HIM Concert 04/26/10

This is a repost of a note that I posted on Facebook. Sorry if you've already read it.

So the first band that played was Drive A (not to be confused with the evil Drive Bee, Mom :P). They were a younger punk band, not too bad. I especially liked when the singer jumped down in the crowd and got the first mosh going.

The second band was Dommin. I have been a fan of theirs for a long time, so I was excited to be at their first Salt Lake show, and they did not disappoint!!! Look them up if you haven't heard their music! Favorite moment: A tie between My Heart, Your Hands and when they played a cover of (I Just) Died in Your Arms by Cutting Crew.

After them was We Are the Fallen. They are a female-fronted metal band, which is right up my alley. Their music is heavier than Evanescence or Lacuna Coil, and maybe even heavier than In This Moment, but without the screaming. I really liked them. But speaking of Evanescence, while they were playing, I thought I saw some familiar faces on the stage. First, I noticed one of the guitarists, and thought, "That looks like John LeCompt!" As I kept looking, I realized that it definitely was him, which was cool. Then, I finally got a glimpse of the drummer, who was without a doubt Rocky Gray! The other guitarist looked familiar as well, but I couldn't place his face. When I looked the band up later, lo and behold, it was Ben Moody! All in all, the band has 3 former members of Evanescene! And to top it off, the singer is former American Idol contestant Carly Smithson! A very talented band all around! Favorite moment: Their cover of Like a Prayer by Madonna.

Then came HIM. My absolute favorite band. This was the third time I have seen them, and I was just as excited as I was before the first time. As soon as they came on the stage, I knew that Saltair was not the venue for them.

The crowd was terrible! They just stood there and sort of sang along. I'm used to HIM concerts where no matter where you stand, you are being pulled and pushed along by the wave of people. I stood in exactly the same spot that I started in through their entire set. Not really the best, but I made the most of it.

They put on an amazing show, however, just as they always do. The only disappointing factor in their performance was that they didn't play some of the songs I was looking forward to hearing (namely Razorblade Kiss, Soul on Fire, In Venere Veritas, or Your Sweet Six Six Six).

All in all, because of the set list and the crowd, it turned into a disappointing night. The performance by the band is not the issue, they did amazing. If the crowd had been better, I wouldn't have minded not hearing those songs. And if they had played those songs, I probably wouldn't have minded the crowd being lame.

Don't let this discourage you from seeing HIM in the future. Like I said, they still had a great performance. Just not the type of experience I'm used to, or was in need of.