Well I had a great weekend. I got off of work early Friday and my girlfriend Samantha and I went down to LA. We checked into the Chamberlain hotel,(very nice btw),and headed down to the Wiltern to go see HIM.
We showed up a few minutes late and the Skindred had already opened the show. I'm not a fan of theirs, but they were entertaining nonetheless.
Finch came on next and I really don't like their music, but I have more respect for them after seeing them live. They put on a good show. Especially one of the guitarists. He just flails his body around and throws his guitar all over the place, but still has great control over what he's playing. I noticed that the bassist was a little out of place and his playing was a bit off. The other guitarist kept standing by him and showing him what frets to play. They only did 3 songs and left. I guess it was a short notice fill in bassist and he just didn't know the material that well.
Then HIM came on and played a really good show. We were about 20 feet from the stage. I guess only the first 200 people to get in got bracelets to go down to the front of the floor. I could see fine, but my girlfriend's not very tall, so she couldn't see much. The singer, Ville, kept having problems with the mic, and after about the 4th or 5th time it fucked up, and they brought out a 3rd mic for him, he was kinda pissed and he chucked his mic across the stage and called the sound guy a cunt. I can't blame him though. That shit's unprofessional. I would have been pissed too. But aside from that, he seemed to be really enjoying the show. So did the crowd.
After the show, we were walking out and I walked right passed Bam Margera. I stopped and pointed him out to my girlfriend and she tried to get a couple of pics of him, but the lighting was wierd and the pics came out fucked up. This brings up another thing though. I've got nothing against Bam, he's a funny guy, but I'm sick and tired of him being associated with HIM. I bet so many people were there for the show, just because they were Viva La Bam or Jackass fans It pisses me off that everytime I wear a HIM shirt or anything with a heartagram on it people come up to me and are like, "Yeah! Bam fucking rocks!". Yeah guy....he sure does....his band is fucking great. Bam has such a good voice. Shut the fuck up.
Sorry for that little rant. Anyways, we got outside and after the crowd dissipated we waited out back to try and meet the band. We tried this back in February after the Avalon show as well, but they evaded us. The band, and especially Ville, the singer, are very elusive. We waited for about an hour though and found out that they had left on the other side of the building So we went back to the hotel empty handed.
Well, that night I surprised Samantha with tickets to the HIM show for Saturday night too. So the next morning we checked out of our hotel and just for the hell of it, decide to cruise by the Wiltern just to see what was going on. We figured we'd be able to hang out in Hollywood for the day and come back a few hours early and get in line. We wanted to make sure we were in the top 200 people so we could get down front. Well we were quite surprised to find out that there was already about 50 people in line!!! It was 12 in the afternoon. The show wasn't until 8! So our day was shot and I went and parked and we got in line. 8 fucking hours later we got in and got right up front. Same shit as the previous night. Skindred came on then Finch. But this time Finch had their regular bassist back and played a whole set.
When HIM came out tonight it was way better. But Samantha and I were instantly split apart.I was trying to snap pictures, keep my balance, and not get crushed. It was great though. I was right in front of Ville the whole time and got almost 200 pics of him and the band. I was wearing a jacket that I had drawn some artwork on the right sleeve and at one point during the show, I took it off and tossed it up there to Ville. But it's kinda hard to throw in a crowd, so it landed on the edge of the stage behind one of the monitors. It eventually fell off the stage. After the show I went up there to see if I could have security give it back to me and I saw some kid fighting over it with some other kid. I grabbed him by the shoulder and told him that was my fucking jacket and I wanted it back. Of course he didn't believe me, and I didn't want to punch some under age kid to get my jacket back, but luckily I remembered what was written on the tag. So when I told him to check it he knew it was mine and handed it over
Well since we knew that the band was probably going to try and avoid the crowd waiting outside again, we decided to go to the other side of the building that night. Well we weren't the only ones apparently. Crowds had formed on both rear exits. Samantha talked to one of the security guards at this gate where there was a Suburban parked in the alley. He said that was their car so we kept an eye on it.
The drummer Gas came out out and got in a different car and took off and then the Suburban pulled out and tried to back down this other alley when one of the crew members came out and told the driver to go around to the front. So while everybody still waited at the rear exit, Samantha and I and a couple of other people took off down the street and got to the front enterance just in time to see Bam come walking out the front door. I nodded and said what's up and he waved, then Ville came out right behind him. A few girls rushed him and I dodged a security guard and asked him if I could get a picture with him. He said he had seen me up in the front and said sure he'd take a picture with me.
So he signed autographs for a minute and took a couple more pics and as he was going to the car, I remembered I still had my jacket. So I pulled it off really quick and handed it to him. He said, "What's this?" I told him it was for him, if he wanted it. I showed him the artwork on the sleeve and he said, "It's beautiful. I can have this? Really?" I asked him if he'd actually wear it and he said he'd wear it tomarrow. He seemed really greatful, so it made my fucking day. I've met a lot of musicians before, but this is by far my favorite. I was on such a high after that, I was as giddy as a school girl.
So I had a badass trip. Sorry this entry is so long. There's a few pics in the folder titled "HIM" and here's a pic of me and Ville...
