[Jovian]

My reviews about the 5 HIM gigs I saw at the Semifinal club, more or less directly copied from the HIM Club board.

Five Nite Stand with HIM

26th April 2003

It was a great show last nite, on my Round #1... The guys seemed to be in a good mood, even Linde was smiling. Fatherhood definitely seems to suit him, LOL. Ville & Mige were cracking jokes at each other and challenging the guys in the audience who kept shouting "soittakaa Paranoid!" ("Play Paranoid!"), telling THEM to come out and play Paranoid, if they really want to hear it. LOL. And poor Ville kept forgetting the lyrics to the new songs... I didn't actually know that until I talked with him after the show -- I told Ville that LM was a fantastic album and that I'm sorry that I don't know the lyrics by heart yet...and he laughed and replied that it doesn't matter, even he himself doesn't know the lyrics yet. That's why he stopped singing a few times, cause he messed up the lyrics to the new songs. I know some ppl might think that's like unprofessional or something, but I thought it was just adorable.


27th April 2003

Update on Round #2 for me... The set list was still the same on Sunday nite, but the show wasn't the same at all. They didn't talk as much during the show as on Saturday, but I think the main reason for that was that they had to try and finish the gig early enough for the ppl to be able to make it to the last trains, which ran around 1:30 am. I for one was glad that they did that, otherwise I would've had to take a taxi back to my friend's place...and that would've cost me a pretty penny. Anyway, it was a fun show again, Ville was commenting on how the crowd seemed a bit tired and asking if everyone had gone to church in the morning, LOL... He laughed while saying that though, so he was just joking. He was also saying how his stage talk wasn't going anywhere, that he was basically full of cr*p. LOL. Mige went on to say that you have to be full of cr*p sometimes so that when you're having a good stage talk day, the stuff you say sounds even better. Such crystal clear logic, I love it! LOL. We were on the front row again and at that point I told Mige that it doesn't matter what they say, we're having fun anyway... So Mige gave me a faked angry look and told me that they were not there to have fun...LOL... It was absolutely hysterical, I was laughing my arse off and asking him if he wanted us to cry instead then. He just laughed, and then they went on with the show.

In hindsight, I should've told him that I don't know about them, but being at the show was definitely my idea of having fun... I mean, you got good music, good vibes, and, eh, better than average eye candy right there in front of you... What more could a girl want?

Anyhow, off to Round #3 for me tonite...


28th April 2003 and 29th April 2003

Hey again ppl... A quick note on Rounds Number 3 & 4. Monday's show was excellent again, they changed the set list a bit and added Fortress of Tears and The Path...I think, LOL... Can't remember exactly right now. The guys played a tight set and were having fun on stage, but didn't really talk all that much with the crowd...they were mostly having fun amongst themselves. But that was a lot of fun to watch as well. At some point I asked them if they were tired or something cause they weren't talking to us. Ville smiled and looked at me and said something like "ei me olla väsyneitä, mut kun meille on vittuiltu siitä et me heitetään huonoo läppää, ni ei me sit puhuta mitää. Et mä en niinku leiki teijän kanssa enää." (LOL) In English that would be something like "no we're not tired...but cause some ppl have bitched at us and said that we're talking crap up here, we're not talking at all. I'm not gonna play with you guys anymore." LOL. He was smiling when he said that so I'm pretty sure he was kidding. Then, I think it was towards the end of the show, Mige was flipping a coin to see if they're gonna play one more song... And of course they did.

Then off to Tuesday, the signing session and Round #4. We got to the Free Record Shop bright and early and got nice HIM cards with Heartagram badges and a queueing number. I was #7. Then we were just hanging around in the city and around 3 pm we went back to the store... There was a HUGE line of ppl there already, and we felt pretty special when we were able to march past all of them and take our spots towards the front of the queue. The guys were fashionably late -- like all proper rock stars should be, LOL -- and arrived maybe around 4:30 pm or so. There was no mass hysteria even tho the place was filled with enthusiastic teenagers (plus a few of us oldies but goodies, LOL), everything went smoothly and we all got our autographs. And burned TONS of film too... I really hope that at least some of my pics turn out well.

