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HIM LIVE HELLDONE 2007/2008
THE CRIMSON GATE WAS THERE! by Legolas_di_Mirkwood
BEFORE
This year, according to the habitué’s opinion, the Helldone Festival line-up shouldn’t have been satisfying: the easiness in finding the tickets should have represented the proof. Nonetheless, for ev us who lived the experience, circumstances have changed so far, and anybody couldn’t regret a second.
The heartbeat started already on December 29 in the morning, when we gathered ourselves in front of Tiketti’s Office to exchange our ticket with the black wristband and the card that would have allowed us for three nights to enter the Tavastia Klubi, the Paradise lost for every true HIM fan.
The scheduled bands – Swallow the Sun, Mokoma, Ajattara etc – were practically unknown to us, but that first evening our aim was getting some acknowledgements about the place in order to define the best positions to attend the one gig we were interested in. On late night, when the lights were down and the main hall was almost empty, Tavastia gave us the first surprise: turning uncarefully our heads towards the stairs, we saw an unmistakeable shadow coming along quickly. The green eyes caressed us for a second, before their owner reached the exit. Ville. Just the time to realize that – yes he was! – and – yes, he had some beard! – and he was already disappeared, like a dream. Better than Houdini. But that was true and we knew it. We were happy for those unexpected seconds, and we had no idea of what was waiting for us the next evening, which to be honest had begun in a quite boring way, because we are not fans of Mokoma’s trash metal. We were drinking something in the bottom of the hall, when we noticed some noise a little farther, near to the mixer. So we got a look overthere…and WOW: mr. Ville Valo was there to enojoy The Fields of the Nephilim’s gig! Obviously, many eyes were fixed upon him, but he didn’t seem to care and he has been very kind in signing autographs or accepting small gifts, smiling here and there. I had never listened to the Fields of the Nephilim before; from where I was, I could easily have thought they were the raging little brothers of the wrestler called ‘The Undertaker’, but the feeling of living a whole gig “by Ville’s side” has been unforgettable and I hoped they would have played until the dawn. But unluckily, they didn’t. After about one hour and twenty minutes, as all the good things, this too came to its end, but before living Ville signed on of our Street Team stickers and gave us a charming smile. To complete the performance, His Infernal Majesty appeared again also later, running down the stairs and then jumping on the stage. He offered us in this way the vision of what happens jumping with trousers like those he wears and the inspiration about the place to occupy absolutely the day after.
THE GIG
From my position, on the fourth step of the stairs on the left side, I can say I really enjoyed our beloved finnish boys’ concert. One page is too short to keep all the emotions and the happiness of seeing my favourite band that found again the spirit of the beginning and – why should we deny it? – the singer’s health.
It seems that Ville’s new life far from alcohol influenced positively all the shows starting from July 2007, allowing the other members of the band to concentrate their attention on the technique, which is indeed definitely improved ( just hear mr. Lindstrom’s solos: they are absolutely awesome!) We could add to the pleasure of listening to our favourite songs played in a perfect way the one of seeing the enthusiasm with which the guys faced the concert: the will of enjoying either the music or the contact with the audience was evident. Ville chatted a bit, involved the audience with His Infernal Humour…but to me the unforgettable moments have been basically two: the end of “Killing Loneliness”, when he said something like “..and if it wasn’t for you I would have turned into a tomb, so..thank you” with such a true tone that I felt my heart weeping. And then his smile during the performance of “The Funeral of Hearts”, right straight to my heart. I don’t care if every girl in our direction had the same feeling. This is the magic, isn’t it? I don’t want to know if that smile was for me. In order to let you know how we reacted to the “encore” (Razorblade Kiss and The sacrament) I simply have to tell that nobody remembered the first lyrics…and if you are thinking this is not very professional, well it’s true. I’m not. And my hormones aren’t as well! Like all those who attended the gig, I think that if HIM will bring this show to Europe with the same technique and enthusiasm they will be able to make their fans happy and to gain the favours of many others.
