Ville Valo Plays 9 HIM Songs at First-Ever Solo Show + Now Our Heart Aches in the Best Way
At his first-ever live performance under the new moniker VV, Ville Valo reclaimed a significant piece of his past while also looking forward, evenly dividing his 18-song setlist into nine new tracks and an additional nine HIM covers.
The show was held on Jan. 13 at Tavastia, a nightclub in Finland, which kicked off Valo's European run in support his his new album, Neon Noir. It also happens to be the same venue where HIM played their last show on Dec. 31, 2017 after announcing they'd break up at the end of a world tour earlier that year. It's a bit poetic that the singer ended his career with HIM and launched a new one in the same place, but that's just what we all expect from the gothic heartthrob.
What's most interesting about the setlist is that it alternates between Neon Noir and HIM songs, one at a time, opening with "Echolocate Your Love" before going into the HIM catalog for "The Funeral of Hearts" and then back to the present with the title track, and so on.
In total, Valo and his band played three songs from Love Metal ("Funeral of Hearts," "Buried Alive by Love," "Soul on Fire"), two off Razorblade Romance ("Right Here In My Arms," "Join Me In Death"), another pair from Greatest Love Songs Vol. 666 ("When Love and Death Embrace," "Poison Girl") and one apiece from Venus Doom ("Kiss of Dawn") and Dark Light ("Wings of a Butterfly").
View the complete setlist below and watch fan-filmed video footage of select songs from throughout the night below. And to read about what Loudwire loves about Valo's new Neon Noir album, head here.
Catch Ville Valo on his U.S. tour later this year at these dates. For tickets, head to this location.
Ville Valo Set List — Jan. 13, 2023 (via setlist.fm)
01. "Echolocate Your Love"
02. "The Funeral Of Hearts" (HIM)
03. "Neon Noir"
04. "Right Here In My Arms" (HIM)
05. "Loveletting"
06. "Buried Alive By Love" (HIM)
07. "In Trenodia"
08. "Wings Of A Butterfly" (HIM)
09. "Heartful Of Ghosts"
10. "Join Me In Death" (HIM)
11. "The Foreverlost"
12. "The Kiss Of Dawn" (HIM)
13. "Run Away From The Sun"
14. "When Love And Death Embrace (HIM)
Encore:
15. "Soul On Fire (HIM)
16. "Salute The Sanguine"
17. "Poison Girl (HIM)
18. "Saturnine Saturnalia"
Ville Valo, "Right Here in My Arms" (HIM cover) — Jan. 13, 2023
Ville Valo, "Funeral of Hearts" (HIM cover), "Neon Noir," "Buried Alive by Love" (HIM cover), "In Trenodia" — Jan. 13, 2023
Ville Valo, "Wings of a Butterfly" (HIM cover) — Jan. 13, 2023
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