Jared Leto of 30 Seconds To Mars brings his powerful voice to the crowd at the Fillmore Miami Beach. (Christina Mendenhall / Rhythm Scene)

Photos: 30 Seconds to Mars, Mutemath and Neon Trees at the Fillmore
Page2Live: Jared Leto rudely welcomed to Miami Beach

Let’s face it, Tuesday nights are usually pretty boring. But when music fans descended on South Beach this past Tuesday to see 30 Seconds To Mars at the Fillmore, boring was thrown right out the window.

When the house lights went down, the only thing fans could see were a few sporadic silhouettes behind a massive white curtain. But as soon as the shadow of front man Jared Leto appeared the crowd spontaneously erupted and it felt like an eternity before the big white veil fell revealing the singer and his hot pink mohawk.

Not wasting any time, the trio from Los Angeles (accompanied by two touring musicians) exploded into “Night Of The Hunter” off their latest release This Is War. Without stopping, Leto donned his custom-made white Steve McSwain guitar (which he calls Pythagoras) for “Attack” and “A Call To Arms”.

When the music was stopped for a moment, Leto addressed the crowd about his recent illness and show cancellation. “You know, I was sick and we had to cancel our last show, but I’m so glad I’m feeling a little better so we could play Miami tonight!”

In an instant it was right back to business as the 30STM guys plowed through “A Beautiful Lie” and their latest single “This Is War”, which Leto finished onstage alone with an acoustic guitar.

Kate Dingle is a writer for Rhythm Scene.

After a short intermission of sorts, the musicians reappeared (sans their front man) to perform several instrumental pieces to a somewhat confused audience. Before anyone could really grasp what was going on, Jared Leto appeared firmly planted in the middle of the crowd with his guitar and a mic stand.

“Does anyone have any requests?” he mused as he started picking away and singing Lady Gaga’s hit “Bad Romance”. Stopping a little ways through, he explained that “someone told me that Miami is not a rock city. It’s more of a rhythmic city. Well, I’ll put it on paper right now that we’re gonna keep playing Miami again and again and again.” As he continued through this acoustic portion of the show, he played bits of “Capricorn” and “The Mission”, which was for the “twelve people in here who know it”.

And then the moment that everyone seemed to be waiting for, “What if I wanted to break/Laugh it all off in your face/What would you do?” As Leto continued to play, the crowd took over the vocals for “The Kill” and eventually overpowered him. Stopping for a moment to take a picture with a young fan, he joked that he forgets the words sometimes because he’s getting old. When the music resumed, the rest of 30 Seconds To Mars had assumed their positions onstage to “finish this the right way” as the singer made his way through the hoards of people to the front of the stage. They finished their set with “Search And Destroy”.

When the musicians emerged for the encore, Jared Leto playfully pulled out his cell phone to take a picture of the crowd and post it on Twitter (http://tweetphoto.com/20194983). After making sure he got the shot and the perfect caption from someone in the crowd, Shannon Leto was given the task of picking fans to go onstage for the final number. The more the Leto brothers egged fans on, the tighter the Fillmore security gripped the crowd and refused to play along with the band and let anyone else up. Before the finale, “Kings And Queens”, the 30 Seconds To Mars guys proclaimed that they would stick around and sign every shirt, piece of paper, and ticket stub that was put in front of them.

The night began with sets from both Neon Trees and MUTEMATH. Neon Trees has recently been endorsed by MTV and was a fantastic choice to start the show, with a front man just as bizarre as Jared Leto himself. This is the second time in a matter of months that MUTEMATH has graced a South Florida stage (the last time they were here they headlined at Revolution Live). Although I was a bit curious to see how the New Orleans-based group would be as a support act, they did not disappoint. The set was full of all of their signature antics, including drummer Darren King’s stunt of jumping off a drum being held by the crowd.

The goal for the night seemed to be that everyone had fun. From the first chord by Neon Trees to the ruckus caused by MUTEMATH to Jared Leto’s awkward dancing and running around the stage like a madman, I think it’s safe to say the goal was achieved. And to think that this is the same guy who has starred opposite Hollywood titans like Nicholas Cage and Jody Foster. Not too shabby for a Tuesday night.