The Welcome to the Universe Tour was a

concert tour A concert tour (or simply tour) is a series of concerts by an artist or group of artists in different cities, countries or locations. Often concert tours are named to differentiate different tours by the same artist and to associate a specific to ...

by American rock band

Thirty Seconds to Mars Thirty Seconds to Mars (commonly stylized as 30 Seconds to Mars) is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1998. The band consists of brothers Jared Leto (lead vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards) and Shannon Leto (drums, pe ...

, in support of their second studio album ''

A Beautiful Lie ''A Beautiful Lie'' is the second studio album by American rock band Thirty Seconds to Mars, released on August 30, 2005 through Virgin Records. It was produced by Josh Abraham. ''A Beautiful Lie'' differs notably from the band's self-titled de ...

'' (2005). Presenting a series of inexpensive concerts for music fans, the concert tour was announced in August 2006 as a part of the

MTV2 MTV2 (formerly M2) is an American pay television Cable television, channel owned by the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. The channel launched initially as an all-music video service, once the original MTV had started to sh ...

$2Bill tour. The Welcome to the Universe Tour began on October 17, 2006 in Minneapolis, Minnesota and ended on November 25, 2006 in Los Angeles, California. The setlist encompassed songs from their first two studio albums, ''

30 Seconds to Mars Thirty Seconds to Mars (commonly stylized as 30 Seconds to Mars) is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1998. The band consists of brothers Jared Leto (lead vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards) and Shannon Leto (drums, per ...

'' and ''A Beautiful Lie''. Labelled as a

green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 Nanometre, nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by ...

tour, Thirty Seconds to Mars developed strategies that minimized fuel consumption of all touring vehicles.

Head Automatica Head Automatica was an American Rock music, rock band from Brooklyn, New York (state), New York fronted by Daryl Palumbo (also of Glassjaw). History The beginnings of the band stemmed from singer Daryl Palumbo's interests in the hip hop music ...

and

Cobra Starship Cobra Starship was an American dance-pop band founded in 2005 by Gabe Saporta (ex- Midtown), and headquartered in New York City. He recorded the first album as a solo project, ''While the City Sleeps, We Rule the Streets''. Saporta later enliste ...

served as the opening acts, with other bands joining for select dates. The Welcome to the Universe Tour received positive reviews from critics, who praised Thirty Seconds to Mars' energy onstage and the production of the show. The concert tour was recorded and broadcast on MTV2.

Background

The tour was officially announced on August 31, 2006 by

as a part of the $2Bill tour, which previously attracted a diverse mix of music artists, including

Beastie Boys Beastie Boys were an American rap rock group from New York City, formed in 1978. The group was composed of Mike D, Michael "Mike D" Diamond (vocals, drums), Adam Yauch, Adam "MCA" Yauch (vocals, bass), and Ad-Rock, Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz (voca ...

Radiohead Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (lead guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Greenwood (bass) ...

Coldplay Coldplay are a British rock band formed in London in 1997. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer Will Champion and creative director Phil Harvey. They met at University Col ...

, and

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...

. Set for October 2006, the tour showcased Thirty Seconds to Mars' second studio album ''

''. It commenced on October 17, 2006 in Minneapolis, Minnesota and ended on November 25, 2006 in Los Angeles, California. The tour was announced shortly after the

2006 MTV Video Music Awards The 2006 MTV Video Music Awards aired live on August 31, 2006, honoring the best music videos from June 11, 2005, to June 26, 2006. The show was hosted by Jack Black at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. The 2006 Video Music Awards marked th ...

at which Thirty Seconds to Mars received the

MTV2 Award MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

for their single "

The Kill "The Kill" (written "The Kill (Bury Me)" on the single and music video) is a song by American band Thirty Seconds to Mars. The song was released on January 24, 2006 as the second single from their second album, ''A Beautiful Lie''. It was certi ...

". A limited number of tickets per city were made available for $2 each in a special internet pre-sale sponsored by MTV2 and Thirty Seconds to Mars beginning on September 16. Sales for general tickets began the following week on September 23. Determined to offset the impact that the tour would have on the environment, Thirty Seconds to Mars worked to develop strategies that would minimize fuel consumption and all touring vehicles were powered by low-emissions renewable

biodiesel Biodiesel is a form of diesel fuel derived from plants or animals and consisting of long-chain fatty acid esters. It is typically made by chemically reacting lipids such as animal fat (tallow), soybean oil, or some other vegetable oil with ...

, a fuel made partly from vegetable oil. In an interview with MTV News,

Jared Leto Jared Joseph Leto ( ; born December 26, 1971) is an American actor and musician. Known for his method acting in a variety of roles, he has received numerous accolades over a career spanning three decades, including an Academy Award and a Golde ...

described the tour as:

"This is an amazing time of celebration for us all and we are very excited to join forces with the unique and creative individuals at MTV2 to present what we hope will be one of the most exciting tours of the fall... Welcome to the Universe. With a powerful line up of phenomenally talented opening bands and having an environmentally acceptable 'green' tour, we are looking forward to yet another chance for us to share something unique with our family of fans that have supported us so passionately and also invite and introduce many others to the world of Thirty Seconds to Mars. Taking this approach gives us the opportunity to set an example and share with others the possibilities of real alternatives for a safer, cleaner world. We will see you all very soon for what will be an exciting, chaotic circus of insanity, and an unforgettable tour."

and

were announced as the opening acts for Thirty Seconds to Mars. In addition,

Rock Kills Kid Rock Kills Kid was an American art punk/alternative rock band from Los Angeles, California that consisted of Jeff Tucker (guitar and vocals), Shawn Dailey (bass), Sean Stopnik (guitar), Reed Calhoun (keyboards/vocals), and Mike Balboa (drums). ...

