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30 Seconds To Mars / Carpark North

St. Jakobshalle, Basel, CH – When Hollywood actors like Jared Leto also make music, fans gather in masses and sold-out halls are guaranteed. I have never seen them live and therefore expect a lot from 30 Seconds To Mars. Let´s see if their show will be as pompous as you might expect from US stars.

Carpark North
The spectacle is opened by the Danish act Carpark North, founded in 2003 gibt. Their Synth/Electropop combined with Rock riffs are an inspiring and dancable mixture, as demonstrated over and over again by singer/guitarist Lau Højen. His colleagues also hardly ever rest in moving to the beat, which indeed warms up the crowd. Their show is good and they truly deserve the fans´ cheers.

30 Seconds To Mars
After a short break it´s time for 30 Seconds To Mars. The stage set is not really spectacular. Their logo, the big A, can be seen in the central background, on the sides there are some pedestals and above them several spotlights. In the front on the left there´s the VIP area for those fans who have surely paid a lot just to get there – and that´s it.  Jared Leto runs on stage, wearing a huge coat and featuring a shiny new hairdo in petrol-green. And now you appreciate having ear plugs, because the screaming is deafening. After the first song you might imagine that the vocals can just get better now, but unfortunately Jared´s voice doesn´t improve. Even the singing from the audience sounds better. The usual excuse – he says that he is ill but did not want to cancel this gig. But why, when he´s not well, is it still possible that he can run around on stage and move crazily all the time? The sound doesn´t have the best mix, too, and I had expected more from such a band.

The audience doesn´t seem to care, because Jared constantly invites them to come forward, and then move to the back – and the masses react without thinking. And the first victims are pulled out from the front row by the security crew. How could an artist be so irresponsible? There had been plenty of incidents already, people getting injured or even killed during mass events like this, so this is completely unnecessary. By half of the concert there must have been about 10 girls to be rescued, and one of them seems unconscious when she is carried off. And with this incident I simply have seen and heard enough and have to say – Mr. Leto should rather stick to acting!

Summary: 30 Seconds To Mars was the most disappointing show in 2010

Sandy Mahrer

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