Thirty Seconds to Mars returned to the Manchester Arena for the first time in five years, on Saturday, March 24th. It was ‘The Monolith Tour’, a name inspired possibly by a certain Stanley Kubrick film.
Main man Jared Leto, being very visual and directional with visual effects, put on an awesome show, and to top it off, also had an array of interesting outfits. One that stood out the most was his parrot-patterned poncho.
Leto is a hard one to capture on stage. Full of energy, bouncing from one spot to the next in his gold shiny trainers, Leto ran back and fourth towards his brother Shannon, who took centre stage with his impressive drum kit. Guitarist Tomo Miličević was missing from this set – however the two brothers held the fort well, even absent a band member.
The show was really very unique. There was a couple on stage who were very much in love, and her partner proposed – a night to remember always in their memories. There was also a risky political tweet shout-out to U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May, which went on to Jared’s official twitter page and caused a stir!
The band played some really great tunes from their old albums and some new delightful treats. The encore was particularly memorable with “Walk On Water”, “Vox Populi” and “Closer To the Edge”. There were also some breathtaking projections of nature. Another old favourite that was well received was “The Kill (Bury Me)”.
A great show for all. The VIP tickets also were a really fun way for the band to engage and interact with their fan base, allowing VIP pit access and stage access. Shannon threw out drumsticks to the crowd at the end of night, which was an additional bonus. And all photographers were also allowed to stay the whole show, and were even invited briefly to take a very swift photo, which all happened a bit too suddenly, therefore QRO’s stage capture didn’t quiet go well… Better luck next time!