They’re back on tour. A tour to support their new album The Death Of Randy Fitzsimmons and to show (off) that The Hives are still the best live band. Let’s have a look at that with a two-show live report.
FROM VERY GOOD TO EXCELLENT AND BEYOND
The Swedish band doesn’t do anything under ‘very good’. Experts say it. The experts are the band… Well, it might not be the most objective source, but it’s a pretty reliable one. The confirmation of their reliability doesn’t come from anywhere. Our counter-study has taken us a good decade of following their shows, and it’s true, The Hives have never done a show that can be qualified as less than very good. But they did do better. To be more accurate in our study, we’ve compared two shows of the same tour to understand the difference.
BRIGHTON, EUROVISION AND SPLITTING THE SEA
Chatty, Howlin’ Pelle Almqvist (HPA) likes to taunt his audience to get the best reactions out of it. And the reactions are coming, not without the charismatic signer prompting the crowd quite a lot. Yet, the tracks are flowing pretty nicely, perfectly fitting together, and the energy never goes too low. A few active mosh-pits are forming, and HPA splits the crowd apart for his classic wall-of-death-crowd-surfing moment on Tick Tick Boom, as the final act of the set. Some cool surprises are popping up on the setlist with Won’t Be Long, from the Black and White Album, very welcome here with its mad riffs, and Die, Alright, from Tyrannosaurus Hives.
LONDON, HYPERBOLIC MATH AND GAME
Great, but does it mean that the difference is held only in the venue’s size? Does the size matter that much? Nope. It’s the general atmosphere. It’s a question of overall mood, of timing the right joke to the right people. The whole thing makes it an always-unique live experience. With two fewer songs on the London setlist (bye-bye Won’t Be Long and Die, Alright), the rest of it is exactly the same. Their gimmicks also haven’t changed for years, and yet the band keeps it intriguing, new, fresh… well, rather warm, given the energy the five-piece gives on stage.
RACES RESULTS
How do you build an almost unmovable setlist for a tour and still make it unique every time? By dosing the gimmicks, changing interactions slightly, and following your instinct. And by jumping in the crowd whenever you please, as do the two brothers, quite happy to oblige at any given occasion. With a non-dying generosity, they’ll give a lot but ask for as much applause and noise in return, reaching a paroxysm every time they’re quiet. That evening, it’s a competition, a versus. London (plus surrounding areas and foreigners) vs The Hives. Who’s making the most noise?
As the set ends, the referee-mathematician-animator-probably-idol HPA declares a draw. As I exit the venue, we’re all certain we’ve lost the game, for the best of results. London+ 5 – The Hives probably 5 million. Then again, I’m rubbish at maths.
Keep your eyes open and go catch ‘em live – they’ll be everywhere from festivals to opening acts and more. Oh, and keep an eye out for The Hives Franchise too. The cover bands also have plenty of energy to give.
PHOTOS
