On Sunday, April 9th former HIM frontman Ville Valo returned to Chicago's House of Blues for the first time since HIM's farewell tour in 2017.
Fans were lined up outside the venue waiting with open arms to welcome Ville Valo back to Chicago! Valo would be playing two shows at The House of Blues in support of his new album Neon Noir.
The show was opened by Icelandic trio Kaelan Mikla , whom Valo graciously thanked during his set calling them enchanting.
Fans dressed in all forms of HIM and Ville Valo gear waited patiently for Valo to hit the stage. His band came out first and then he entered the stage in a black suit, black cap and Converse shoes.
They played the Neon Noir instrumental track "Zener Solitaire" and they stood in front of the new modified heartagram background featuring a VV in the center. Valo invented the heartagram many years ago and it is amazing that he modified it with his initials VV so the symbol could follow him into the next chapter of his life.
Valo was joined by a new band of Finnish musicians including guitarist Mikko Virta, guitarist Sampo Sundstrom, drummer Risto Rikala and bassist Juho Vehmanen.
Valo started the show with the first track from his new album, "Echolocate Your Love". This was followed with fan favorite "Funeral of Hearts." In the past, this was usually the last song of the evening before the encore. Perhaps playing the song early on in the set showed Valo's passion for starting something new and making new memories with his fans.
Valo was clearly having a great time performing new and old songs for the audience. The crowd was packed with enthusiastic fans. Whether they were new or old fans, they sang along with all of the songs.
Valo played one new song and then one classic HIM song. This kept everyone very engaged and highly energetic throughout the show.
Valo played fan favorite HIM songs like " Buried Alive By Love," "Join Me" and "Wings of a Butterfly". Songs from the new album like "Neon Noir," In Trenodia" and "Foreverlost." were clearly also enjoyed by the audience as they sang along to all the words.
The last song of the evening was classic Him song "When Love and Death Embrace". The band came out for a four song encore including "Soul on Fire", "Salute the Sanguine," "Poison Girl" and "Saturnine Saturnalia."
Ville Valo is one of the rare musicians who not only sings great songs, but can truly touch the hearts of his loyal fans. Valo looked and sounded amazing and once again shared his very unique brand of "love metal" with his adoring fans.