| HIM - Let there Be Goth! ( by Princess Of Darkness) August the 1st 2002, Pepsi Sziget Festival, Budapest, Hungary A year after seeing HIM live for the first time, I was again on the Pepsi Sziget Festval.After "Deep Shadows and Brilliant Highlights" album,which was so commercial and almost without even a sparkle of that macabre gothic magic,saved in "Love You Like I Do" song,I didn't know what to expect!After 40 minutes of waiting in the crowd(I was so nervous while I was waiting and trying to save my good place next to the fence!),finally the show begun!The guys appeared on the stage with the speech from Iron Maiden's "The Number of the Beast" as a prologue.That was really unexpectable for me!And I really went mad when I heard the first tones of "Stigmata Diaboli" !Amazing!Powerful!My friends and I were sooooooooooooooo diabolically anxious so we sang wildly and jumped as mad ones! Well,let's make the situation clear at the very beginning!I know that some girlies will hate me for this,but I don't care.I hate them too...no no no...better to say,I feel sorry for them because they still don't know who they really are!It was so simple to recognize in the big big crowd who was the real HIM fan and who was not!Those who were true fans knew those old HIM songs by heart and couldn't hide the happiness of hearing them live after so long time!Those who were not true fans just stared as little lost sheep who found themselves deep in the pits of hell after they grazed on their fields of rozy flowers!They just stood and were silent!wow...what fans they were!One of them somehow came from the backstage and hugged Ville while he was singing,but the security guy took her away very fast.A couple of them tried the same thing later,but without success. Now,I am going to tell you that Ville didn't look so great on the stage.Believe it or not!He had no make upon his face,he had his hair cut and it was kinda messy.He was dressed in black and had some tiny gray scarf around his neck.Later on,he took off his shirt and was in black T-shirt with Iggy Pop on it.He really reminded me of Edward the Scissorhands !The other guyslooked as usual...I think that Mige looked better than before because he lost some weight and had longer air...But let's come to the point! Ville was so nice and in the good mood during the whole concert!He announced other members of the bandin really good way:when he announced Linde,Lindeplayed solo and the main light was on him;when he announced Gas,you could just hear Gas beating the drums as mad...that was fascinating! The second song was "Heartache Every Moment".I must admit that for a moment I was afraid that the band would continue ina sleezy way...but I was ressured very soon,because the third song was "Your Sweet 666".Before playing it,Ville said that he had heard many times that the band "degenerated"-I am using here the expression he used himself,so that they decided to play old songs and wake up the remembrance of the old time!The 4th song was "In Joy and Sorrow" but played harder than it is on the album and "Right Here in My Arms" followed.I have to add that Ville complained all the time about that HIM became something else he didn't want it to be,so that he wanted to pit HIM back where HIM belonged by playing old rocky songs!All band members gave their best and made it come true. Then,came other songs,all played wildly,with hard riffs and solos:"Wicked Game","Please Don't Let It Go","It's All Tears"-it was sooooooooooooooo good!But do you know what fascinated me the most?HIM played "When Love and Death Embrace" and "For You"!Before playing "When Love and Death Embrace",Ville said that it's a melancholic song...as if it's been taken from "Twin Peaks"because it has that atmosphere.And "For You" was for me the song of that evening.I think that Ville sang that one the best! That all made me forgive them about thatlast,commercial album and I was glad to see that there's still that flame of wilderness burning in those guys,especially in Ville!But I have to admit that his voice was somehow different...as if it's not that good anymore.He changed parts of the songs he sang by screaming or singing them in some different intonation.It looked like he couldn't bare it...Maybethat was the result of beer he drank during the show and cigarettes he smoked one by one!We will see in the future what his voice will be like! I liked a lot the fact that the band performed songs in a new way.They changed the beginnings a bit,made solos longer and sometimes they just continued the other song,flying into it from the previous one.They also played:"Pretending","Bury Me Deep Inside Your Heart" and "Poison Girl".The audience sang along,jumped and showed horns with their fingers!Ville even smiled...I could see it on the video beam.So,he must have been satisfied. When he announced that they were going to play a song that was somehow a tribute to Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet",everybody could guss that they would play "Join Me"-and they did it very successfully!After that Ville had a little speech...He made a little philosophy of it...Remember that he studied philosophy!he said that they wouldn't be the kind of a bend that would play the best song and then go away from the stage,leaving the crowd clapping their hands and shouting.Some girls started to shout when he said that the next song was to be the last one for that evening,but he stopped them by saying:"You should be concentrated on this one."And then he said that they would play a cover of their favourite band-Black Sabbath.I was shocked!I think that all the fans were!What a surprise!And the reaction of the crowd was tempestuous!They played it wildly and prowed that they really are the band that carried of His Infernal Majesty once!Wilderness from Finland spinned around!After that song the guys went off the stage.Ville carried Mige on his back.It was funny! That was the night when metal could simply be felt in the air!All was set on fire and burned in "heavenly flames".The ones who came to throw their underwair went from the gig disappointed,I suppose,because no pants or bras were thrown on Ville during the whole gig.And me...I was happy and more than satisfied!! I think that all true fans were.The band was truly great.Ville thanked the audience severaltimes,once by saying :"Thank you darlings!"He was very talkative...What a surprise!The concert lasted about 90 minutes...so that was an hour and a half of high quality music!Much much better than the last year!they chose the right songs this time!It touched my heart and I went away with a belief that there is still the magic! The Princess of Darkness |