Performing on a rainy night, 30 Seconds to Mars nevertheless delivers a fan-satisfying concert (Photo by Annie S. Alejo)

MANILA, Philippines -- Music is a pilgrimage. Loyalty to a band entails a bit of sacrifice.

I learned as much when Thirty Seconds to Mars came to Manila for the first time and waged a full-on war on inclement weather to give its army of followers just what it needed: a concert of close encounters and call-to-arms sing-a-longs.

Battling bad traffic—including jampacked MRTs—and bad weather, the concertgoers came armed not with ammo but with umbrellas and raincoats; not slogans but lyrics to the band’s songs. Those a little less rock n’ roll stood by the wayside, asking their friends if they are sure they want to go.

Opening the July 28 concert at around 8:30 p.m., after a wet, long wait, Kjwan took the stage for a four-song opening act. Front man Marc Abaya gave a shout out as a proud Pinoy representative in a concert by an American headlining act.

More rain fell during the lull between the front act and the night’s main stars. It was during this time that the Silver ticket holders began chanting “payong,” a collective request for people up front to man up and brave the rain, which by then had turned into a drizzle, like they do.

Minutes later, the same demanding group started chanting to be allowed into the Gold area, which, at that point, was still barely filled. The organizers relented by having the burly men-in-black security guys move the barricade several feet forward—it wasn’t much, but it was a leeway nonetheless.

When the lights died down onstage, not a few thought it was technical glitch; until 30 Seconds to Mars’ front man Jared Leto’s voice came on the PA system. The show was finally underway.

Going through hits such as “Beautiful Lie,” “Attack,” “Search and Destroy,” "Hurricane" and several others, Thirty Seconds to Mars made the wait worthwhile for the Mars Army—as their fans are collectively known—and others ready to be recruited. Commanding his followers every now and then by egging them to “jump, jump,” Jared proved to be charismatic enough to pull of an hour or so of commanding stage performance.

Where their music tend to blend from one song to the next, Jared took on different stage personas, from the adept axeman, the music Messiah (posturing with arms wide open), the revolutionary (complete with fist-in-the-air gestures) and the benevolent rock idol who called his fans onto the stage to let them pick his next song. They picked “The Kill,” which he performs solo and with only an acoustic guitar.

“But you guys, do me a favor,” Jared says before he starts the song. “I want you guys to sing it so loud that everybody in the world wishes they were right here in the Philippines…” Of course it took the audience two tries to get it right, to sing loud enough to his liking.

Talking about the accessibility of their songs, Jared said at the pre-concert press conference, “There’s a universal element in [our] music. We talk about things that are innately human… and we are also interested in the rest of the world. And we really actively participate in traveling to places, talking to people… and sharing our art to the people that are interested…”

And their travels had finally brought us here. Jared, at one point, told the Manila audience how glad he was that they had come here, even calling the Philippines a new home they could come visit again.

From an acoustic set to their rock anthems that would have played so much better in a proper arena—as opposed to the oddly shaped parking lot in Trinoma—Thirty Seconds to Mars did not disappoint their loyalists. Jared’s brother, drummer Shannon, pounded on the skins with total abandon, and together with bassist Tomo Miličević, they unleashed an unmistakable force that propelled Jared’s soaring chants.

The concert set-up was nothing stunning. The stage was big, but a part of it right in front of the band had to be covered because of the rain. It had a catwalk into the audience, long enough to only reach halfway into the Gold section, which Jared utilized well. But the band need not have a complicated stage design—it seemed the only thing important to them is the connection they made with their audience.

While unlike other concerts where huge monitors are positioned on stage for the benefit of people watching at a distance, Thirty Seconds to Mars’ stage arsenal seemed pretty basic, but they managed to create their own diversions—at one point, giant red balloons filled with confetti came bouncing from the stage out into the crowd.

Another surprising thing at the tail end of the concert was when Jared picked quite a number of participants from the audience to join him for their encore, the much-awaited “Kings and Queens.” Not that the handpicked stage guests did anything much—they just sang along with the band just like the rest of the audience—but it did have that solidarity effect that underscored the song’s theme.

Truth is, the stunt could have been a security nightmare, with that many people e on stage at one time. Besides, put fans within striking distance of their idol and things could easily escalate into a free-for-all. Thankfully, though, this wasn’t the rowdy crowd.

After that, the concert seemed to have ended just as it started—with the band swiftly leaving behind the fans onstage after performing the song. By then, most people were so wet nobody even noticed the drizzle anymore. As the crowd broke up, it did feel like we all went to war… but the upside is, there are no casualties here—just a lot of happy fans, several new converts, and a few just raring to get out of their wet clothes.