Reviews

Alone at first, Chris Dangerous starts things off on the drums, transforming the relatively pleasant looking crowd into a sea of chaos and rebellion, before the rest of the band enters to a roar of applause, and soon, Howlin' Pelle Almqvist strutting his stuff as if he had just got some tips from Mick Jagger himself.

Not wasting a second, Almqvist jumped off the stage and educated the first couple of rows with some call and response singing lessons. The communication with the crowd this band generates plays a big role in their show, allowing the crowd to be part of the act like a pantomime.

That said, it’s Howlin’s singing that really deserves the plaudits. The vocal range of this man is unbelievable and was made all the more noticeable in a fantastic Walk Idiot Walk. Combined with the thunderous backing vocals of guitarists Nicholaus Arson and Vigilante Carlstroem, a blistering wall of rock and roll pierced our ever-welcoming ear drums.

We were then told to give our telephone numbers and addresses by the demanding Almqvist, as I Hate To Say I Told You So was to about to chime out and Pelle warned us that if we failed to jump around like “Mancunian bunny rabbits”, he was going to hunt us down and possibly steal our girlfriends or wives.

Always a favourite, the song really struck a chord and came accompanied by a stage presence like no other; Almqvist was jumping all over the place, even throwing in a David Lee Roth kick for good measure.

A well thought out set list gave the audience chance to catch their breath and begin to take in ten years worth of Hives material which had just been crammed in to forty minutes worth of insanity.

They may be a straight up and down rock and roll band, but live, there are few bands that even come close to the power and fun of the Hives.