June 14, 2008 23:30

HIM cover Chris Isaak and Billy Idol at Download

Singer surprised no bottles of piss were thrown at the stage

Finnish band HIM played to a surprisingly small crowd at Download this evening (June 14).

Headlining the Tuborg stage the band’s crowd seemed to be lacking due to The Offspring’s headline slot on the main stage taking place at the same time.

However it did not seem to matter to the hardcore HIM lovers, who saw a set full of unexpected covers.

Dressed in black knee length hoodie and jeans lead singer Ville Valo and band took to the stage in silence only to wave a bit before launching into their first track ’Passion’s Killing Floor’.

The crowd applauded and cheered loudly after each song but after a few tracks in Valo joked he had been expecting bottles heading towards the stage.

Valo said after another round of applause: “Very, very kind of you and still not a single pint of piss has been thrown at this stage. That is pretty good. Not since the good old days in 2005.”

The band also did two covers. First they performed a cover of Chris Isaak's ’Wicked Game’, as the sun set behind the stage, then they tackled Billy Idol’s ’Rebel Yell’ which received a loud shout of approval from the crowd.

HIM played:

'Passion’s Killing Floor'
'Right Here In My Arms'
'Wings Of A Butterfly'
'Buried Alive By Love'
'Wicked Game'
'The Kiss Of Dawn'
'Join Me In Death'
'Sleepwalking Past Hope'
'Poison Girl'
'Killing Loneliness'
'Soul On Fire'
'Bleed Well'
'It’s All Tears'
'The Funeral Of Hearts'
'Rebel Yell'

Keep up with this weekend's (June 13-15) festival action as it happens on NME.COM. For news, pictures and blogs keep checking the NME.COM's Isle Of Wight Festival page and NME.COM's Download Festival page for live coverage from both sites.