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H.I.M.
November 13, 2007
Warfield Theater, San Francisco, CA
By Dan Wall
Set List: Passion’s Killing Floor, Rip Out the Wings of a
Butterfly, Buried Alive By Love, Wicked Game, Kiss of Dawn,
Vampire Heart, Poison Girl, Dead Lover’s Lane, Join Me in Death,
It’s All Tears, Sleepwalking Past Hope, Killing Loneliness, Soul
on Fire, Your Sweet 666, Bleed Well, Right Here in Your Arms,
The Funeral of Hearts. 90 minutes.
You may not have heard or seen H.I.M., but you’ve more than
likely seen the band’s logo. The “heartagram,” an intelligent
marketing mix of a heart and a pentagram, is so popular that
they make a H.I.M. lunchbox and watch, and you’ve probably seen
it on a shirt at a nearby mall or rock shop near you.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like the band’s popularity as a
recording or live act is ever going to be as big a deal in this
country as its t-shirt sales. The band is big in Europe and a
curiosity here, and in the last two years the quintet has simply
held it’s position as an up and coming band in America, and not
really grown it’s audience (despite the fact that those who love
these guys really love them).
The group’s recent San Francisco gig (with less than full house)
seemed to be an indication of what might be perceived as burnout
for its local fan base, as it was H.I.M.’s fifth appearance here
in the last four years; or maybe the band’s core crowd is
growing up (aside from the mid-40ish writer seated fourth row
center in the balcony). Regardless, the crowd wasn’t anything
like the past sell-out crowds the band drew to the city, which
might have to do with the comments above, or it could just be a
Tuesday night isn’t what it used to be.
Too bad, because H.I.M. continues to grow as a live act, and
this set was on par with its best show presented in this area,
at Slim’s back in 2004. The group’s mix of melody, Goth hooks
and metal riffs has been compared to a “gothic Bon Jovi” or a
mix of the Cult and the Cure, and that sound plays across many
audiences and gives the band many options for songs. After
seeing the band for the fourth time, there is absolutely no
doubt that singer/front man Ville Valo and his band continue to
do this kind of music better than anyone else does.
If you have seen or read about the band, you know that there
would be no H.I.M. without Valo, and he plays up his rock star
weirdness like no other singer I’ve seen. He has more tattoos
than the guy on Prison Break. He smokes more than an overworked
chimney during an Edmonton winter. And he’s so thin, I’m
convinced his next Big Mac will be his first. His lifespan
expired about four weeks ago, but he’s still here, the band’s
spiritual leader, main songwriter and resident sex symbol (even
though he does nothing to play up that image onstage). Valo is
so engrained as the leader of this band that it took me years to
figure out who else was in the group-aside from some first names
on the band’s records, there is no individual mention of who
H.I.M. is, outside of Valo.
Onstage and on record, Valo starts most songs in a deep baritone
that often soars into a memorable melody, while the band builds
a guitar-heavy/keyboard-filled base around his lyrics, a pattern
that H.I.M. uses for most of its compositions. Some songs rock
hard (most of the stuff from its new and very heavy Venus Doom
record, “Soul on Fire,” “Buried Alive By Love”), some are
mid-tempo (“Your Sweet 666,” “Poison Girl”) and a few slither
along like a big, sleazy snake (“Sleepwalking Past Hope,” which
sounds like Black Sabbath and the Cure at a jam session).
After just a few listens, you’ll be pleased to find out that
H.I.M.’s songs have more hooks than a Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
highlight video, which is the main reason I got hooked on the
group in the first place. Songs such as “Right Here in Your
Arms, “Rip Out the Wings of a Butterfly” and “Killing
Loneliness” would have been huge hits back in the day when music
like this was popular on radio and video television outlets. And
although a melodic rock band for the most part, the band
displayed a penchant for riffs and metal on the past few
records, which probably comes from Valo’s love of Sabbath, and
plays that up with a brutally loud stage show.
The group doesn’t play up the Goth angle that much onstage,
despite the fact that most of the youngsters in attendance like
to. Despite being talented, original and one of the most
interesting bands currently performing live in this country (and
the world, for that matter), it seems that H.I.M. might be just
a little too different to make a long-lasting impact on rock
fans in this country. Too bad for those who don’t give them a
chance, since H.I.M. is one of my favorite bands of all-time
now, and I’m sure the group would be on a lot of your lists if
given the chance. |
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