AFTER
It’s wonderful to understand of being proud and happy to be part of HIM Street Team. The feelings I had during the Helldone have been very deep and, as always, there were many things that formed my happiness, all connected by the red line of our favourite music: 1) the serenity felt during the wonderful holiday in Helsinki, together with the girls; the joy of meeting and discover each other day by day. 2) the heartbeat when the lights go down and the music begins 3) the curiosity in meeting new people 4) Our unbelievable luck because – thanks to the Flame Club girls! – we went over the Helldone and we found ourselves in a pub (Lost and Found…go and check it!) where Ville too was spending his evening with his friends. What about me? Well Happiness touched me and for a moment I could smell that sweet perfume…I think it’s not possible to begin the year in a better way.
Legolas_di_Mirkwood
MY HELLDONE
It’s half past seven in the evening when I arrive in 
Urho Kekkosen Katu with Talena and Lorena, the two friends who ate with me a slice of pizza ten minutes before at Kampi; there are so many people in front of the doors of Tavastia Klubi.
In the meanwhile I try to kill time with mi friends I look around, I feel a hand touching my shoulder and Lorena whispering “Linde..Linde…Ros be quiet, don’t scream”..who’s able to scream? I stay breathless for a couple of minutes, watching my favourite rastaman and guitar player coming out from Ilves and sitting nto a black Toyota, start the engine and drive like the best Raikkonen I’ve ever seen.
“It’s a good start…”, I think by myself, then after a couple of minutes we see Gas passing through and then we decide to join all the other people there waiting to enter tavastia.
It’s near nine pm when they open the gates, and with the usual unfair people trying to push the others to reach better places, we finally are in.
And there is the second stop, in front of the doors which lead to the main stage.
When we finally have the chance to enter we reach the stairs, at first in a not so good place, but after I can finally have my safe place, and from that spot I can easily take pictures of the whole stage with no people disturbing.
The first half of the night is taken by The Skreppers, a band which already collaborated with HIM in the Daniel Lioneye project, an old 50’s rock style, sometimes funny, but the wait gives us the spice and we know what we are waiting for to come out on that stage!
At midnight, after the countdown and the greetings and wishes of a happy new year from the Tavastia owner, finally on the notes of Passions killing floor the gig starts…soft blue lights at the beginning, then thousands and thousands colors really suggestive.
And the feelings subtly grow high , wonderful and majestic: Ville’s voice is strong and deep, the other guys are happy and energetic.
I’ve never seen such a smiling and happy Linde, joking around with the others, fighting with Migè, Burton and Gas, making some wonderful guitar solos which are something really good to my ears, although his hand is still suffering, until London’s gigs.
The songs are the old ones of the good old repertory: Wicked Game, Your Sweet 666,Killing Loneliness,Poison Girl, with a wonderful Linde’s solo, and the newest Sleepwalking Past Hope, Kiss of Dawn, Bleed Well. We lived a particular and intense moment when they played The funeral of hearts, with Ville staring into the camera of my friend who got crazy in a second. But surprises and gifts are not at the end…a wonderful instrumental solo of Venus Doom an the lights fall down…we understand it’s not the real end, something must happen. And something really happens. The guys enter the stage again, and silence follows them. We are all breathless and speechless for a while in front of a Ville Valo with no shirt at all, with his trousers fighting with gravity. And a second after it’s an explosion, Razorblade kiss and The sacrament, Ville’s voice, Linde’s guitar and the keyboards of a wonderful Burton are the masters, and then Helldone 2008 is done. There could not be a better way to start this new year. Two hours passed in a second, with unique emotions and feelings, and with this need growing day by day, to see them again and to have another concert, then another one and another one again. And then, see you again in March guys; what else can I say after I can’t have enough of your wonderful music?
Mrs.Lindstrom (translated by Nailedtoacross)
HIM AT NEW YEAR'S, HIM ALL THE YEAR LONG!
And I don’t even have the time to get comfortable with the thought to be in Helsinki again, because I find myself into a three-days of wonderful time to spend with so many emotions.
Helldone this year is not complete for me, because I have not been at Tavastia for the first day, attending to another concert which was really important to me.
In fact December 29th I’ve been in Kaapelitehdas to see Sonata Arcticas gig, I couldn’t miss it, for nothing in the world.
