Alright I know most people here probably don't like or know H.I.M but since everyone else posts about the shows they attend, so shall I.
I got there around 5 pm and already there was a line going around the building, full of what seemed like mostly people between the ages of 13 and 21. I repeatedly asked myself "who the fuck are all these people and how is it that they are so into this band already?!" Because for the past five years I've talked about them and most people didn't even know who they were (in the U.S., that is.) Anyhow, luckily I saw our drummer Joe in line and we sort of cut in with him (bastards!)
The first band was Eighteen Visions, who weren't terrible but they didn't do much for me. They suffered from a muddy mix, which I figured was typical for opening acts...I would soon find out differently.
Kill Hannah came out and were pretty good. They're from Chicago so they had a good reaction and they deserved it. Again the sound was rather fucked up, especially vocals being too low or muddy. Feedback occured at times as well.
Finally after a rather lengthy wait, H.I.M came on the stage. The crowd was pretty nuts, which shocked me again. First off though, disappointment was slightly noticeable because they didnt have any of their backdrops or stage props, most likely because the damn House Of Blues is so tight about that shit (you cant cover up the HOB logo behind the stage, for example, so no logo backdrops heh) So the band played on a really bare stage with actually a rather minimal light show. However the real problems were with the sound. The muddy distant sound that plagued the opening acts prevailed here. Ville's vocals were almost inaudible for the first four songs, except when he'd really push his voice and shout the lyrics. They managed to get it mostly ironed out by halfway through the set though, but still a shame.
The band however were great, they played tightly and I think they were quite shocked by the huge crowd reception. They played a mix of songs from all of their albums so there was no disappointment there. Overall it was a good experience and it could have been a great one if it werent for the technical problems. I'm going to go see them again on this tour before it ends so hopefully they'll have less sound problems next time and I'll get to see them on their proper stage set-up.
And for those of you who think H.I.M are just another Hot Topic teeny band to come along, at least go and check out "Greatest Love Songs Vol. 666", their debut from 97. It's really good gothy moody metal, if you're into that sort of thing.
I got there around 5 pm and already there was a line going around the building, full of what seemed like mostly people between the ages of 13 and 21. I repeatedly asked myself "who the fuck are all these people and how is it that they are so into this band already?!" Because for the past five years I've talked about them and most people didn't even know who they were (in the U.S., that is.) Anyhow, luckily I saw our drummer Joe in line and we sort of cut in with him (bastards!)
The first band was Eighteen Visions, who weren't terrible but they didn't do much for me. They suffered from a muddy mix, which I figured was typical for opening acts...I would soon find out differently.
Kill Hannah came out and were pretty good. They're from Chicago so they had a good reaction and they deserved it. Again the sound was rather fucked up, especially vocals being too low or muddy. Feedback occured at times as well.
Finally after a rather lengthy wait, H.I.M came on the stage. The crowd was pretty nuts, which shocked me again. First off though, disappointment was slightly noticeable because they didnt have any of their backdrops or stage props, most likely because the damn House Of Blues is so tight about that shit (you cant cover up the HOB logo behind the stage, for example, so no logo backdrops heh) So the band played on a really bare stage with actually a rather minimal light show. However the real problems were with the sound. The muddy distant sound that plagued the opening acts prevailed here. Ville's vocals were almost inaudible for the first four songs, except when he'd really push his voice and shout the lyrics. They managed to get it mostly ironed out by halfway through the set though, but still a shame.
The band however were great, they played tightly and I think they were quite shocked by the huge crowd reception. They played a mix of songs from all of their albums so there was no disappointment there. Overall it was a good experience and it could have been a great one if it werent for the technical problems. I'm going to go see them again on this tour before it ends so hopefully they'll have less sound problems next time and I'll get to see them on their proper stage set-up.
And for those of you who think H.I.M are just another Hot Topic teeny band to come along, at least go and check out "Greatest Love Songs Vol. 666", their debut from 97. It's really good gothy moody metal, if you're into that sort of thing.