And this is the jacket that I gave Ville....
If anyone ever sees him wearing it, let me know
We showed up a few minutes late and the Skindred had already opened the show. I'm not a fan of theirs, but they were entertaining nonetheless.
Finch came on next and I really don't like their music, but I have more respect for them after seeing them live. They put on a good show. Especially one of the guitarists. He just flails his body around and throws his guitar all over the place, but still has great control over what he's playing. I noticed that the bassist was a little out of place and his playing was a bit off. The other guitarist kept standing by him and showing him what frets to play. They only did 3 songs and left. I guess it was a short notice fill in bassist and he just didn't know the material that well.
Then HIM came on and played a really good show. We were about 20 feet from the stage. I guess only the first 200 people to get in got bracelets to go down to the front of the floor. I could see fine, but my girlfriend's not very tall, so she couldn't see much. The singer, Ville, kept having problems with the mic, and after about the 4th or 5th time it fucked up, and they brought out a 3rd mic for him, he was kinda pissed and he chucked his mic across the stage and called the sound guy a cunt. I can't blame him though. That shit's unprofessional. I would have been pissed too. But aside from that, he seemed to be really enjoying the show. So did the crowd.
After the show, we were walking out and I walked right passed Bam Margera. I stopped and pointed him out to my girlfriend and she tried to get a couple of pics of him, but the lighting was wierd and the pics came out fucked up. This brings up another thing though. I've got nothing against Bam, he's a funny guy, but I'm sick and tired of him being associated with HIM. I bet so many people were there for the show, just because they were Viva La Bam or Jackass fans It pisses me off that everytime I wear a HIM shirt or anything with a heartagram on it people come up to me and are like, "Yeah! Bam fucking rocks!". Yeah guy....he sure does....his band is fucking great. Bam has such a good voice. Shut the fuck up.
Sorry for that little rant. Anyways, we got outside and after the crowd dissipated we waited out back to try and meet the band. We tried this back in February after the Avalon show as well, but they evaded us. The band, and especially Ville, the singer, are very elusive. We waited for about an hour though and found out that they had left on the other side of the building So we went back to the hotel empty handed.
Well, that night I surprised Samantha with tickets to the HIM show for Saturday night too. So the next morning we checked out of our hotel and just for the hell of it, decide to cruise by the Wiltern just to see what was going on. We figured we'd be able to hang out in Hollywood for the day and come back a few hours early and get in line. We wanted to make sure we were in the top 200 people so we could get down front. Well we were quite surprised to find out that there was already about 50 people in line!!! It was 12 in the afternoon. The show wasn't until 8! So our day was shot and I went and parked and we got in line. 8 fucking hours later we got in and got right up front. Same shit as the previous night. Skindred came on then Finch. But this time Finch had their regular bassist back and played a whole set.
When HIM came out tonight it was way better. But Samantha and I were instantly split apart.I was trying to snap pictures, keep my balance, and not get crushed. It was great though. I was right in front of Ville the whole time and got almost 200 pics of him and the band. I was wearing a jacket that I had drawn some artwork on the right sleeve and at one point during the show, I took it off and tossed it up there to Ville. But it's kinda hard to throw in a crowd, so it landed on the edge of the stage behind one of the monitors. It eventually fell off the stage. After the show I went up there to see if I could have security give it back to me and I saw some kid fighting over it with some other kid. I grabbed him by the shoulder and told him that was my fucking jacket and I wanted it back. Of course he didn't believe me, and I didn't want to punch some under age kid to get my jacket back, but luckily I remembered what was written on the tag. So when I told him to check it he knew it was mine and handed it over
Well since we knew that the band was probably going to try and avoid the crowd waiting outside again, we decided to go to the other side of the building that night. Well we weren't the only ones apparently. Crowds had formed on both rear exits. Samantha talked to one of the security guards at this gate where there was a Suburban parked in the alley. He said that was their car so we kept an eye on it.
The drummer Gas came out out and got in a different car and took off and then the Suburban pulled out and tried to back down this other alley when one of the crew members came out and told the driver to go around to the front. So while everybody still waited at the rear exit, Samantha and I and a couple of other people took off down the street and got to the front enterance just in time to see Bam come walking out the front door. I nodded and said what's up and he waved, then Ville came out right behind him. A few girls rushed him and I dodged a security guard and asked him if I could get a picture with him. He said he had seen me up in the front and said sure he'd take a picture with me.
So he signed autographs for a minute and took a couple more pics and as he was going to the car, I remembered I still had my jacket. So I pulled it off really quick and handed it to him. He said, "What's this?" I told him it was for him, if he wanted it. I showed him the artwork on the sleeve and he said, "It's beautiful. I can have this? Really?" I asked him if he'd actually wear it and he said he'd wear it tomarrow. He seemed really greatful, so it made my fucking day. I've met a lot of musicians before, but this is by far my favorite. I was on such a high after that, I was as giddy as a school girl.
So I had a badass trip. Sorry this entry is so long. There's a few pics in the folder titled "HIM" and here's a pic of me and Ville...
And this is the jacket that I gave Ville....
If anyone ever sees him wearing it, let me know
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Take Care!