Well, of all the years I have been going to HIM shows, this year tops the cake. Three concerts, a video shoot and an in-store signing all in 4 days! It took a lot of stamina, but we made it! And we came back with AWESOME memories, pictures, stories, tattoos & more. Here's how it went down
Wednesday November 14, 2007
This is when it all began. Some of us were not lucky enough to get the day off of work, so if you did have to work you know that it was torture. I mean this is something I had waited for over 80 days for. Anyways the Orpheum Theater is a venue I had never been to before, but I did see pictures and it looked BEAUTIFUL! Needless to say I was stoked. I had Mezzanine tickets that night so I really didn't show up too early to wait in line. After catching up with friends, and finding our seats then fun was about to start. Bleeding Through went on, and for never hearing their music before I have to say that I was impressed. They had great energy, and they really got the fans pumped. After a short intermission & stage change, HIM took the stage! The crowd went WILD. All 5 of the guys came out one by one. Ville of course was the last. They started to play and the whole theater was filled with so much positive energy it made the night even more special. All the band members were in very good spirits and it defiantly came out in the music. Surprisingly the band played for a whole hour and 45 minutes. The band, playing many of their new songs such as Bleed Well, Kiss of Dawn & Sleepwalking Past Hope. But as always, they threw in some of the real crowd pleasers like Wicked Game & All in Tears. On a scale from 1-10 this show was defiantly a 10!
Thursday November 15, 2007 Day two to commence. Today was the day that a few friends of mine, myself as well as about 30 other fans were lucky enough to take part in the filming of the new Bleed Well Video. If you have ever been to a video shoot before you know it is a very slow process and with a lot of waiting around. After standing and sitting for about two hours, the band finally came out and filming got under way. The video shoot took place at the Orpheum Theater, the place where they played the night before and where they were to play that night. Again the band was in great spirits and made everyone who was there feel right at home. Another thing that was great was we were aloud to take pictures and that was AWESOME! After filming wrapped there was not a lot of time before the show was going to start. My friends and I went to grab something to eat then it was time to go stand in line. We had pit tix that night! Happily, there were not many people in line for the pit at all. After being on our feet all day we were ready for the show to start. We headed down to get some refreshments and have a seat. Bleeding Through had already started their set, and we were just about to head down to the pit. It was no fuss at all. I would say there were maybe 100 people in the pit at the most. HIM was just about to go on and we were all STOKED. I had been this close at many shows before but it was a nice change to not be cramped and have people stepping on your toes. The band playing a little bit of a different set from the night before but just as wonderful. I do have to say that the whole band, especially Ville were all in a FABULOUS mood! It made for the BEST HIM show I have EVER seen. The vibe was so intense. It kind of seemed as if there was a 6th member of HIM that night that made everything AWESOME!
Friday November 16th & Saturday November 17th, 2007
Well Friday was a little bit more low key since there were no concerts that night, but there was an In-store signing at Hot Topic in the Hollywood & Highland shopping center. People started to line up very early and there were plenty of them. The line literally wrapped around the whole mall. After about 2 hours we finally got to meet all 5 members and get there signatures. It was such an amazing experience to get to tell them how awesome they are. One of my BEST moments ever! After that it was time to go home and sleep, because I was off to Vegas in the morning! When I woke up, all though being SUPER tired, I was ready to hit the road. So I picked up my friend Natoshia, and we were on our way. Throughout this whole experience I decided I wanted to get a tattoo in Vegas so that was our first stop. By the time that was done, it was time to get ready for the last show. While waiting for the venue to open, we of course did some gambling, then it was time to head in. The pit at this show was defiantly quite a bit bigger but great none the less. The show of course was perfection and we had a blast. As the band left the stage, we felt a bit of sadness knowing that it was really over for us. Well at least for this year. These four days were unforgettable and I am so glad that I got to share it with all my special friends and family. You guys ROCK and you know who you are! Can't wait for the boys to come back. :
Khrista Sept 13th 2007 Khristas myspace
Venus Doom Has Arrived!
Yesterday was a GREAT day for me. Being the HUGE HIM fan that I am, I was lucky enough to get my copy of Venus Doom a little early. I sat down in my living room and listened to the whole CD without any interruptions. I have to say, in my opinion; this is by far the BEST album that they have put out! There are so many different elements to this LP; I have no idea where to start. All of the songs defiantly have a deeper, darker, heavier sound to them. Of course there are unforgettable, beautiful lyrics written by Ville Valo himself. With Tim Palmer producing the album there was never any doubt that it would be great, but I don't think anyone could have expected it to be this AMAZING.
The past couple of months we have gotten to preview a couple of songs like Passions Killing Floor and Kiss of Dawn. Some of us were even lucky enough to hear them live on the Projekt Revolution Tour. With the CD dropping on September 18, 2007, I am sure that devoted HIM fans will be rushing to the nearest store to pick up their copy. If you don't, you are CRAZY! I have a very good feeling that this album is not only going to top the Billboard Charts, but also fly by Dark Light in overall sales. The boys went gold in the U.S. 2 years ago. 2007 looks to be a platinum year for this always hard working band.
