30 Seconds to Mars Take Over Late Night

On Friday, February 18, 2011, 30 Seconds to Mars invaded NBC Studios as only they know how. In a huge way.

Guitarist Tomo Milicevic and the Leto brothers who make up the trio graced the stage of the Tonight Show with Jay Leno Friday, accompanied by a handful of L. A. based Marines. The soldiers were decked out in full combat gear, weapons in hand, and joined the band in singing their single Closer to the Edge.

Fans who caught the band's Into the Wild tour, which pinballed across the globe over the course of a year, covering 27 countries and nearly 100 cities, were asked during the performance of the same song to shout with the band at certain times "No no no no," to be included in the song's video. In the Tonight Show performance, the band had the soldiers standing behind them doing the same thing. After hearing a handful of candid reactions, the general consensus was that the performance, even across the television, was simply chilling. As of press time, you can watch the performance here: thirtysecondstomars.thisisthehive.net/blog/

According to information found on their Facebook account (www.facebook.com/thirtysecondstomars), the band is planning a similar spectacle for the February 22 episode of Lopez Tonight, airing on TBS. They have requested people living in the Los Angeles area who are of Egyptian descent to join them. Contact information regarding how to get involved with this can be found there. I, for one, am eager to see the next performance, as the first one far surpassed any standard issue, built-from-a-kit, late night talk show musical performance.

The band will be headed to Australia for four dates shortly after the Lopez Tonight show airs then to South America, a trip which will conclude at the Santiago, Chile Lollapalooza festival, before returning to North America for a short run. Visit their website for tour and ticket information.