After a magnificent show with fireworks and fire everywhere on stage, with my friends Ros and Lalla get back to the centre of Helsinki, or at least we try, seeing all the taxies we find seem to ignore us.
We finally reach the railway station and we greet Lalla who’s getting back to Jyväskylä, where she lives at the moment, and after that we go straight on to Tavastia where we find our friends really ex cited, Ville has just passed in front of them.
The second night we are there since the beginning, and we arrive just in the moment that the band Ajattara is playing on stage.
And we don’t know if it is pure luck or the salt rites we repeat everytime we get dinner, here we come to the knowledge that Ville is in the club,.
We can’t believe our eyes when we get close to the mixer and find him there inside, listening to The Fields of nephilim concert, surely aware that thousand eyes are upon him.
He’s sweet and gentle with the people who goes near for pictures and autographs, everytime he turns his head it’s a heartache, seeing him this way, with no stage make up and enjoying a gig is wonderful and unexpected.
After a while my legs start to hurt, so Lorena and I decide to go and take a seat somewhere, just in time to find Ice, the Music Drome owner in Milan, who introduces us to Jussi, drummer of the finnish band 69 eyes, and invites me to a party for the day after.
Finally my legs rest a little, so I can get back closer to Valo, that is weird to say…and I take a spot on his left side, where my other friends are there staring at him since the bginning.
Unfortunately it comes the time when the gig is over and he has to go away, but with a good amount of luck our friend Ros can have two autographs, one of them onto our street team sticker, which is our prize for the patience.
It is near the time to get out of the club, but there is another little surprise for us, Ville runs down the stairs to reach the stage and with an athletic jump disappears in the backstage with his purse on the shoulder.
The third night, the most important one, it has been fantastic.
We are three, and we arrive just an hour before they open the gates of Tavastia, the other friends will follow us after dinner. And since the beginning we are gifted by the presence of HIM’s guitar player Mikko Lindstrom who gets quickly closer his car and in the same quickly way reaches easily the end of Urho Kekkosen Katu.
It is time to get in, I conquer a good spot in front of Migè, I am really happy and I turn my head around to find the other grls to make them get closer to me, but I am subtly surrounded by other people and it would be difficult to reach me for the others now.
The starter group which opens the night, the Skreppers, ehm..i don’t like them that much, but with difficulties of different genres I try to follow their performance.
It is time for midnight, the tavastia owner makes the usual countdown…and then announces HIM’s concert while the crowd is already cheering and screaming and clapping their hands. Two wonderful hours, perfectly played by an energetic band, they smile and interact with the people and with themselves too on stage. So many Linde’s solos, such as Mige’s smiles. Ville is quiet, smiles a lot and talks with the fans, joking with the people who throw their passports onstage. And after the stop he decides to kill us all, coming out shirtless for the last two songs. A great cheering fot HIM, almost with no end…for a band which calls its fans from all over the world, to say hello to the new year all together with them. And well, at least is well known…HIM at new year’s, HIM all the year long!
My Selene( translated by Nailedtoacross)
BEFORE THE CONCERT by Nailedtoacross
BEFORE
To me it means many things, ten minutes before, in the crowd with that girl hitting me everytine she was rising her hands up in the air m thirty seconds before , like thirty hours before.
To me it means two days before the concert, one day before, when so many things have happened that someone could say “Stop jokin’ around dude”.
Two days before, the Swallow the sun concert that’s been really nice, the Mokoma one that’s been really horrible, I’m sorry to say it but it was not a good choice from the newly born Tavastia/Valo firm.
And after that a nice trip downstairs to Semifinal which seems a basement, but we are in Finland, we are in these places where everything began, and then there’s no difference between this dark and cold little room and a giant stadium above all if we could breathe the old perfume of Our diabolikal rapture or The heartless going through the earliest versions of Wicked Game.
And then we come back on the black and white stairs of Tavastia, tired after our little trip that afternoon to walk till Sonata Arctica concert to stay with our friends who would have attended that show, and after three and more hours of our concert standing on our feet.
It’s easy to me losing my eyes watching a t-shirt which reminds me something I want to buy because I really like it and it is a good idea to me.
