30 Seconds To Mars - Academy 1 - 27/1/08 by Rachel Hamer

The first time I ever set eyes on Jared Leto I was a teenage girl and he was playing the character Jordan Catalano in the TV series My So Called Life. Since then the Louisiana born artist has become a movie star, starring in films such as Fight Club, American Psycho and Alexander.

In 1998 he created 30 Seconds To Mars with his brother Shannon Leto. They have had two albums to date, the first was self titled and the second most recent album was named A Beautiful Lie.

Arriving at the Academy slightly early we were forced to join a queue. It was clear to me that Jared has a whole new generation of fans now, who are mainly made up of teenage students and I think their sole purpose of being there was for the music. I actually heard one woman say "Most of these kids probably don't even know who Jared Leto is".

The band entered the stage behind a white curtain and you could make out the silhouette's of each of them, which of course prompted huge screams and cheers from the waiting audience.

After the opening track BOO, Jared actually told the crowd that he had spent the whole afternoon throwing up in his hotel room but had forced himself to come as he didn't want to let the fans down.

They did a selection of tracks off both albums and included all the singles that have been released here in the UK. The Kill, Attack, From Yesterday and the title track off the album A Beautiful Lie which is to be their next single. They also covered the Bjork song Hunter which was for me one of the highlights of the night.

Talking to several fans it also emerged that the band never stick to a certain set list and so each gig is a surprise. Jared was even asking fans to name a song during the set and asking them what they would like to hear. It is easy to see why 30 Seconds To Mars have such a devoted following.