30 Seconds to Mars’ tour with Neon Trees and Mutemath is a phenomenal tour with edgy, rock anthems. The bands on this tour deliver equally energetic performances with enough variety of a music to make for an entertaining night. I recently caught up to the tour in Omaha, Nebraska at Sokol Auditorium.
Though Neon Trees haven’t been a part of the music world as long as the other bands on the tour, they perform like they’re veterans. The group just released their debut album Habits and performed a fun set with big guitars, big drums and even bigger singalong choruses. The group has the performance energy and sound of a mix of The Killers and Head Automatica.
The group did a great job amping up their crowd. Not only was their music enjoyable, but so was their interaction with the audience. “It’s nice to be back here in Omaha,” said lead singer Tyler Glenn. “I used to live here. Elkhorn to be exact. That’s right, I’m legit,” the audience laughed and cheered at his homage to the small neighboring town.
“Let me see your claws, c’mon, I know you’ve all got a wild side,” Tyler then encouraged the audience before performing the group’s single. A sea of arms shot claw hands into the air, while the audience let out a big roar. Tyler then led the audience through the catchy single, “Animal,” while promenading out in front of the band’s set up on the speakers. The animated singer’s dynamic movements were contagious and got the audience moving along. Though “Animal” was the best known tune of the night, their best performance came on their set closer, “Sins of My Youth.” An extended ending and enhanced instrumental support made this song extra entertaining. When Neon Trees was all said and done, you could still here some audience members begging for more, a well-deserved compliment for a new band.
Neon Trees Set List:
Love and Affection
1983
Animal
In the Next Room
Your Surrender
Sins of My Youth
Mutemath’s music is a bit tamer then Neon Trees, but their set was still as explosive. Anytime you see someone begin their set up ritual by ducktaping headphones to their head, you know you’ll be in for an interseting time. The piano rock group made waves a few years ago with a unique video for their song “Typical,” in which they learned their parts backwards to record the whole thing. Now, while Omaha didn’t get any such reenactment, the band still had several tricks up their sleeves. When a drum stool was knocked over, the problem was resolved by sitting on a drum.
Members played with a freshness that teetered inbetween a reckless abandon—when done with some unidentified noisemaker, they simply tossed it off into the crowd—and controlled skill—some of those piano riffs would make classical composers blush. They stood apart from other touring bands these days by showing a grasp on dynamics lost on many as they swelled up from a soft piano dynamic into the fortes of their choruses. They are one of the more technically advanced bands I’ve had the pleasure of seeing, but as I said earlier, they’re not so caught up in the technical aspects that they lose the spontaneity that makes music fun.
Mutemath Set List:
The Nerve
Armstice
Chaos
The Fight
Spotlight
Reset
Typical
Break
A white curtain shrouded the stage before 30 Seconds to Mars began their set. As the intro music began, the outline of the mohawked lead singer, Jared Leto, appeared with arms outstretched to each side. Then in a swell swoop, his arms swung up above his head and then down, and with their downward movement, the curtain dropped revealing the full band performing “The Escape.” The next 90-minute set was filled with the band’s atmospheric rock anthems. As a band, they’ve improved so much since the last time I saw them over five years. They’ve gotten tighter and more controlled in their performance. As a frontman, Leto seems to have really gotten his act together, although I must question his decision to rock a pink mohawk. As a band, they really seemed to be about their fans this time, a sentiment I didn’t necessarily get the first time I saw them.
Leto began just singing the first few tunes, but donned a guitar for a majority of the set. About midway through the set, the band disappeared leaving Leto alone on stage with guitar as he took audience request. At least he tried to take audience requests, but I think the crowd was a little skeptical, so Leto just played a few through a few songs acoustic. Then 30 Seconds to Mars perhaps played its most bad ass of performances: “Bad Romance” acoustic morphed into “The Kill.” Yes, Leto went a little Gaga. The band returned and they replayed “The Kill” as a full band. It was a fun variation for the middle of a set.
My only disappointment came when Leto announced that this show was “stolen from Kansas City.” I just drove three hours to Omaha for a show that could have been in my town? Alas. You guys owe us KC kids a show.
30 Seconds to Mars Set List (as listed, but not exact order of performance):
Escape
Night of the Hunter
Attack
Vox Populi
From Yesterday
Beautiful Lie
This Is War
Acoustic Set – various songs, including Lady Gaga cover
The Kill
Closer to the Edge
Search and Destroy
Buddah for Mary
Fantasy
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Kings and Queens
I was at the show. Missed Neon Trees sadly, but Mutemath made up for that.
They were so fun to watch! 30 Seconds to Mars was good but… you forgot to mention that Jared Leto had the audience sing most of his songs for him. My companion commented that he was 'probably saving his voice for a big show' the next night. Sure enough, they were in Denver the next night. The Gaga covers were great fun however. Jared played the crowd well with his banter, I just wish he would have sung more.
It is actually called Vox Populi to fix your set list on 30STM