30 Seconds to Mars performs 'Closer to the Edge' on Leno with US Marine Corps

Last night (February 18, 2011) American rock band 30 Seconds to Mars performed their song "Closer to the Edge" with former members of the United States Marine Corps on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

You can view the performance by clicking the video to the left, or clicking here to open it into a new window.

Lead singer Jared Leto picked a somewhat questionable, and sure to be talked about outfit to wear during the Jay Leno performance. The always bold and fashionable front man wore all black, except for deep red motorcycle type gloves. His outfit was completed with a pair of sunglasses, yes their performance was inside the studio. Maybe it is the bright studio lights that prompted him and drummer Shannon Leto to be those 'inside sunglasses wearing type' guys.

His hair though, is thankfully out of the pink mo-hawk stage, and he is once again sporting a clean cut brown hairstyle. Jared Leto's jacket had an abundance of black fringe on the shoulders (see picture to left) which led me to think of the It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia episode that had Mac, Charlie, and Dennis dress up as Eagles to fight for the troops.

Speaking of troops, a moving portion of the performance was how 30 Seconds to Mars managed to incorporate former members of the United States Marine Corps alongside them. All of the former Marines were lined up in the back, fully dressed in their gear (guns included) and during the 'oh oh oh oh oh' parts, they were the ones shouting it out. It was a nice element that made their performance more unique than other bands who just straight play their songs.

Jared Leto's voice was a bit off during their Jay Leno performance of "Closer to the Edge." I also think Jared Leto could tell something was a tad off because he reached for his ear a couple of times, which is usually a tell that the singer cannot hear himself properly, or that something is off. He has more power in his vocals than what was let out last night. Front-man Leto was holding back, and the end result was a weak sounding performance. Especially when towards the end he let out a scream before it broke into a riff by Tomo Miličević which led back into the chorus. Jared Leto's scream was scratchy sounding with no power behind the yell.

Throughout the entire performance drummer Shannon Leto and guitarist Tomo Miličević sounded phenomenal. Overall, the performance will mainly be remembered to me as, 'what was with that jacket Leto wore,' rather than for their overall performance. Maybe that is for the good though seeing as how the front-mans vocals were a letdown.

It has come to my attention by 30 Seconds to Mars fans that Jared Leto was in fact sick, which is why his vocals were not up to par. Makes sense, especially because when I saw them live his vocals were spot on.

From Jared Let's Twitter: @jaredleto Sick as a dog can barely even talk. Almost canceled @jayleno but fuck it Im going for it! To whoever got me sick... #washyourdirtyhands

As always, let me know your thoughts in comment section below! Love the performance, or hate it? What did you think of the added Marine Corps? You can also connect with me via Twitter: @NatalieChicago