Concert reflection: HIM in Denver

Denver — I left the Gothic Theater in Denver in awe of the amazing show put on by Finnish love metal band HIM on April 27.

Before the show, I was curious to hear how the band would sound live. I had never seen them before.

Here's the thing about HIM, to me at least: Their albums are very solid. But the instrumentation on their studio albums is somewhat basic. They don't break into many solos. They rely heavily on their catchy choruses. Verses are short.

That said: HIM was so good live that I left the Gothic Theater telling my brother Dave that it was one of the better concerts I had ever seen.

They do a better job than many bands I know of sticking to their image of dark, yet occasionally uplifting love metal. The instrumentation may be limited, but I couldn't believe how precise the guitar and drums sounded live. It may have been the most precise show I've ever heard. Every song sounded better than the studio version. Dave and I stood upstairs by the balcony, yet every song sounded incredibly clear. Maybe the venue had something to do with it. But I put a good 75-80 percent of that on the band.

Here was the setlist:

Opener:
1. Like St. Valentine
Setlist:
2. Right Here In My Arms
3. Rip Out The Wings Of A Butterfly
4. Scared To Death
5. Heartkiller
6. Join Me In Death
7. The Kiss Of Dawn
8. Wicked Game (Chris Isaak cover)
9. Buried Alive By Love
10. Disarm Me (With Your Loneliness)
11. Bleed Well
12. Killing Loneliness
13. Love, The Hardest Way
Closer:
14. The Funeral Of Hearts
Encore:
15. Rebel Yell (Billy Idol cover)

No complaints. If there was any disappointment, it was that they didn't play anything off of Deep Shadows and Brilliant Highlights, my favorite HIM album ever. But this was a very strong setlist.

I pointed out to Dave that I thought it was really cool how pink stage lights shined down on front man Ville Valo every time they played something off Razorblade Romance. Again, an exceptional job of sticking to their image. The background on the cover of the Razorblade CD was draped with the color pink. A Denver Post blogger was on hand and captured some sweet photos.

My favorite moment was when they played "The Funeral of Hearts." Has to be my favorite HIM song, aside from "Salt in Our Wounds." Sounded great live.

I was also blown away when they played "Scared to Death." I'm a big fan of the new Screamworks CD. I can't tell you how great Valo sounded on this track, along with "Disarm Me (With Your Loneliness)" And "Love the Hardest Way." He really carried those songs.

It was also evident that Valo doesn't smoke anymore. Several times, fans from down in front tossed marijuana and cigarettes up on stage, only for Valo to toss them aside. I read that he doesn't smoke anymore. Dave told me the last time he saw HIM live, Valo was smoking on stage for the duration of the performance.

I like this new phase a lot for Valo. His voice sounded great, and there wasn't a note he didn't hit, even the high notes that HIM often incorporates at the end of their songs. It's obvious he can still hit those notes with regularity now that he doesn't smoke nearly as much (if at all).

Safe to say the show was well worth the $24 price of admission.