Jared Leto of the band 30 Seconds to Mars performs on the first night of KROQ-FM’s Almost Acoustic Christmas show at the Gibson Amphitheatre in Universal City. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)
Leto did much to lighten the proceedings, sprinting through the central walkway of the Gibson while fans reached out to him as if he were a religious icon. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)
Chester Bennington, left, who is also the frontman of Linkin Park, leads his new act, Dead by Sunrise. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)
Dead by Sunrise eschewed Linkin Park’s arena-sized rap-rock for a street-level scruffiness that, though typically hook-centric, wasnt nearly as fully formed as the other band. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)
Adam Gontier of the Canadian band Three Days Grace. The band’s performance was a relentless dirge. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)
New Sublime singer Rome Ramirez filled the late Bradley Nowells role ably. Hes a fine guitarist and nailed Nowells vocal inflections. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)
The band never introduced itself as Sublime. The question of who owns that band name the surviving members or the Nowell estate is still in legal limbo. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)
Fans go wild for Dead By Sunrise. Alice in Chains and Rise Against also performed and AFI headlined the show’s first night. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)
