The aisles were packed at the New York State Fairgrounds with 30 Seconds To Mars fans straining in anticipation to see their favorite band. The screams were nearly deafening as lead vocalist Jared Leto took the stage. He took a brief moment to bask in the outpouring of pure adoration that he was receiving from the crowd. The whole experience had a sort of Houdini-esque feeling to it as the most of the audience was illuminated by the artificial glow of the fair’s carnival lights. The stage was dimly lit with pure blackness to purple, and strong back lights of reds, blues and whites. We could barely make out the dark outlines of the band onstage at crucially timed points. The unearthly ambient is something that I will never forget.

30STM started the night off with the song “Escape” which was quite appropriate considering that the entire performance felt like an escape from reality. This was followed by “Night Of the Hunter” that I enjoyed as much as any of their screaming fans. I was very impressed with the enthusiasm radiating from the band. I truly believe they gave 110% of themselves for this stunning performance. One of my favorite parts of the night was when Jared called for the crowd to dance along to the music. Just freestyle, not like he wanted anyone to act like this was an audition for “Dancing with The Stars.” The energy from the crowd was intense and the band returned that energy with the same intensity. The crowd was having crazy fun just dancing along. In fact for the closing of their set in true 30STM style, Jared called for some lucky fans to come up onstage and dance for the rest of the crowd.  The girls and boys onstage certainly felt like kings and queens as the band played “Closer To The Edge” and “Kings And Queens.” There were several girls close to the front row with painted Geisha faces who made it up onstage. What a blast it was to watch everyone dance. 30STM undeniably put on a fun show.