing with the hoop was going to fall flat on his face.  It was more nerve-wracking than exciting.

'How awesome is this photo!'

Jared talked before 'City Of Angels' as he said that he remembered when they had a studio on Melrose & Highland and were just happy to have Air-Conditioning finally, and here they were, playing the Hollywood Bowl in their city.  He seemed super appreciative and then moved from the main-stage to the lawn area, and where he said the fans were way better, louder, and more fun.  He also told us that he was sick, and for some reason, that always happens when he comes to play in LA, but to be honest, you couldn't really tell, especially when he started his next set.  Before he started an acoustic set a guy jumped on-stage with him and got a picture (how flippin' cool) and said he had driven 30 hours just to get to the concert!  Jared sang 'Hurricane' acapella and it was absolutely beautiful, and probably my favorite song, and followed that with 'The Kill' which was also awesome and probably their most well-known hit!  Then he did 'Stay' originally sang by Rihanna and just blew her away, it was so beautiful that I actually cried.  After that he made his way back to the stage and closed out with 'Closer To The Edge' and 'Kings & Queens.'

Neil & I at The Hollywood Bowl for 30 Seconds to Mars while they sing 'This Is War'
"It's the moment of truth and the moment to lie."

He announced when he came back on for the Encore that he would be showing us something that no one else had seen, and played a short film, called 'City Of Angels' to accompany the song they had played earlier.  There were famous actors and musicians giving commentary and beautiful scenery of Los Angeles, it was such an inspiring video and made you believe in the good faith of LA, which is definitely hard at times.  They closed out with 'Up In The Air.'  On the way out, I noticed Derek Hough next to me and at this time 2 years ago I was sitting with my Aunt watching 'Dancing With The Stars' while she said she really enjoyed Derek's dancing.  It was a nice little reminder that she's still looking out for me, even if she's not here :)

30 Seconds to Mars at The Hollywood Bowl

Overall, I was really happy with the concert but do wish they would have played some more of the new songs off their album because I think they'll be hits.  The problem was they required Jared's strong voice and since he was sick, he probably wasn't up to doing them.  My only frustration was that I went to the concert to see him sing, and not have him point the mic to the crowd and have them sing throughout the show.  His voice is so amazing, I just wanted to hear all him; perhaps I'm just being selfish!  They were the first band and big concert I saw in LA almost 3 years ago so it was really neat to see them again, playing at such a huge venue!