The Pink Spiders The Pink Spiders are an American rock band, formed in Nashville, Tennessee in 2003. The band consists of Matt Friction (lead vocals, guitar), JoCo (bass), Joey B-Side (drums), and Young James (guitar). Matt Friction and original drummer Bob Fe ...

The Receiving End of Sirens The Receiving End of Sirens was an American rock band from Belchertown, Massachusetts, United States. Formed in 2003, the band broke up in 2008 then briefly reunited in 2010. On February 18, 2020, the band announced a brief reunion tour. Overv ...

, Envy on the Coast, Men, Women & Children, and

Street Drum Corps Street Drum Corps is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 2004 by Bobby Alt, of S.T.U.N. and Faculty X; Adam Alt, of Circus Minor; and Frank Zummo, of TheStart. To date the group have released four albums and have been part of tours su ...

joined the tour for select dates. Leto stated, "We want to create a festival atmosphere. We plan on bringing an element of excitement and chaos and escape. We are going to do things that have never been done before, and we are making all kinds of plans and postulations about the possibilities. We have a lot of things happening, and it's very exciting."

Reception

The Welcome to the Universe Tour garnered generally positive reviews from critics. Jay Cridlin of the ''

St. Petersburg Times The ''Tampa Bay Times'', previously named the ''St. Petersburg Times'' until 2011, is an American newspaper published in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. It has won fourteen Pulitzer Prizes since 1964, and in 2009, won two in a single ...

'' praised the performance at the Jannus Landing, saying that Thirty Seconds to Mars proved to be "a legitimate musical force." Karen Bondowski from Livewire gave a positive review of the concert at the Eagles Ballroom in Milwaukee and complimented songs like "

", " Attack", "

From Yesterday "From Yesterday" is a song by American rock band Thirty Seconds to Mars, and the third single released from their second album ''A Beautiful Lie''. The song impacted radio on October 17, 2006. The music video for the song is believed to be the fi ...

", "Buddha for Mary" and "R-Evolve". The reviewer also said that the band "delivered the giant choruses and electrified but deliciously spacey guitars with a genuine fervor." Chad DuPriest from ''

Pegasus News Pegasus News was an online-only hyperlocal news source for the Dallas–Fort Worth region founded by Mike Orren. The site was originally owned by PanLocal Media LLC. It pioneered many news site features that have since become more common, includ ...

'' was impressed by the show at Ridglea Theatre in Fort Worth and said "That's what really makes this band stand out. They don't merely go to a concert to perform and get it over with, they aim to grow their cult and seek recognition – and they do this by putting on a badass concert." He also commented, "Most impressive were the phenomenal lighting effects, able to present the stage as everything from a strobe-lit nightmare to a peaceful realm of lucidity for the light guitar solos." Karah Leigh from the ''

Houstonist Gothamist LLC is the operator, or in some cases franchisor, of eight city-centric websites that focused on news, events, food, culture, and other local coverage. It was founded in 2003 by Jake Dobkin and Jen Chung. In March 2017, Joe Ricketts ...

'' gave a positive review of concert at the Verizon Wireless Theater and wrote that the band "completely blew us away", saying that they "did an amazing job." The reviewer however criticized the lack of participation by the audience. Matthew J. Palm of the ''

Orlando Sentinel The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is the primary newspaper of Orlando, Florida, and the Central Florida region. It was founded in 1876 and is currently owned by Tribune Publishing Company. The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is owned by parent company, '' Tribune P ...

'' gave a positive review of the concert and wrote that "

ared The Advanced Resistive Exercise Device (ARED) is an exercise device designed by NASA to allow for more intense workouts in zero gravity. The device was flown to the International Space Station during STS-126 and installed in 2009 to replace its ...

Leto doesn't follow rules. ..He can rock your socks off—employing a throat-shredding delivery on pulsating crowd-pleasers such as "A Beautiful Lie", "

" and "Savior."

Broadcast and recordings

In support of the Welcome to the Universe Tour, Thirty Seconds to Mars hosted an episode of

's ''T-Minus Rock'' on October 25, 2006 at the MTV Studios,

Times Square Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and neighborhood in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway, Seventh Avenue, and 42nd Street. Together with adjacent ...

in New York City.

MTV Overdrive MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a d ...

streamed a tour diary featuring the band's experiences with footage recorded at various concerts. MTV2 filmed a special of the Welcome to the Universe Tour depicting Thirty Seconds to Mars, Head Automatica and Cobra Starship, which aired on November 4, 2006. It also recorded a television special featuring the bands touring alongside Thirty Seconds to Mars. Footage recorded during the Welcome to the Universe Tour was released on the deluxe edition of the band's album ''A Beautiful Lie'' on December 5, 2006.

Opening acts

(all dates) *

(select dates) *

(select dates) * Envy on the Coast (select dates) * Men, Women & Children (select dates) *

(select dates)

Set list

This setlist is representative of the show in Fort Worth at the Ridglea Theatre. It does not represent all dates throughout the tour. #"

" #"Battle of One" #"R-Evolve" #"The Story" #"Buddha for Mary" #"The Mission" #"Was It a Dream?" #"

Capricorn (A Brand New Name) "Capricorn (A Brand New Name)" is the debut song by American rock band Thirty Seconds to Mars. The song was released by Immortal Records on July 23, 2002, as the lead single from the band's self-titled debut album. The song was written by Jared ...

" #"

" #" Attack" #"

" #"The Fantasy"

Tour dates

References

External links

Thirty Seconds to Mars official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Welcome to the Universe Tour Thirty Seconds to Mars concert tours 2006 concert tours