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OK, let’s get Soil out of the way first. I want to say they sucked, *but* the real problem was that they were hardcore metal and I just don’t get hardcore metal. I think, for what they do they do it "well". I just can’t stand what they do. It sounded like one long forty minute scream to me, punctuated by promising little (and I mean little) bits of ummm, melody.

The Philly crowd was having none of it and just *stood* there. I have never seen a crowd so still as I did on Thursday night, to the point where I felt really bad for the band. The crowd for Soil in DC was far more enthusiastic and there were at least two mosh pits going at several points. They were the metal crowd that Philly was not. Which was good for Soil, but I’m not sure how great it turned out to be for HIM.

Anyway, I’ll give Soil credit, they were unflaggingly polite on both nights, giving thanks to HIM ("the nicest bunch of guys you’d every want to be on tour with") and kudos to the crowd for giving them the time of day. (I’m always amazed by the unexpected politeness of heavy metallers - but that’s another story:) Their musical hearts were in the right place even if their music was not, and never will be, my cup of tea.

Us
We got to the Philly show late so we were waaaaay back in the very long line to get in. Once we got past the frisking and the metal detectors though we headed upstairs (this was the first time either of us had been to this venue so we didn’t know the lay of the land) and found (wait for it)seats!!! With a great view by the railing and right behind the VIP section again. So we were set and happy. It seemed to be predominantly parents around us. A woman sat down next to me eventually and said "So are you excited to be here" and was shocked when I proceeded to tell her, in great detail, exactly how excited I was. She was just doing chauffeur duty and was *not* excited at all.

Bam never showed up for this show, though his brother was there as was Seppo. After the show I gave Seppo a copy of an article about the band that appeared in the Finnish American paper I picked up last week. He was talking to Bam’s brother and I didn’t want to bother him, but he kept trying to read the article (got his glasses out:) and kept smiling in my direction in acknowledgment. I *should* have hung around and followed up. I didn’t. I’m still kicking myself.

(Jay's Note: Should have plugged your buddy's site, too...haha)

HIM - Philly
After what seemed like a *very* long time between sets (longer than the normal time certainly) HIM hit the stage. They seemed so much happier and more relaxed than they did the first two times I saw them here. Mige was barefoot:) Ville was talkative almost to the point of babbling, but it was lovely babble. At one point Ville consulted the set list and then commented that he hadn’t made it up because he had been in a car accident earlier that day. Said everyone was OK and that the other driver’s car was totaled. After the song he reminded us all to "buckle up".

He also started talking about his dog back home (well his parents’ dog) a Great Dane who’s twelve years old named Fido (don’t know whether he was kidding on that one:) and who has cancer so Ville’s expecting him to die soon. After the song he apologized for sounding morbid but just pointed out that we’ve all experienced loss, but that we were all there together, which was a good thing. (Feeling the sting of mortality after the car accident?) He also commented that "Death is in Love With Us" was "sort of the Halloween version of "We Are the World"". At another point there was something wrong with one of Linde’s wires and a roadie came out to fix it. Ville commented that they were such big rocks stars that they wouldn’t even pick up their own wires:)

OK - The music itself. Ville’s voice sounded great - what I could hear of it. The sound was better than the TLA but I still think they could have done a better job. Any time he sang softly his voice was just drowned out. Mige was loose and hopping around happily and the general happiness came through in the music. A strong, confident set. At the end Gas took the last bow and tossed some of his drumsticks into the crowd. I *loved* that he took center stage for a few moments and I think he loved it too:)

Us in DC - this was a bit of an unusual concert for me because my daughter and a friend of hers came with us (both 13 - the friend’s first concert, whereas my daughter is a bit more experienced with these things with me as a mother and all). So I had to be something of a Mom. We also know someone who works the bar at the 9:30 Club so free drinks all night:) Because the club is home turf we knew the layout well and went directly upstairs and off a bit to the right. I planned to be further down on the right and thus closer to the stage, but once again we got there later than I planned, but we still had a prime view and we were close to the bar where my friend was working, so it was all good. We were also, once again right near the VIP section, but no VIP’s ever materialized. Bam was once again not in attendance and Seppo was no where to be seen. There were a few people in there, but I didn’t get the impression they had anything to do with the band.

HIM - DC
It started out looking to be an amazing show. Once again Mige was barefoot and bouncy and Ville was talkative - especially to some people on the right of the stage. Someone asked him to take his shirt off. He feigned confusion. How to take his shirt off but leave the jacket on? Later, when he was asked again he said a) that the ac was up too high and b) that if he was going to take clothes off he wanted money and asked how much she (I’m presuming it was a girl who asked) would pay. The dollar she offered wasn’t enough.

A while later the same(?) People asked for water and Ville started handing out bottles of it to a few people in the front row. Again, his interaction with the crowd was just lovely to see. And then some jerk ruined it by tossing a bottle of water up on stage at the beginning of "Resurrection". The bottle hit Ville in the head near his eye, and got him all wet as well. He handled it well though. Stopped the song, grabbed a towel, talked as he was drying off ("Thanks, I didn’t have a shower"), pointed out that if they were going to throw things they should aim for his torso and not for the eyes ("I have really weak eyes and I won’t be able to read the teleprompter like Gun’s N’ Roses" and he also said something about not wanting to loose his "stunning green eyes that btw I inherited from my mother") and then started the song again ("because of some asshole we’re going to skip a few lines and go straight to the second chorus").

Unfortunately people kept throwing stuff on stage (a note - I think, it was black and Ville picked it up to examine it and said "That’s cute" - but I couldn’t gauge the tone, whether sincere or sarcastic; cigarette packs one of which he picked up later and started smoking; a top hat which Burton picked up and wore for one song before tossing it back into the crowd) and before "Death is in Love With Us" Ville seemed fed up and told people to stop, which they did, but it left a bad taste. I was particularly ticked off because I think they might have planned an encore -finally (from where I was standing I could see the set list on the soundboard below and it looked longer than usual). Don’t blame them for not coming back if they were though.

The sound was worse here than it was the night before and it was often hard to hear Ville’s voice unless he was singing full out. All the low and soft stuff got lost. I think they were less into it for the last part of the show too (again, can’t blame them given the crowd).

Ville did change the lyrics of (Razorblade Kiss) a bit - "the taste from your hips, the taste from your tits" with an appropriate had gesture for both:) so he still seemed playful, at that point, but Mige threw his guitar down on the last note of the last song and walked off immediately. Burton was last off and took an extended bow. Again, nice to see the other band members stepping into the spotlight from time to time. God knows they all deserve it.

So, a real mixed bag both shows, and I’m left feeling elated and bereft, happy and regretful at the same time. And I can’t wait to do it all over again the next time they come back!

Set lists (in order and complete - I took notes this time:)

Philly
Buried Alive By Love
Wicked Game
Right Here in My Arms / TV Eye
It’s All Tears
Your Sweet 666
Join Me
Beyond Redemption
Resurrection
Bury Me Deep
Death is in Love With Us
The Sacrament
Razorblade Kiss
Poison Girl
Soul on Fire

DC
Buried Alive By Love
Wicked Game
Right Here in My Arms
Poison Girl
It’s All Tears
Your Sweet 666
Join Me
Solitary Man
Resurrection
Bury Me Deep
Heartache Every Moment
Death is in Love With Us
Razorblade Kiss
Soul on Fire