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HIM/Kill Hannah/Eighteen Visions Austin and I went to the HIM (His Infernal Majesty for those of you who don't know) concert prepared to be let down by a weird goth show. We parked our car in the HOB lot so it wouldn't get towed. Little did we know that the people in the Civic next to us were so excited about the show, that they just decided to have sex. It was hilarious. People were parking all around them and they never missed a beat.
The moment had come and the crowd was collectively twitching in delight. The lights came up on the stage to reveal a band (with an abnormally large drum set), and then he, Ville Valo, as he came on stage. He was clad in tight flare HIM produce some of the most dark and seductive music you might ever get the chance to hear. It's very clear that they are not from the US. When he spoke, the crowd was silent. There were a few guys on the upper balcony that displayed a quilt they had made and embroidered the heartogram. I was in shock. This was one of the times I was glad to be where I was and grateful to share it with everyone there. Ville smoked and drank his way through the set. With a beer bottle in pocket he covered the whole discography and gave the crowd exactly what they wanted. Some such songs as "Poison Girl," "Buried Alive by Love," and "Join Me in Death" were crowd favorites. Not that you can, but if you find tickets somewhere, go. You will be changed for life.
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Anyways, we walked toward the venue and saw a line that wrapped completely around the building. I wondered how many of these people had been here all day braving the wind and rain to be front and center at the show. There were more HIM shirts there than I have ever seen. I think this is the one occasion that it is OK to wear the shirt of the band you are going to see and not be "that guy." For some fans, they had been waiting for this for years. For others, it was like any other show. The heartogram, HIM's signature emblem, was everywhere. Tattoos, hats, shirt, blankets. Everywhere you looked. I saw some really nice tattoo pieces. There was one guy who had a whole back and shoulder piece that included three heartograms and song lyrics. This was not a band they were waiting to see, this was a part of their life. My tattoo guy, Stick, has been into HIM for years and met us at the show. He had a fresh heartogram tattooed on his wrist. The atmosphere was calm inside and we had no idea what we were in for.
unconvincing set of screaming and stripping. I really had no desire to see the singer shirtless with a huge straight edge tattoo across his chest. The only thing I enjoyed about their set was when they played two of the songs off of their new disc, Obsession, set to come out in June. He actually sings and you can understand the words. Mostly, 18V played tracks off of Vanity, their much ignored 2002 release. I expected more from a band that has the energy and the following to explode on the stage. Being the fore-bearers of fashion-core, they should worry less about being beautiful, and give the crowd a rock show, not a fashion show. 
Chicago natives Kill Hannah were next in line. I heard nothing good about their live shows, so I was prepared to sit down out of disinterest. I was pleasently surprised. They were awesome. One song they played was called "Kennedy." I loved it. I think it was less a shot at the Kennedy's and more of an admiration of their glamour. Kill Hannah is all glam. The one thing that really stuck to me was how glad they were to be home. I could really tell that Chicago and all of their friends there meant a lot to them. The two things that I will remember most from this show were the stripe of black under singer Mat Devine's eye and a rocking good time. They were like half Orgy, half REM. That's a hell of a combo. As a big finish, their second to last song was the timeless "Rebel Yell." They were good - I'd watch them again. 