HIM play sold out show at the Chicago House of Blues

4-11-10 Originally published on Examiner.com by Tracy Heck

Friday night, HIM's tour rolled into the House of Blues in Chicago, Illinois.

c: Tracy Heck

The sold out show ended up being one of the highlights of the tour so far with a fantastic set, better sound and a more organized venue.

Unlike some of the previous shows, the House of Blues had three separate lines to get into the show with VIP's in one, early-entry restaurant patrons in one and the regular ticket holder line outside.
Fans were not happy with the fact that the House of Blues didn't allow cameras or smoking but things ran pretty smooth.

Drive A's set was once again met with some skepticism, but front man Bruno Mascolo's antics were toned down a bit by the tighter security.

Dommin's set went over well with the crowd and Kristofer Dommin's voice sounded stronger.  He has been battling laryngitis for the last week and the band had to cancel a few of the shows.

Set highlights included their cover of Cutting Crew's "I Just Died In Your Arms Tonight", popular single "My Heart Your Hands" and dramatic closer "Without End".

After leaving the stage, the members of Dommin spent the rest of the show in back meeting their fans.

We Are the Fallen have been going over well with the crowd but their sets have been plagued by sound problems with front woman Carly Smithson's vocals being overshadowed by the rest of the band.

However, Friday night, possibly due to the excellent acoustics in the House of Blues, Smithson was coming through loud and clear.

Powerful opener "Burn" seemed to grab the crowd's attention and singles "Bury Me Alive" and "Tear the World Down" stood out.

By the time HIM came on stage the crowd was more than ready for them.

HIM's sets throughout the tour so far have had some sound issues as well so it was nice to be able to hear and understand everything that the heavily-accented Finnish front man Ville Valo was saying.

The vocals for the set were clear no matter where you were in the venue:  on the floor, in the back, at the bar or in the balcony.

Although the new songs that HIM have been playing on this tour, from their latest album Screamworks: Love In Theory and Practice, have been going over well, this night it was their older songs that the crowd was clamoring for.

Songs like "Join Me In Death", "Buried Alive By Love", "Poison Girl" and "Funeral of Hearts" had the crowd dancing, jumping and singing and screaming along.

Valo spent a little less time talking to the crowd like he had been doing on previous stops but he still managed to interact with everyone as well as joking with the rest of the band.  At one point he was shocked at the squeals in the audience and made a comment about feeling like he was in a "zoo".

He was also amused by the stuff being thrown on stage including a black top hat that he made a big point of placing on guitarist Mige Paananen's head and a sheep which was similar to one that had been tossed on stage at the previous date in St. Louis.

HIM seemed to be enjoying the show and the crowd reaction and as a result, when they came back for a encore, they decided to close with their popular cover of Billy Idol's "Rebel Yell" which used to be a staple in their early live shows.

HIM Setlist:
Like St. Valentine
Right Here In My Arms
Rip Out The Wings Of A Butterfly
Heartkiller
The Kiss Of Dawn
Join Me In Death
Love, The Hardest Way
Wicked Game (Chris Isaak cover)
Buried Alive By Love
Disarm Me (With Your Loneliness)
Killing Loneliness
Poison Girl
Katherine Wheel
The Funeral Of Hearts
Encore:
Rebel Yell