Then in the evening it was time for show #4... And like the previous shows, that one was a lot of fun as well. Altho if I had to choose, I'd say that the Tuesday nite show was perhaps the "least good" one of all the shows, mainly because Ville was having problems with his in-ear monitor and the sound levels. Even though he's a professional, it still kinda shows when he's not happy with some technical aspect. Apart from Ville's tech problems, the show was very good again. The guys played well and even though they weren't talking to the crowd that much, they were still talking amongst themselves and having fun. And Mige was flipping the coin again, this time they had to decide what kind of a version of Please Don't Let It Go they were gonna play. He was flipping the coin a couple of times cause he wasn't happy with the result (LOL), and then Ville did it too and vetoed the decision, and I think in the end they went with the "wussy version". I don't know about you guys, but I just adore all that funny stage banter, the stuff the guys are talking amongst themselves.

Oh yeah, there was another funny thing happening on both Monday's and Tuesday's shows. Before they started Funeral Of Hearts, Ville was saying something about "tunnelmavalaistus" or gentle and moody lighting, something to fit the mood of the song... And the lighting guy switched on the blue colour & laser lights. On Monday nite Ville then said something like "ja aina se sama sininen" ("and we'll always get the same blue"). Then the lighting guy swithed on like all the brightest white spots, basically blinding our beloved singer completely...LOL... But Ville was just laffin' his arse off at the lighting guy and basically told him to f*ck off. On Tuesday then, before FOH Ville said something like "ja saataisko me taas se sininen" ("could we get that blue again please"). The lighting guy switched on the blue lights but briefly kinda flipped on the bright white spots again, and Ville was laffin' his arse off...and then then he pointed at his *a-hem*, as if to say "suck my you-know-what". It was totally hysterical.

Now I gotta run guys... See ya on Thursday, I'll post a review of the final show then.


30th April 2003

Back home again, after just about the most amazing five days of my life... The shows were awesome, the signing session was great...and now the withdrawal symptoms are starting to kick in. I'm an addict, I want more...I need my fix, another shot of this heavenly HIMphetamine I was able to enjoy, for five wonderful nites in a row. If I had the money, I'd fly over to London for the Saturday's Astoria gig...but the Five Nite Stand with HIM left me so broke that I wonder how I'm ever gonna be able to pay all my bills this month.

Anywayz, on to the final review, a few words on my Round #5, the final show of the No Sleep 'Til Vappu week. Again, our entire little gang made it to the front row. Because it was Vappu and the public transport in Helsinki was running all thru the nite, the show didn't start until closer to midnite... And what a great show it was! The set list was the same as on the previous two nites but the show was of course different. The band was in a VERY cheerful mood, they were smiling and joking all the time. I don't think I've ever seen Ville smiling and laughing that much during a show, it was definitely a joy to watch him on stage last nite.

There was a lot of silly stuff happening at the Vappu show. At one point, Ville was mocking this stupid drunken guy in the audience who kept shouting stuff like "homo-Ville soittaa" ("gay-Ville is playing")...he really chewed the drunken guy up by saying something about how he (Ville) gets a real kick out of blowing a guy, LOL... He's got a wicked sense of humour, our beloved Viltsu that is.

Anyhow, back to the funny stuff. All through the show there were ppl shouting different song titles, trying to get their requests through... And one of those ppl kept shouting "soittakaa I Love You" ("play I Love You"). Ville was saying that he can't remember the song and asked Mige how it goes... So Mige played a few chords and said something like "ei me tätä soiteta, siinä oli ihan tarpeeks" ("nahh we're not playing this one, that was enough"). Then, before Sacrament, Ville was asking the lighting guy for some "mood lighting" to go with the song...and as usual, the lighting guy switched on the brightest white spotlights they had. Ville burst out laughing and was saying something to the lighting guy about some deal they had made backstage before the show....and the lighting guy switched on the side stage spots. LOL. More laughter followed, more jokes were made...and the lighting guy switched all the lights off for a bit, and then switched the white spotlights on again. It was so funny, Ville basically had to beg for the lighting guy to switch on the blue mood spotlights... And when he finally did that, Ville was still laughing and saying to the guys something like "vitun vaikee rauhottuu" ("f*ckin' hard to cool down"). It was so sweet.

