HIM at The Wiltern – Live Review and Photos

HIM, The Wiltern, October 25, 2017

For over 20 years, Finnish rock band HIM has been blessing us with their music, and it has come time to say goodbye. Citing this latest tour as their farewell tour, it was a bittersweet experience at the Wiltern in Los Angeles. The crowd was a mix of old fans and new, those who had been following the band since the Greatest Lovesongs Vol. 666 days in the late 90s, those like me who discovered them during the angst ridden middle school years of the early 2000s with Love Metal, and the newer fans who fell in love with the latest albums in recent years.

Kicking the night into gear with a guitar riff that’s energizing, they opened with “Buried Alive By Love” off of their 2003 release Love Metal. The crowd responded immediately, erupting into cheers and by singing along. A couple of songs later, singer Ville Valo’s hauntingly beautiful voice filled the theater with “Your Sweet Six Six Six”, taking the crowd back to where it all started. Everything about this show was fantastic, from the lighting, to the actual performance to the other people in the crowd. There was an instant connection with the others in the crowd stemming from a mutual love of the band as well as from the sadness of knowing this would be the last time HIM would be coming through Los Angeles. Friends were made and bonds were forged over the music that carried a number of people in attendance through trials in their lives.

Playing a nearly 2 hour set, the night was essentially a greatest hits experience, which allowed the audience to participate and sing along through the entire night. Heartfelt singing from the people surrounding me combined with hearing some of my favorite songs live for the first time was an incredible experience and is one that I will remember for a long time to come. The performance truly felt like the greatest love song to us fortunate enough to attend.

Set List:
Buried Alive by Love
Heartache
Every Moment
Your Sweet Six Six Six
Kiss of Dawn
The Sacrament
Tears on Tape
Wings of a Butterfly
Gone with the Sin
Soul on Fire
Wicked Game
Killing Loneliness
Poison Girl
Bleed Well
Heart Killer
Join Me
It’s All Tears
In Joy and Sorrow
Right Here in My Arms
Funeral of Hearts

Encore:
Pretending
Rebel Yell
When Love and Death Embrace

HIM photo gallery by Katherine Seibert here!:
https://highwiredaze.com/photo-gallery?album=3&gallery=2113

(Review and Photos by Katherine Seibert)

HIM on FACEBOOK