And suddenly a hand tipping on my shoulder, four staring eyes watching through the darkness of the room forward to the bar in the back of the mixer , and myself saying “It’s not him…” as always refusing the luck to encounter him even just once in my life, we left our houses this time without the thoughts to have something more than a good concert and a lovely new year’s eve together.
Instead he was there. HIM, literally.
To the ones who don’t know who’s him, in the darkness of Tavastia klubi nearly empty, on the 29th day of December Ville Valo was passing not too far from us, his head as always watching his steps till he understands someone is watching him then he rises it and with his usual grace walks into the other room leaving three people with their mouths open watching themselves with no will at all even to stand up and follow him or just call him.
On the 30th day of December fate has been good to us, and that name, Fields of Nephilim, jumping into my mind repeatedly.
Almost hidden near the stairs which lead to the bathroom in the back of the room I refuse to wake up from my seats when I see the American girls starting to watch in one direction..i just think “Again? Could him be here again?”
And Alessandra swearing that in front of us, near the mixer devices there was Ville Valo watching the Fields of Nephilim concert reminds me that I must have read somewhere that Ville is a great fan of that group. And in fact is so lovely to see him singing just with his lips the songs of this group which seems made by a bunch of Undertakers. Their music is nice anyway. And it’s so good to see him that near, seeing that finally he’s okay, really thin but not skinny, smiling and happy to see what’s happening around him. Peoples completely lost watching him, with no blink of their eyes, someone gives him little gifts, he accepts them with a smile, some other taking tons of pictures, and at the end he’s been there with us for an hour and a half, safely hidden in the mixer but with us. Unforgettable presence which ends with the crowd, and this time he does not refuse to walk through us, our Rosanna who talks to him giving something to sign, even our street team sticker, the little shock to understand that he recognizes the Italian street team which has been interviewed last summer in Tuuri for the Miljoona rock festival, that incredible night with the midnight sun behind the stage. That smile, these wonderful eyes back to shine, it’s been an incredible pre-concert that makes me hope something good for the day after, for that concert of which I will talk later, which left me speechless just like this unexpected encounter. My hands on that cold iron bar, that wonderful feeling which warms my heart of happiness and melts that iron, he’s not so far away, being one thing in the meanwhile you realize that he really exists, and he’s there, with you.
HIM LIVE
And suddenly the lights fade. After all the laugters with the Skreppers, 50/60’s rock band with the singer dressed in white but with women’s shoes it is time to take it seriously , and that old new intro begins everything. There’s much crowd, obviously, like in every HIM concert we attended, but The Crimson Gate, together with Anna and Simona, the administrators of the official Italian fanclub The Flame have conquered the stairs, so we are above everyone in the crowd and the stage is almost clean to us, finally we could see a good concert. And in fact it will be so. We are in finland, the crowd can’t be considered unpolite such as other countries where everyone thinks that eliminating the people in front of you means going somewhere special. And then, as I said, everything begins, the lights are up now, just with one color and then after with thousands, shadows start to fill the stage, a guitar, then a drum and a bass, Linde starts with his solo, followed up bu the others, and then Ville gets onto the stage, the crowd explodes in screaming, our voices all together which climb the walls of the club, which fills up every hole left in the room, which makes us rise our arms to the sky, to the stage where they are performing once again with that voice, with these guitars and drums and keyboards, these smiles which come back after a dangerous year, lived on the edge of a knife. It’s so weird seeing Linde’s smiling, laughing sometimes, joking around with Migè, making funny faces to the camera while it is filming the start of the concert for the tv news. It’ like cherries, a song follows the one before, long solos which give shivers down the spine, people singing even if it’s quite useless this time; it is not like the Give it a name event in London Birmingham and Glasgow, when the concert has been made by the band without Ville, completely wasted, who forgot even the words of his songs. The audience now is completely shut up by the good voice of a new Valo, with a new look and a enw spirit; he’s a little bearded, with his unforgettable wool beanie, with his curly long hair coming out hanging onto his shoulders. But above all he’s back with his friends, with the band which finally doesn’t play just following his bad singing, something that’s happened until the middle of last year. Seventeen songs, personally with a complete satisfaction with The funeral of hearts, gifted by a wonderful smile in my camera in the last riff of the song; unfortunately the concert is coming to its end, and we all weep, even if it’s already an hour and a half of good music. Lindes guitar still vibrating after his wonderful closing solo. But this time we can have an encore…after several months with no come back to the stage, finally the concert doesn’t end up this way. Three seconds of total silence, just to understand what’s happening…Valo comes out with just his low jeans and Tavastia explodes. And it’ difficult to understand the first thirty seconds of the song they are playing, but we find ourselves singing Razorblade kiss and then The sacrament.