The next funny bits came with Wicked Game... It had become painfully (LOL) obvious that the guys had hired this guy, DJ Järvinen, to play some records before and after the shows. During Wicked Game, Ville made the DJ to sing Mige's backing vocals ("this world is so cruel, it's gonna break your heart" or whatever it is that Mige sings on the album). And I'm having a complete blackout at the moment, but was it also during Wicked Game when Ville made the DJ to sing the last bit, "nobody loves no one"? I know he made him sing the last bit in SOME song, but for the life of me I can't remember right now if it was Wicked Game. Anyway, after the last "nobody loves no one" bit, Mige, Gas, Linde & Burton were doing this 'grande finale' for the song... But then Ville cut it short, telling Gas that that was probably the lamest ending ever -- when you're the drummer, you DON'T cut your drum part short cause you want to have a drink. LOL. So Ville made the guys to play another 'grande finale'... But even that one didn't start well in Ville's opinion, so he cut it short again and made the guys to start the 'grande finale' over one more time. It was really really funny, the guys were all laughing and Ville was saying most of his comments to the mic so that everyone could hear him.

Then, when it was time for Please Don't Let It Go, Mige was flipping the coin again...and this time Miss Fortuna was on his side and the coin said that they were gonna play the "räimeversio", the heavy version of the song. Ville didn't veto the coin this time but instead he was asking the guys "miten tää menee, mä en muista yhtään..." LOL ("How does this version go, I can't remember...") They kicked off the song, but not soon after Ville had started singing, he cut off the song and was asking Gas why he kept f*ckin' up the beat...LOL... Poor Gas, he was taking a lot of heat last nite. But it was all in fun, for once. Anyway, they started the song again, and played it even a bit faster than on the first try.

Now when I think about it, I'm not 100% sure if that "vitun vaikee rauhottuu" ("f*ckin' hard to cool down") comment was made before The Sacrament or before FOH... Looking at the set list, it could have been before either song, so if anyone remembers it exactly, feel free to correct my possible mistakes. In any case, FOH was just perfect again, I really love the blue and the red lighting they had on during the song. And I also love the part where Ville makes the crowd sing the chorus. Right Here In My Arms was the last song on the written set list, and it 'swinged like a moose' again...or 'rocked like a b*stard', as I think the saying goes in English. LOL. After the song Ville was thanking the guys for the seven show stretch, and he also thanked the Semifinal staff & the crowd... Some ppl in the audience demanded him to give a "vappupuhe" ("vappu speech") but he said he didn't know what a "vappupuhe" should be about. So he just thanked the crowd and everyone again, and wished everyone "hauskaa vappua" ("merry may day" basically) and a few other things I can't remember... And then they played The Path as the final song of the show and of the entire seven show stretch. I nearly had tears in my eyes during the song, both because of the song itself and because I realised that it's gonna be a while before I'll see the guys on stage again...and that I may never see them again in such a small and intimate setting. Unless, of course, they will make the No Sleep 'Til Vappu stretch a tradition...which I really hope they would. Even 3 nites or 5 nites in a row would be simply awesome, if they didn't want to do the full 7-show stretch again.

Anyhow, that was my review on the last Semifinal show. Sorry if it's a bit long, I guess I got a bit carried away. I too had SO MUCH FUN during this five-day HIM experience... It was great to spend time with some good friends, and the shows themselves were just perfect. And the signing session was fantastic too.

Thank you guys for this amazing Five Nite Stand. If I had the money, I'd fly over to London right away to catch yet another dose of this oh so addicting HIMphetamine... But I can't do it, so I will have to wait until Ruisrock and Ankkarock. And the upcoming club tour in Finland, provided it'll take place as planned.

And to end these Semifinal Reviews, here are the two set lists they were playing... If someone remembers any additional songs, please share your info with the rest of us.

Set list 1 & 2 as they appeared on stage:

1. Buried
2. Heartache
3. 666
4. Poison
5. Pandemonium
6. Please don't
7. Redemption
8. Join Me
9. It's All Tears
10. Pretending
11. Soul On Fire
12. Wicked Game
13. Lose You Tonite
14. Sacrament
15. Right Here
16. Funeral

1 BABL
2 Heartache
3 666
4 Poison
-----------
5 Pande
6 Lose You
7 Redemption
8 Join Me
-----------
9 Soul
10 Pret
11 Sacrmnt
12 Wicked
-----------
13 Fortress
14 Please
15 Funeral
16 Right Here

They also played The Path with the second set list, but it wasn't actually written on the list.

[choclady]

Wow

Thank you, Jovian
A great review!!!

i'm jealous

I wish they would tour Germany this year

[Miss Understood]

Wow, im´just... wow
I wish i was there!!!
You´re such a lucky girl
your review is great, thanks