Prior to their show on Oct. 20 at the Congress Theater, I had never heard a single song by 30 Seconds to Mars. A snippet, perhaps, but not a full-fledged song by Jared Leto’s emo-core post-grunge act. It didn’t seem terrible. But as soon as Leto ripped off his emo mask to reveal a face caked with more mascara than a street gang of transvestite prostitutes, I knew I was in for a lackluster performance.

After a lengthy piano ballad, blinding light show and much flag-waving by members of the band, Leto finally ran onstage to a wave of riotous applause. While songs like “The Kill” weren’t strictly bad, they weren’t good either; 30 Seconds sounded like a nu-metal U2 with lyrics ripped straight from Hawthorne Heights. Do me a favor, Jared Leto – stop singing songs about killing yourself and just do it.

Fortunately, the other bands on the bill were much more adept musicians. Head Automatica performed their unique blend of dance-punk and power-pop with extreme brio. Vocalist Daryl Palumbo staggered and twisted himself like a pretzel, while his signature vocal warble kept strong throughout the entire set. “Laughing at You” and “Curious” were especially well sung, and Palumbo’s energy suffused the set from start to finish.

Cobra Starship, a new dance-rock band fronted by Gabe Saporta, formerly of Midtown, was also excellent. Saporta has made the transition from black hoodie to white hoodie quite easily and seemed secure in dropping hooks like atom bombs and eschewing typical emo melodrama. Men, Women, and Children was similarly unpretentious, with a flamboyant mix of disco and dance-punk.

A crappy emo band called Envy on the Coast played at some point, but no one really noticed. During their set, the vocalist stopped their song to yell at a pair of kids for fighting in the front row. “No bullshit, guys. We’re all here to have fun and see some music.” Much like Jared Leto, I think he forgot that music is supposed to be heard.

– Andrew Sheivachman