I missed out on HIM’s last Australian outing back in 2006, so there was no way I was gonna miss out this time. They are one of my fave bands over the course of the past few years and I was very much looking forward to this gig for some time now.
Opening proceedings for the night were an all-girl outfit called McQueen. Never heard of them before and I don’t think I’ll hear from them again. They had the ‘look’ down pat, but their stock-standard-cum-rehashed riffs meant that they sounded like a cross between the Ramones and Motley Crue. Pretty forgettable really and they ended up playing a pretty long set which was a little frustrating.
HIM hit the stage a little after 9pm and pretty much had the (very young) crowd in the palm of their collective hands. Festival Hall was packed to the rafters with screaming teenage girls and at times it felt like Beatlemania in there - the screeches were that loud!
HIM were tight, concise, brilliantly melodic and featured a set that was hit-after-hit-after-hit. When you have such an expansive and catchy set, it makes for a great concert. The band played wonderfully but it all started sounding samey over the course of the night They have a formula they adhere to in nearly every one of their songs, so at times, it did feel a little repetitive.
I think it would have been an amazing gig at a more intimate setting. I just don’t think they have the chops to play venues such as this. Granted, Festival Hall is not that big, but in a club or a pub, I reckon HIM would just annihilate the place.
Couple this with the fact that lead crooner Ville Valo’s stage raps are completely non-decipherable - it all led to a pretty impersonable performance. And whilst the band sounded simply amazing, his vocals were a rather large let-down. I mean, for someone who is so visually charismatic - his audience participation was next to zero - often turning his back to the crowd and mumbling incoherently into the mike. Presumably in English, but one can never tell. Small gripe I know, but come on - let us know you’re pleased to see us dude. Yeah?
Still, they ended the set with an amazing rendition of Black Sabbath’s ‘Black Sabbath’ track. They concentrated on their vast array of catchy hits from their catalogue and only featured a few songs from the disappointing latest offering, ‘Venus Doom’.
A good gig. Not a great one…
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