The Hives Live Review: Not your typical album launch show
Energy has been the driving factor of great rock and roll music going all the way back to the days of greased quiffs and Cadillacs. As the decades march on, though, very few groups are able to retain the same high-energy approach that they started out with. Then again, most groups aren’t The Hives.
“‘Ere, you’ll like this,” I can remember my dad saying before putting a CD called Your New Favourite Band into his car. Throughout my childhood, I took that compilation title quite literally, with the infectiously high-energy approach of Howlin’ Pelle Almqvist becoming an unlikely soundtrack to my Primary School days. Even now, nearly two decades later, The Hives remain a staple of my listening habits, and the group themselves remain as unbelievably energetic as ever.
A new era for The Hives has dawned in recent years, with the release of their comeback album The Death of Randy Fitzsimmons back in 2023, and a multitude of high-profile tours across the globe, reestablishing the Swedes’ knack for spectacular live shows. Now, that new era continues with the release of their latest album, The Hives Forever Forever The Hives, which perfectly captures the enduring appeal of the garage rockers.
In support of that new album, the band embarked on a mini-tour of ‘instore’ album release shows, which is how they came to arrive in Leeds on a stormy Sunday night in August. Organised by an essential cornerstone of West Yorkshire’s local scene, Crash Records, this particular ‘instore’ gig took place a hefty walk away from the record store, at the University of Leeds’ Stylus venue which, admittedly, can hold a lot more people than the confines of Crash.
Taking to the stage at 8pm sharp, Almqvist and the gang wasted no time at all in transforming the packed-out, rather sweaty gig venue into a euphoric celebration of rock and roll energy. Rampaging through a set composed of classic tracks from the golden age of the band, alongside material from the newly released record, it didn’t take very long for the crowd at Stylus to soak up some of the excess energy exerted by The Hives.
Mind you, I say the band’s ‘golden age’ to reference their earlier work, with anthems like ‘Hate To Say I Told You So’ and ‘Tick Tick Boom’ being ultimate highlights of the set. It wouldn’t be overly egregious, however, to call their current period something of a golden age, too. After support slots for the likes of Arctic Monkeys and now another masterful record under their belt, it seems as though an entirely new generation is being converted to the cult of Howlin’ Pelle, and the vast generational diversity of the crowd at Stylus reflected that fact.
In between tracks, the frontman did engage in a taste of his typical crowd banter, and The Hives’ usual theatrics were all present – even their roadies are dressed as ninjas – but things were largely kept short and sweet. After recruiting a Johnny Ramone-esque guitarist from the front row to aid in the performance of ‘The Hives Forever Forever The Hives’, the anthemic title track from the new album, the group performed a short encore of ‘Come On’ and ‘Countdown to Shutdown’ and then, as quickly as they had arrived, the garage rockers were gone in a flash.
Crucially, though, the set showed plainly that the band’s modern material certainly stands up to their old favourites. Without rehashing the past too much, The Hives have expertly proven an ability to maintain that same infectious energy from back in the early 2000s where others have lost their steam a little.
Leaving a gig before the clock had even struck 9pm felt like an unnatural experience, all the more so because The Hives’ amphetamine performance style made their 45-minute set fly by in an instant. Still, as far as ‘instore’ album launch gigs go, you cannot complain seeing one of the greatest garage rock outfits of the 21st-century in such an intimate setting.
From getting the crowd to chant the name of a very young, and slightly bemused concertgoer, to the Johnny Ramone-esque guitarist’s time in the spotlight, the night was full of wholesome, rock-fueled memories which will last for far longer than the band’s 45-minute set. For that reason, let’s hope The Hives Forever Forever The Hives is a promise, as well as the title of a brilliant new album.
