Echelon Tour Review

December 30th, 2011

Portugal, Lisbon- 16th December 2010

By: Catarina Saraiva

I’m Catarina from Portugal and I can refer to Thirty Seconds to Mars as my everything.

I’ve attended two shows, but the first one was definitely the best day of my life. It was in Lisbon at Pavilhão Atlântico on 16th December 2010. I was a fan of Thirty Seconds to Mars for a couple years, but that was the first chance I got to see them live and everything was magical: from waiting in line where I met other fans that made me feel at home to the show itself, of course.

When I got there everyone had their Mars merch and I didn’t yet, but I still felt like I belonged. When we entered the doors of Pavilhão Atlântico, it was insane- the high, the rush, I never felt more free. We ran to our places and waited, waited for our dream to come true. We were out of ourselves.

The opening band played and the moment for MARS was arriving. The screens started playing “Hurricane” and I was completely ecstatic that it was really happening. The video ended, the lights were on a giant cloth that was covering the stage, and they started playing “Escape.” When Jared started singing I couldn’t believe I was really there. Then, the cloth fell and there they were: my idols.

The whole show was awesome, I sang and jumped so high that I touched the sky that night. I lived forever that night. Jared was amazing, he had a connection with the audience by the love and warmth he spread. Tomo played beautifully and Shannon was the drum beast, his percussion was the exact rhythm of my heartbeat. “L490″ was mind blowing.

That first show was such a major part of me that when it ended, I cried so much because it was reality, it wasn’t a dream. I felt such a huge emptiness when it all ended. I could spend my whole life listening to them, feeling that I was understood, that I wasn’t the only one. I’ll never forget my first MARS experience. It’ll be forever in my memory, in my heart, it’s part of my simple existence.

The main aspect of their performances that I admire the most is the interaction and the joy I think they feel when they’re on stage. As they say, they’re the dreamers and we are the believers. We make their dream real, we made this journey real. When Tomo, Shannon and Jared are on stage they’re not Gods, they’re ordinary people. They’re the most happy children and the most admiring adults. There is no shame and no fear to behave like a kid- only pure happiness, because they see us like a family, brothers and sisters, kings and queens.

All the songs are amazing and all the lyrics are touching. I love “This is War” and “Vox Populi” because the voices of the Echelon are heard and the band always stops all the instruments after the lyric “Ever want to just stop?”. I love “Night of the Hunter” because it’s about strength and Shannon kills it in the drums. I love “The Kill” and “Hurricane” because Jared sings it acoustically and his voice just calms me down and makes me feel warm inside. They’re all special, they all have a deep meaning and they all represent us “Warriors and Keepers of the Gate”.

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