The Hives concert review

The Hives' Pete Almqvist
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Concert Review: The Hives

By Nick Lewis
Published in The Calgary Herald on Friday May 23, 2008
Leave it to the Swedes to remind us that rock music, at its most primal, is a fist-pumping, high-fiving, beer-guzzling celebration of life.
No one bothered to tell The Hives their amps don't go to 11, but that didn't deter the Scandinavian garage rock revivalists from putting on a loud, full-throttle live show at their first Calgary concert Thursday night, one that rattled the ribcage, shook the senses and made you clamour for more.

Opening with Hey Little World off their latest, The Black and White Album, the quintet immediately charmed the near capacity audience, and carried the momentum with the muscular Main Offender.

Impeccably suited in matching black schoolboy blazers with white trim, a newly fashioned "H" crest on the left breast, and silken black-and-white striped ties, the quintet looked like AC/DC's Angus Young at a charity ball, albeit one where stage diving and scissor kicks replaced polite smiles and small talk.

With a manic, bug-eyed energy, frontman Howlin' Pelle Almqvist bounced across the stage, howlin' and screamin' and kickin' and singin', seeming himself a bigger Hives fan than any among the 2,100 or so in attendance.

"Ladies and gentlemen of Calgary, I will tell you what is before your very eyes," he said, leaning into the mic. "It's The Hives! Give it up for the band now!"

The dynamic of The Hives is not unlike that of Oasis, with an older brother who writes most of the songs (Nicholaus Arson) and a magnetic younger brother who sings them (Almqvist).

But while Oasis are quite earnest in calling themselves the best band in the world, The Hives do it with their tongues firmly in their cheeks.

And, unlike Oasis, The Hives seem like they're thrilled to be on stage playing, like they're fresh-faced teens just dying for you to hear Die Alright!

They had the same enthusiasm through Walk Idiot Walk, No Pun Intended, Hate To Say I Told You So and Tick Tick Boom.

They kept the momentum up all of their set, with nary a low point, showing that while they may be fantastic on record, their real worth is as a live act.

"The Hives are in town, and you are the lucky few who get to see them!" Almqvist shouted at one point in the show.

Boy was he right.