30 Seconds to Mars take five hours to get to Philly

By Olivia Biagi
Collegian Staff
November 8, 2006

Although the doors to the Electric Factory didn’t open until 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 31 for MTV’s “$2 Bill Tour,” there was already a small crowd standing outside the doors at 5:30. The fans went all-out for Halloween with costumes including bumble bees, school girls, an ice cream cone, dead prom queens and just dead people in general. The fake blood-stained fans all eagerly waited for the headliner, 30 Seconds to Mars. Unfortunately, they waited until nearly midnight before the band finally appeared on stage.

The show kicked off with Men, Women, and Children, who also joined in the Halloween festivities as vocalist TJ Penzone came on stage dressed as Tony Montana from Scarface, toy gun in tow. Unfortunately for the band, their van containing all of their personal possessions and equipment was stolen at the Detroit stop of the tour. Halloween was their last date on the tour, and the band asked the audience if they could help donate money so they could replace at least some of their equipment before their next scheduled tour.

They also expressed their gratitude to the other bands on tour for their help and support. Despite their problems, Men, Women, and Children still kicked off the show with a lot of energy, getting the crowd warmed up.

Next up was Cobra Starship. Unfortunately, there were some technical difficulties before the band played and the crowd began coming down from their high. Lead singer Gabe Saporta, wearing a New Kids on the Block T-shirt, called his costume “too cool for Halloween.” Cobra Starship’s upbeat dance tunes riled the crowd back up and entertained them. When Saporta admitted to “completely ripping off Men, Women, and Children,” Penzone ran out on stage after him with his toy gun.

However, long intervals between acts were a trend throughout the night, and seriously detracted from the show. After all, there were still three more acts to go before 30 Seconds to Mars even saw the stage.

The Pink Spiders came next, followed by Head Automatica, who had way too long of a set. The Pink Spiders lacked energy, and the lead singer apparently never learned how to sing into a microphone. While Head Automatica is more a co-headliner kind of band than a virtually unknown opening act, their lengthy set was still unnecessary. They interacted with the crowd far less than Cobra Starship or 30 Seconds to Mars and were boring.

Six bands were too many for a show that started at 8 p.m. on a Tuesday night. It may have been better if it started earlier. The intervals were too long, and although a DJ played some fun dance music, it didn’t appeal to the general audience (come on, playing Justin Timberlake at a punk rock concert?) and the crowd became restless.

The last act before 30 Seconds to Mars, The Street Drum Corps, consisting of three men wearing red hot pants with “X”s painted on their chests, danced around the stage playing tribal-like music. They were met with “boos” from the anxious fans.

Finally, 30 Seconds to Mars made its grand entrance. Drummer Shannon Leto, bassist Matt Wachter and guitarist Tomo Milicevic marched on stage to haunting music wearing black suits and carrying flags. Then, the ever-dramatic Jared Leto charged the stage in a white suit covered in fake blood, firing up the crowd. By the second song, he was jumping into the audience.

The band opened up with two songs off their first album, “Buddha for Mary” and “Echelon,” much to the pleasure of hardcore, “original” 30STM fans, before getting into newer stuff with “The Fantasy” and ending the show with “The Kill” and “I’ll Attack.”

The show had some high points, and incredibly low points. The Pink Spiders, Head Automatica and The Street Drum Corps were unbelievably dull and did not do much to hype up the crowd before 30 Seconds to Mars hit the stage. The breaks in between acts were even worse. But Jared Leto prevailed, as always, with his dramatic antics to really get the crowd going.

biagio1@lasalle.edu