I had the fortune to quite unexpectedly attend Taste of Chaos in Grand Prairie (Dallas), Texas on Friday, March 2. It was an exciting and emotional day on a number of levels. This would be the first time I would be seeing 30 Seconds To Mars this year. Every time I’ve seen them their popularity has ratcheted up to a new, insane level, and that adds something to the experience. It does take away in some instances as well, but I’m not sure enough for me to call it a wholly bad thing.

In addition, the band had announced that day that bassist Matt Wachter had left the band, which was incredibly heart-rending for me because Matt is an amazing guy and a great bassist, as well as an integral part of 30 Seconds To Mars. Transitions are hard, but it seemed more important than ever that night to see the band strong and forging ahead with replacement bassist Tim Kelleher, who had filled in for Matt previously. I was lucky enough to be able to see Matt backstage and say goodbye to him, so that made things a little easier as well.

But the show itself felt like an exercise in “launching forth into the deep,” so to speak, pushing forward with joyous, raucous abandon and refusing to look back and dwell. Despite being roughed up from his experiences in El Paso, Jared was on fire as always, refusing to take a back seat to soreness. They played eight songs from A Beautiful Lie, including R-Evolve, which he dedicated Matt after talking about how change was a gift and something that should be embraced. It was a beautiful, emotional, genuine moment. I don’t know how many in the crowd actually got it, but for those of us who needed to hear it, it was appreciated.

I thought that the set was incredibly high energy, and that Tim did really well all things considered. I’ve seen some people on the 30 Seconds To Mars message boards complain that the show wasn’t all that great, but I’m not sure what their standards are. I found it engrossing, entertaining, and especially in light of the stressful circumstances, well put together. I honestly think people refuse to consider the context of where they’re seeing the band first of all — playing as part of a festival tour isn’t the same as headlining your own theater tour. Also, playing in 2007 isn’t the same as playing in 2005, so naturally the show is going to grow and evolve. Either you grow and evolve with it, or you’re going to feel inherently dissatisfied. I think that was part of Jared’s message that night in a way as well, and I think some would do well to stop their bitching long enough to listen and decide if they still want to count themselves as fans or not.

Apparently, though, it’s not just the fans who have inexplicable standards when it comes to 30 Seconds To Mars. I had this review in the Dallas Morning News pointed out to me, and while I agree with the author’s general estimation of the type of kids found at the show (it was almost making me think of when they tried to do the Woodstock revival thing in the 90s), I found his review of 30 Seconds To Mars perplexing, especially this part:

In previous 30 Seconds to Mars gigs, Mr. Leto’s been the dominant dervish, but he’s always worked within and emphasized his collective even while lifting it with his emotive singing. Here, though, he let the audience yell half of his band’s eight songs, preached and prodded during and in between them, struck I-am-so-great poses under a solitary spotlight and held them way past pregnancy, and even threw out a solo version of “Was It a Dream?” as his band sucked down fluids backstage. His self-effacing crowd immersions are fine, but this kind of attention hogging is now making the act’s act suffer.

The author writes as though he’s seen several 30 Seconds To Mars shows. If that’s the case, surely he must realize that Jared singing solo is nearly omnipresent at 30 Seconds To Mars shows. Most often his choice is “Was It A Dream?” as well, though we’ve been treated to “The Story,” “Echelon,” and others. Also, the posing and posturing is nothing new either, and there are countless photos all over the Internet to attest to that. Also, it’s been Jared’s modus operandi for as long as I’ve been seeing them live to let the crowd sing as much as he can get away with, and then some.

Maybe I’ve just had the misfortune every one of my dozen-plus times seeing 30 Seconds To Mars to stumble across a mediocre and sub-par show with Jared at his worst, and therefore I have low standards. Though considering a good portion of the shows I have seen have been in Dallas, I’d assume I’ve seen whatever standard Taste of Chaos was being held to by this author. Or maybe I’m just “easy,” as I’ve said before, and I’m just not as critical as some.

However, that wasn’t my real issue with the review. My problem was the “how the mighty have fallen” tone to those remarks in particular, when the things he cites as supporting that contention are nothing new to 30 Seconds To Mars’ repertoire. In fact, in my eyes 30 Seconds To Mars has only taken the same live game they’ve been bringing for the past several years and once again elevated it to a new level, despite a crowded bill, diverse and unpredictable audience, and growing ranks of naysayers like this.