Alright guys, first of all sorry for long post!
if you dont wanna waste time reading my bitching, skip this article LOL
Prague - i got to the Prague on friday, day before the HIM gig, the weather was great, everything went so good smoothly in Prague, it was unbelievable, so i knew that something must come wrong way and fuck up! Yeah it was unfortunately the HIM gig, a reason why i traveled, but Prague is great and i really enjoyed The Biters at least
Ok so to the gig - a row was long like 2 long streets when i came to it, it was at 18:00 (the time when doors were scheduled to be opened). It went slowly, very slowly, a guy came back a czech guy in front of us and said to his friends that its terrible they are letting in in small groups and they are checking everything from boots, legs, everything so i decided to go and i went in front of the venue and saw myself - the security guys were very into it, searched even crotch area of the guys, it like you were entering some meeting of the presidents or something,.... i was packed with forbidden stuff, so you can imagine my fear , my heart went suddenly to my throat LOL, palms sweaty as fuck! anyway i got lucky as like 10 meters before check in the main security guy who looked like SWAT force rushed from walkie talkie all the other security guys to hurry up as they are not making it on time and he rushed us with ticketportal tickets to the first guy (young guy who didnt search much) so we sneaked in - uff that was a huge relief, so i was in
the venue is awesome, probably the greatest venue i have ever seen. So i went directly to the first balcony to see if there is still some spot - i was lucky there was in the corner one nice spot for me and my GF - thank god the handrail was thick and not round but flat! so we waited for like 45 minutes to the support band - The Biters - wau these guys rocked even the crowd was not paying attention much, the frontman was very cheery and in a good mood, they played Tom Petty cover American girl - it was awesome, their entire performance was exactly how HIM should have been! They enjoyed themselves, they were pretty much lightened with the lights, i saw them perfectly , heard them perfectly, they played flawlessly and i really enjoyed them. They were much better than HIM.
They ended at 20:30. We waited 30 minutes and HIM started at 21:00 as scheduled.
The gig went fast, really fast. They came up on stage into the darkness foggy wall of lights and smoke and played song after song without stops, as BABL was ending Burton already played Heartache Every Moment intro, it went witout any words or interaction the entire concert almost..... It was very emotionless, very effortless and lousy from the band to "celebrate His Infernal Majesty" this way. I consider this entire HIM performance as an insult to all the fans that bought very expensive tickets (43 EUR was one mine ticket)
They played in complete darkness, from time to time Villes siluete was visible in the lights and smoke, while solos Linde was visible, sometimes there was a black stage, like for example the chorus of Join Me, the stage was in complete darkness.... most of the concert they were not even visible, the rest only their shodowy siluetes were visible in the smoke.... well done guys, it was like some 3D projection with HIM playlist, even that setlist played song after song without any talking or interaction, it felt like just terrible nightmare, i really did not feel like i was at the concert. The band just came, performed as fast as possible, their set was over in 95 minutes, 21 songs, no special intros or something, nothing, regular abum versions of the songs, no extended GWTS intro , or psychadelic Its All Tears , its all tears was not in the setlist, they played Stigmata Diaboli instead. That was the only positive thing for me, ONE song i never heard live before, the rest was just obligatory ride, no spark, no anything from the band. Rebel Yell was fading out and right after without even stopping they started WLADE. Ville left the stage right after his last word in the lyrics, just left the stage invisible like he had a bus to catch, when the guys finished WLADE they left as Ville - in the darkness without cheering or saying goobye to fans, nothing they just disappeared from already darkened stage, like when you just stop the radio, like the 3D projection was switched off and in a second the siluete vanished..... That was a "thank you" for the fans from our guys......
I was very disappointed... i still am. It was like you were good and obeying the entire year and you wished just for one present for the Christmas and when the moment finally came you opened very nice box and found a shit inside...
THe sound in the venue was absolutely TOP!!!! amazing, but when The Biters frontman was speaking between the songs i understood and heard him perfectly, when Ville finally started talking before Foh and before RY he just mumbled something, i did not understood shit.
Villes voice was very nosy sometimes, especialy some parts in Bleed well i think it sounded like a chipmunk version of his voice. He sang in The Sacrament -
I hear you breathe so far from here , with that SO sang in the way - SO(stop)-Oh , it was very weird, he did it in all "so-s" in the Sacrament verses, wtf?!
They left in a very distant and bitter way. This entire tour is just a cash-grab.
It was so obvious, seeing them performing -- no one wanted to do it, no one wanted to be there on that fucking stage, even Mige wasnt enjoying like he used at the first gigs. I dont know if they were just tired and if they will be better tomorrow after todays day off, but yesterday gig in Prague was one big Fiasco.
+ two drunk albinos (from whatever ass they came, their language i never heard that before, have no clue what it was) but they were standing right besides my GF and me and they were both already drunk and held two beers , each one bear in each hand, they were chatting the entire gig, they did not even watched the gig, they were overlouding the music by yelling at each other so the other drunk asshole could hear as HIM was loud, so my HIM live experience was - siluetes in the smoke behind the curtain made from lights and smoke, with HIM overplayed songs (worst setlist possible) and with two ASSHOLES chatting entire gig.....
you know the gig sucks when part of the audience was leaving during the Funeral Of Hearts !!! before Encore!!! Rest was leaving during WLADE!!! WTF,....
after the gig as we walked from the Forum Karlin to the metro, all you could hear from Slovak and Czech fans (as i understand these my native languages) only complaining, one couple who i spoke with said that they have seen them for like 15th time and they said that this was by far the worst gig.... that says a lot
i agree, it was my fifth HIM gig, my last HIM gig and my worst HIM gig.
maybe if i wasnt sober, and i was drunk, maybe i would enjoy the gig ..but i doubt it, this setlist is anti-enjoyable and the band didnt help anyhow to cheer the fans up at all
From the balcony the audience below me was dead, around me people at the balcony were dead too, everyone bored, no one sang along, clapping was poor around me, no one was happy. The sad faces after the gig- it was heartbreaking.
The Biters were waiting at the Merch shop and were greeting with fans after the HIM gig, they were very lovely and very funny, they showed how it should be done. HIM just came to to their job, grab the money and leave as fast as possible, nothing more.
The last Villes words in Prague were : "fuck me, fuck all of you, lets go" and then Rebel Yell started
well Ville you really fucked us, "thanks"
thank god they are over, i hope they will never get back together to do some another cash-grab pointless reunion tour with the same overplayed songs, no please, go everyone your way and never play HIM songs again. Not from the setlist except for Stigmata and WLADE and Your Sweet 666 (WLADE and YS666 are one of my favorites i dont mind hearing them million times)
sorry for mistakes and my poor English
@Peter Forge - i yelled at you as you stood down waiting for your GF you were looking around, i was yelling waving when you lifted your head my direction but you did not hear buddy
i was in the corner at the first balcony, Lindes side, just in the corner