Thirty Seconds to Mars want to go back in depth?

Italy once again welcomes Thirty Seconds to Mars, first in Bologna, then in Turin for a double sold out. Precisely ten years have passed since Jared Leto's last visit to the Piedmontese capital, when the Inalpi Arena was still called Palaolimpico, Jared, fresh from winning an Oscar, sported shatush hair and on guitar was Tomo Miličević, who later left the band in 2018. The memory of a decade ago is not the sweetest: on that occasion two thirds of Mars appeared on stage without the drums – surprisingly reproduced entirely on the base – and without Shannon Leto, arrested a couple of days earlier for driving while intoxicated. Without beating around the bush: it was an absolutely forgettable concert, held up exclusively by an extraordinarily active audience as always.

Those who were present ten years ago therefore know that the band has several things to make up for and on the eve of the show, going through the setlists littered on the web, the news that emerges is not to be underestimated: 30 Seconds to Mars they started honoring their career again. It could seem like a sign of lack of confidence in the new material or perhaps simple attention to the signals sent by long-time fans, evidently tired of hearing just a couple of songs from the alternative/emo era, systematically in an acoustic version. Finally the full electric and full band versions arrive, with Stevie Aiello on guitar (and bass, and keyboards, and backing vocals) to reinvigorate the spirit of a band that seemed destined for pure entertainment, to the detriment of music. Instead, that flame that came out of the black-edged eyes in the Noughties has not gone out, it just has to make its way through confetti, balloons and pythotechnic fountains.

«I would like to move to Italy, but I can't find a wife here. Can you help me?” Jared asks amused, totally aware of his overflowing charisma. He also says he has no voice, that he is not in shape but that he is ready to do his best to repay what he believes to be the best audience in the world. Paraculo, sure, as always, but also true. And in fact, although Jared's voice isn't crystal clear, the Los Angeles native sings. He also takes some small risks, a bit like he did on the Monolith Tour, but this time reinstating songs like “Attack”, “A Beautiful Lie” and “Night of The Hunter”. He knows he no longer has the means to scream like he did twenty years ago, but he also knows that singing even just one more verse can make the difference for those who have welcomed those words into their lives like a friend in the flesh and bone.

Talking about a Thirty Seconds to Mars concert today is really complicated. On the one hand there is that strange cringe effect which makes it almost natural to compare Jared to a tourist entertainer, rather than the frontman of one of the most famous rock bands on the planet. On the other hand there is the dormant soul of Echelon – the Mars fandom, which at the time of the first records was one of the most solid and combative around – which awakens and makes us understand that the one created by the Leto brothers still has an enormous value. A legacy that is impossible to ignore, especially when, at the mention of an “Oblivion” that hasn't been proposed for almost ten years, we see various people lose their dignity, despite it being a miserable acoustic snippet. And at the same time new hits like Stuck and Seasons find their explosive dimension live, where Jared's natural talent for everything catchy manifests itself with the same power of fire that spreads on the stage, thanks to the platoon of flamethrowers arranged in front of the band.

Do you remember the motto at the time of the debut? It was a Latin quote from the Roman historian Titus Livy: Provehito In Altum. A military expression typical of technical jargon, which is often translated as “aim high”, but in reality it means “throw hard, throw deep”. Perhaps in this far from negligible semantic nuance lies the dualism of this group, which seems to constantly chase each other, in a circle between the virtuous and the vicious, of death and rebirth, just like the phoenix that hid behind the Mithra, the old Mars symbol. What do you say, Jared: maybe it's time to stop aiming high and go back to throwing hard and deep?