And then it really comes to its end, with the greetings of all the guys which are clearly happy about the concert, Gas who throws, as always, his drum sticks somewhere else and not where we are, and the lights get down again, people starts to go out of the club, someone goes to the bar. We don’t want to go out that quick.We don’t want to leave that place where we have attended to one of the best concert since forever. The happiness of being here is great, the thought will always be in our minds, just as the heartache everytie we will remind these acts, these sounds and smells, these wonderful sensations to be a part of something really special.
AFTER THE CONCERT, MY FEELINGS
The feelings of my “after the concert”, are those of a people deeply in love with what’s happened around her, with the things she saw and heard, with what she become after the meeting with these people who gifted her with the most wonderful new year’s eve of her life. Cheering new year’s eve with such fireworks doesn’t usually happen that often, above all to us, people who started this year to follow the guys of our favourite band. It’s much time after three am. In Helsinki, a still cheering Helsinki about the new year, a town which said hello to new years this time as nine times before, with the gig of one of the most famous bands around. We can still hear fireworks exploding in the air not that far, we can see some still in the air, or maybe it’s our ears, not used to silence, after three hours of loud music.; the city streets still full of people coming and going, some of them entering the fast food or the bars to warm themselves with hot coffee after the party; it rains a bit, but is not annoying. Helsinki with no snow at new year’s, Finns really mad to the weather because they really love White Christmas. For us it is something more better than a white Christmas. It is a wonderful gift what we just received, a gift we still have to realize how much big it is, and this is the reason why while all the audience got out Tavastia after the concert and we didn’t want to get out instead. We stood there, on our feet, taking pictures, watching Tom while he was fixing all the instruments to be ready to be taken off stage, sticking our stickers everywhere while he was entertaining us with a little funny dance with a wig taken somewhere we don’t even know where. Last pictures to an empty stage, they don’t want to give us the towel in which Ville dried his sweaty face, it is written with the Tavastia logo and they cant give it to us. The bad face of Venus Doom still on the back of the stage, even when lights flash and tell us that it is time to go, they have to fix the club, to fix everything for the new year to come. “Wonderful”, these are the comments we hear from all the people who attended the concert, and which we talk about even with ourselves, but we are not the only happy persons there…everyone is happy, maybe it’s a bit cold but we can easily forget about it, because all of the warmth of that ‘thing’ we have been part of until 2 am in the morning will be enough to warm us up for many and many days to come, even if we can’t get enough of it. Last year has been filled with a lot of things, hard work which sometimes led to nothing, filled with great satisfaction, with many blues, with bad thoughts, now everything begins again from the strt, with a good start which makes me think about a brilliant future. This is hope. To begin 2008 with the most wonderful gig I’ve ever been to it’s a good start. That warmth is back, that smile, the usual tear, my knees shaking like leaves and it is not cold; I am not in Helsinki anymore at the moment, but in the kitchen of my new house. It’s enough to me to close the Word page in where I am writing this article and to open my images folder, filled up with Helldone pictures. The most beautiful are the onew in which we are smiling, happy, all together, with no problems, at least for these few hours. Then everyone got back to their houses, to their problems, but with that little piece of the heart filld with Helldone. I would leave even now, although the bad travelling conditions, I will do it again, entirely, it was worth it; even now I feel a little weird, I have something more, not just one year more, but a happiness tear which fills that last hole left free , which falls down to warm every thought I still have in my mind about this wonderful holiday in that land.
Nailedtoacross
Planned and developed by MRS.LINDSTROM with the help of NAILEDTOACROSS,
LEGOLAS_DI_MIRKWOOD and MAIA.
Editor in Chief: Mrs Lindstrom, Graphic Project: Shikaia590 & Maia
