There are many bands who continually pay respect to their hometown, but you'd be hard pressed to find a group as dedicated to their city of origin as Thirty Seconds to Mars. The rock trio took over Los Angeles' historic Hollywood Bowl on Saturday (Oct. 12) and in the process signified just how far they've come since playing in a sweaty garage in the "city of angels" all those years ago.

Making use of their spacious surroundings, the group opened with 'Birth' featuring masked Taiko drummers pounding away until frontman Jared Leto sauntered in from the side of the stage. Shrouded mostly in silhouette early, the band performed such favorites as 'Night of the Hunter' and the new song 'Search and Destroy' before Leto emerged to pump up the crowd to new heights leading them in a chant for 'This Is War.' Other early set highlights included the recent single 'Do or Die,' a sing-along of 'City of Angels' and the appearance of the one-man human gyroscope and acrobats performing flips on a see-saw.

The latter performance provided the perfect distraction for Leto to venture into the crowd unnoticed in order to play a handful of acoustic tracks while his bandmates took a break. With Leto playing for audience members at the back of the venue, he broke into the rousing song 'Hurricane,' delivered an understated rendition of 'The Kill' aided by the audience's vocal and made his way back to the stage to meet his bandmates during a standout cover of Rihanna's hit song 'Stay.' Finishing out the body of the set and taking things to uplifting heights, the band played 'Closer to the Edge' and 'Kings and Queens,' the latter of which earned audible cheers as the video of bicyclists riding through Los Angeles could be viewed in the background.

Keeping the Los Angeles love fest going, the band used the platform to premiere their short film for 'City of Angels.' The clip featured a number of notable (Lindsay Lohan, Kanye West, Corey Feldman, Juliette Lewis, James Franco, Shaun White and more) and not so recognizable Los Angeles faces speaking about exploring their dreams in Los Angeles. Finishing out the night, the band welcomed members from the pit onstage to join them for 'Up in the Air,' the lead single from their latest album.

The show also featured opening sets from Panic! at the Disco and New Politics. Panic, who are supporting a new album, received their biggest applause for their hits 'The Only Difference Between Martyrdom and Suicide Is Press Coverage,' 'Nine in the Afternoon' and set closer 'I Write Sins Not Tragedies,' but also the new cuts 'Miss Jackson' and 'This Is Gospel.' New Politics, meanwhile, delivered an energetic set highlighted by such standouts as 'Tonight You're Perfect,' 'Yeah Yeah Yeah' and their breakout single 'Harlem.' Frontman David Boyd also showed off some of his limber breakdance moves and chatted up the appreciative crowd throughout the set. You can check out our photo gallery from the Hollywood Bowl show featuring all three acts below.

In other Thirty Seconds to Mars news, the band will be performing a live set from the KROQ Red Bull Sound Space today (Oct. 14) at 4PM ET / 1PM PT. It can be seen at this location or viewed in the video player at the bottom of this post at that time.

See Our Thirty Seconds to Mars / Panic At the Disco / New Politics Photo Gallery

Thirty Seconds to Mars:

Thirty Seconds to Mars
Kathy Flynn, WickedGoddessPhotography.com
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Thirty Seconds to Mars
Kathy Flynn, WickedGoddessPhotography.com
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Thirty Seconds to Mars
Kathy Flynn, WickedGoddessPhotography.com
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Thirty Seconds to Mars
Kathy Flynn, WickedGoddessPhotography.com
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Thirty Seconds to Mars
Kathy Flynn, WickedGoddessPhotography.com
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Thirty Seconds to Mars
Kathy Flynn, WickedGoddessPhotography.com
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Thirty Seconds to Mars
Kathy Flynn, WickedGoddessPhotography.com
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Thirty Seconds to Mars
Kathy Flynn, WickedGoddessPhotography.com
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Thirty Seconds to Mars
Kathy Flynn, WickedGoddessPhotography.com
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Thirty Seconds to Mars
Kathy Flynn, WickedGoddessPhotography.com
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Thirty Seconds to Mars
Kathy Flynn, WickedGoddessPhotography.com
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Panic! At the Disco:

Panic at the Disco
Kathy Flynn, WickedGoddessPhotography.com
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Panic at the Disco
Kathy Flynn, WickedGoddessPhotography.com
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Panic at the Disco
Kathy Flynn, WickedGoddessPhotography.com
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New Politics:

New Politics
Kathy Flynn, WickedGoddessPhotography.com
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New Politics
Kathy Flynn, WickedGoddessPhotography.com
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New Politics
Kathy Flynn, WickedGoddessPhotography.com
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New Politics
Kathy Flynn, WickedGoddessPhotography.com
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