Tick Tick Tick ... BOOM! It's the HIVES, LIVE!

If you are reading this, you already know who The Hives are. With that said, they do not need some pretentious journalistic explanation to introduce them, so lets move on.

Anyhow, over the past few years, I have heard nothing but glowing reviews about their live performances (not just magazine write-ups, but mostly word-of-mouth gushing!) So, the interest to see The Hives was piqued in my mind awhile ago, but the opportunity never really came up until now. Actually, let me rephrase that... The Hives did play in Cleveland last October, but they were opening for Maroon 5. I absolutely DESPISE Maroon 5, and I thought that was positively absurd that the Hives were opening for those clowns! That's as ridiculous as the time Jimi Hendrix opened for The Monkees! Actually, its quite laughable that a band as awful as Maroon 5 were left to limp out on stage after the Hives tore it up, because how can you top that! Also, there was no way I was going to shell out cash for an overpriced ticket, and only get a short opening set of The Hives... and the thought that my hard-earned dollars paid towards a ticket would be rationed out, and Maroon 5 would be getting the most of the fraction of my dollar... and I can't live with that. There's no way I am going to fund any further development of that band! So, when I heard The Hives were doing a show as the headliners at a separate date... that is where my money went!

So what did my dollar get me?

An absolutely incredible time! I heard they were great, by they surpassed my expectations! Howlin' Pelle Almqvist truly is one of the best frontmen I've ever seen. I cannot stress that enough! That boy has exudes more energy in 1 minute than most people exude in 1 day! I envy that kind of energy, but I embrace it too. I also have to mention that photographing a show like this is what makes being a photographer so worthwhile! It's very challenging to shoot spastic performances, but it's also a lot of fun! The Hives more than delivered on that notion! I also have to say, their matching attire and stream-lined aesthetic appeals to my Design background, and that alone is a pleasure to photograph. I will also have to mention that Howlin' Pelle is an adorable thing, and extremely photogenic! He's very pleasing to these sore eyes! Nicholas Arson really grabs your attention with his steely-eyed stares, and shock therapy body jerks! The drummer (Chris Dangerous), is also a handsome lad, and is rather 'ripped'... and obviously had good hand/eye coordination since I believe he caught his drumsticks every time he tossed them in mid air (which was during almost every song). The 2 others (Vigilante Carlstroem and Dr. Matt Destruction) may not be heart-throb material, but its pretty clear that they are positively essential for The Hives to sound like The Hives! The bass thuds, and the guitar shreds thanks to those 2!

Howlin' Pelle really delivers on audience interaction. His whole bravado is hilarious, and even if it is an 'act', he's cornered the market on it! The only other frontman I've seen with that kind of command in the past few years is Eugene Hutz from Gogol Bordello (now wouldn't that be a killer line-up? The Hives and Gogol Bordello on the same bill? I should be a concert promoter with an idea like that!)
I can't remember every song they did, but they did the 3 songs I really wanted to hear, and that being: "Diabolic Scheme", "A Little More for You", and "Die, Alright!" The only other song I would've really liked to have heard was "Another Girl", but I can see why that probably wouldn't translate well in a live show. They ended the show with their latest steamroller, and that being "Tick Tick Boom".

I should mention that The Donnas opened the show, and I'm not a fan of them, but they weren't bad! I was expecting a pile of crap, but that simply wasn't the case. They weren't as awesome as the Hives, but they were good in their own right. Their lead guitarist is extremely adept, and the music was tight. I was pleasantly surprised.

My recommendation: go see them if they play your area, goddammit!

Remaining Dates:

Mar 4 2008 8:00P
Metropolis Montreal, Quebec
Mar 6 2008 8:00P
Music Hall of Williamsburg Brooklyn, New York
Mar 7 2008 8:00P
Terminal 5 New York, New York
Mar 8 2008 8:00P
930 Club Washington DC, Washington DC
Mar 27 2008 8:00P
The Garage Saarbruecken
Mar 28 2008 8:00P
Pier 2 Bremen
Mar 29 2008 8:00P
WDR Rocknacht Cologne
Mar 30 2008 8:00P
Roxy Prague
Apr 1 2008 8:00P
Petofi Csarnok Budapest
Apr 2 2008 8:00P
Gasometer Vienna
Apr 3 2008 8:00P
Tonhalle Munich
Apr 4 2008 8:00P
Xtra Zurich
Apr 5 2008 8:00P
Rolling Stone Milan
Apr 7 2008 8:00P
Apolo Barcelona
Apr 8 2008 8:00P
La Riviera Madrid
Apr 9 2008 8:00P
Coliseum Lisboa
Apr 11 2008 8:00P
Santana 27 Bilbao
Apr 12 2008 8:00P
Le Bikini Toulouse
Apr 14 2008 8:00P
UEA Norwich
Apr 15 2008 8:00P
Academy New Castle
Apr 16 2008 8:00P
Rockcity Nottingham
Apr 17 2008 8:00P
Academy Bristol
Apr 18 2008 8:00P
Brixton Academy London
Apr 19 2008 8:00P
Printempes de Bourges Bourges
Apr 20 2008 8:00P
Le Zenith Paris