Many of the songs have very deep and true meaning behind them. Kiss of Dawn being inspired by the death of a close friend. "One of my mates from here in L.A. committed suicide two and a half years ago, and that's a tribute to him, " Valo says of the song. " It's about how it is on the other side and how we react to it on this side. Just a young guy who had the world, everything is possible, but deep depression and too many drugs cause you to do stupid things. So the subject matter is not light on the album. But it's good to get this out. It's cathartic." I will be listening to this CD over and over again for some time. It will also prepare me for the CONFIRMED Venus Doom Tour.
Don't forget to get out there September 18, 2007 and pick up your copy Venus Doom. Support the boys and get your CD the right way. And if you want to see an AWESOME ROCK SHOW, stop by Ticketmaster and pick up a ticket for a Venus Doom show near you. Here is a list of dates for ya! See ya there!
~Khrista~
October 2007
18 - Sayreville, NJ - Starland Ballroom
19 - Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
20 - Baltimore, MD - Sonar
21 - Worcester, MA - Palladium
23 - Detroit, MI - Royal Oak Theatre
24 - Toronto, Ontario - The Docks
25 - Chicago, IL - Congress Theatre
26 - St. Louis, MO - The Pageant
27 - Maplewood, MN - Myth
30 - Omaha, NE - Sokol Auditorium
31 - Kansas City, MO - Uptown Theatre
November 2007
2 - Denver, CO - Ogden Theatre
3 - Salt Lake City, UT - In the Venue
6 - Calgary, Alberta - MacEwan Hall
7 - Edmonton, Alberta - Edmonton Event Centre
9 - Vancouver, British Columbia - Croatian Cultural Centre
10 - Seattle, WA - Showbox SoDo
11 - Portland, OR - McMenamins Crystal Ballroom
13 - San Francisco, CA - The Warfield
14 - Los Angeles, CA - Orpheum Theatre
17 - Las Vegas, NV - The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel
20 - Dallas, TX - The Palladium Ballroom
21 - Houston, TX - Warehouse Live
23 - Ft. Lauderdale, FL - Revolution
24 - Orlando, FL - Hard Rock Live
25 - Atlanta, GA - The Tabernacle
28 - Myrtle Beach, SC - House of Blues
29 - Norfolk, VA - The NorVa
30 - Philadelphia, PA - The Electric Factory
December 2007
1 - New York, NY - Nokia Theatre Times Square
Khrista Aug 17th 2007 Khristas myspace
Projekt Revolution 7/28/2007 & 7/31/2007
Wow! That is the first word that comes to mind when I think of these two days. These two shows were awesome & AMAZING! I have been to many HIM shows in my time of being a fan and I have to say that this is one that will defiantly rank in one of the top positions! Having a great time with old friends and getting to meet some really cool new ones I would have to say that this was a once in a lifetime experience, and I was so glad to be a part of it.
7/28/2007 San Bernardino California Hyundai Pavilion
The sun was shining and boy was it HOT! With temps getting into the 100’s you defiantly needed to find a way to cool off whether it was just being in the shade or sippin on some cool drinks. My friends and I got to the Venue a little after 1:00pm. After getting inside the main objective was to find out the line up on the main stage. Julien-K was to play first, followed by Placebo, then HIM, Taking Back Sunday, My Chemical Romance and of course Linkin Park. Pavilion security did not end up letting us into the main stage area until around 4:00pm. After getting to or seats and attempting to get comfortable in the heat the bands started to play. Julien-K did a great job and the music (being new to me) was different but very cool. Also being my first time seeing Placebo, I thought they played exceptionally well also. Then HIM took the stage. All the HIM fans went CRAZY including me. They played a few old songs as well as a couple new ones including Dead Lovers Lane and Kiss of Dawn. The whole set was AWESOME!!!! The band sounded and looked FABULUOS. After they played most of my friends and family were getting ready to leave for they really only came to the show to see HIM. One of my very good friends was lucky enough to get backstage and have a little chat with the guys and get a little video. Needing a much needed bathroom break and a cool drink my friend and I left the main stage area for a while. When we returned to our seats it was now time for My Chemical Romance to go on (having missed Taking Back Sunday due to our break). They did such a GREAT job. They really put on a great live show. Then it was on to Linkin Park. Having been in the sun all day I only stayed for about 3 songs, I have to say they sounded pretty good. I also wanted to get a head start beating the traffic. So I have to say the whole day and all of the bands were well worth the money, the wait and even the heat!
7/31/2007 Chula Vista California Coors Amphitheater
Thank God for Chula Vista! With it being at least 25 degrees cooler this day had a very different vibe. This were also a little different because at this show I had pit tickets. So you know what that means. Line Up. From the moment we got there people were starting to line up at the gates to the main stage to get as close as they could. Me being one of those people I waited for somewhere around 3 hours with my friend. We finally got down into the pit and right away the bands began their sets. The line up had not changed, and I knew what to expect. Although there were differences in everyone’s performance they were relatively the same and AWESOME! Being in the pit is a totally different experience. Some people in the pit were awesome and were there to have a great time while others just wanted to cause trouble. O well it’s to be expected right? HIM put on another great show as well as MCR and all of the other bands.
Theses two concerts were a great experience and if you are lucky enough to have a ticket to one of the remaining dates, you are going to have a blast! And if you don’t have tickets don’t worry. I can not confirm this yet but I am almost positive the WILL be a Venus Doom tour!
~Khrista~
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