Published: 04/26/2011

From the loud music to the screaming fans to the intensity of the lights, rock concerts are an adrenaline rush. It is an experience that should be had at least once in a lifetime.

On April 20, 30 Seconds to Mars came to Indiana University of Pennsylvania at the Kovalchick Convention and Athletic Complex. The band performed with well known, Anberlin and a newer band, CB7.

The show began earlier than expected, which was around 7:50 p.m. CB7 started the night off with a few songs. CB7 is Shannon Leto’s side project, forming from a friendship between Leto and lead singer, Antoine Becks.

Anberlin, whose debut album was released in 2002, played a shorter set than was expected, rounding up to about 35 minutes. Throughout their set, the fans were thoroughly into the music.

With older songs such as “The Feel Good Drag” and “Never Take Friendship Personal,” the band found some true fans as the crowd sang along, word for word.

A white curtain rose ten minutes before the beginning of 30 Seconds to Mars’ set, the audience could tell that they were in for a different kind of rock show. Around 10 p.m., as the lights dimmed and the crowd began to cheer, the feeling of anticipation was everywhere.

The beginning chords of “A Beautiful Lie” began and the crowd was screaming and cheering the band on. White lights flashed and spun around until Jared Leto was ready to sing the first line, “Lie awake in bed at night and think about your life.”

It was astonishing to hear how many people in the crowd did not seem to know what song was playing. It seemed as though the crowd was unaware that Mars has two other albums, other than “This Is War.”

Throughout their set, songs such as “The Kill” did draw some crowd reactions, but not nearly as much as “This Is War” and “Closer to the Edge.”

“Closer to the Edge” was one of the most intense songs throughout the entire show. The crowd was fully engaged in the song.

Towards the end of the show, Leto told everyone to move from the upper levels to the floor. Mars has a reputation of having one of the best crowd engaging shows.

The crowd was surprised to hear Leto tell them to literally jump on stage. At this time, most of the fans on the floor level jumped the guardrail and ran to the stage.

The last song of the night was “Kings and Queens.” The fans sang along to every word of the song. During this performance, the show went from just another show to an out of body experience.

Near the end of the song, Leto told the crowd, “I’ll tell you what. I’ll tell you what. I had no idea this would be a show that I would remember the rest of my life.”

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