Download Festival 2005: HIM - 11th June 2005
Setlist: Right Here In My Arms / Buried Alive By Love / Join Me In Death / Your Sweet 666 / Wicked Game / Soul On Fire / Poison Girl / It's All Tears (Drown In This Love) / Vampire Heart / The Funeral Of Hearts / Solitary Man / The Sacrament
It’s probably not very cool for a man in his forties to be watching a band like HIM, but I have always tweaked the nose of convention and, whilst I had no intention of going anywhere near the knicker-wetting girlies at the front (they’re far too violent and scary for me) I was prepared to let the camera zoom do all the work and just hang back and see if they were any good.
A large portion of the crowd did not seem to want to be there watching HIM. They, jeered, chucked bottles, chanted ‘Ozzy’ relentlessly, and generally showed their disapproval. Why, I wondered, did they stay? If I don’t want to watch a band, there is plenty of choice; I go somewhere else, rather than indulge in the futile exercise of being unimpressed by that act. People are strange, just like the song says. Don’t you think?
It’s probably not very cool for a man in his forties to be watching a band like HIM, but I have always tweaked the nose of convention and, whilst I had no intention of going anywhere near the knicker-wetting girlies at the front (they’re far too violent and scary for me) I was prepared to let the camera zoom do all the work and just hang back and see if they were any good.
A large portion of the crowd did not seem to want to be there watching HIM. They, jeered, chucked bottles, chanted ‘Ozzy’ relentlessly, and generally showed their disapproval. Why, I wondered, did they stay? If I don’t want to watch a band, there is plenty of choice; I go somewhere else, rather than indulge in the futile exercise of being unimpressed by that act. People are strange, just like the song says. Don’t you think?
The only HIM song I can actually identify outright is Buried Alive By Love, and this is just a good song, end of. The rest is all much of a muchness, for my money. Maybe it’s my age, but as with many of these younger bands, I find that a lot of their material is good and played well live; it just all sounds the same to my ears. Nevertheless, HIM played a set that was eminently listenable, in spite of the poor bottom-end sound from the PA that did nothing to serve Vallo, who tends to sing much of the material low down. They did nothing to offend me though, far from it and, whilst the only track I truly like is the aforementioned, I can’t slag them off because they did nothing to deserve it.
I don’t know what is going on with their singer Ville Vallo though. On the posters adorning my daughter’s bedroom wall he looks Byronically sexy, interestingly pale and vampirically gaunt. I can see how that look would be appealing to young girls seeking something a little dangerous, and older ladies wanting to mother the young, handsome, tortured soul. At Download, however, he looked like crap. He had some kind of pasty, puffed-up, Damien-Devil-Boy look going on, which just made him appear ill. It is the kind of, steroid-popping, bloated-alcoholic appearance that does no-one any favours, least of all this little Finn.
I don’t know what is going on with their singer Ville Vallo though. On the posters adorning my daughter’s bedroom wall he looks Byronically sexy, interestingly pale and vampirically gaunt. I can see how that look would be appealing to young girls seeking something a little dangerous, and older ladies wanting to mother the young, handsome, tortured soul. At Download, however, he looked like crap. He had some kind of pasty, puffed-up, Damien-Devil-Boy look going on, which just made him appear ill. It is the kind of, steroid-popping, bloated-alcoholic appearance that does no-one any favours, least of all this little Finn.
I sincerely hope that Mr Vallo gets his act together before he goes the way of so many others before him, and finds himself face down in a pool of his own vomit; at this point, he is not even going to leave behind a good-looking corpse. If he suddenly announces that he is popping a Morrison and moving to Paris, his relatives should be seriously concerned, and ensure that he takes only showers.
Due on stage next was one of the acts I felt unsure about: Velvet Revolver.
Mark L. Potts
The God of Thunder
14th June 2005
Due on stage next was one of the acts I felt unsure about: Velvet Revolver.
Mark L. Potts
The God of Thunder
14th June 2005
