Son of a bitch, I'm tired. Maybe I should have got a super sugary white mocha instead of an unsweetened chai latee. True, it IS a good kind of tired, but the kind of tired that still wishes I was sleeping in my bed. This is what happens when my first show of my once-five-now-six-show concert season contains the unstoppable Swedish rock juggernaut known collectively as the Hives.
If you don't know The Hives, you SHOULD know them from their two big hits: "Hate to Say I Told You So"...
and "Tick Tick Boom".
If you STILL don't know them, then fucking fuck, man... get on fucking top of that. I went to the Fox Theater yesterday to watch The Hives perform live for the second time. Going in, I knew it was going to be pure energy shooting straight into my eyes and ears... and they didn't disappoint.
The opening band, Fidlar, was okay. They tried to replicate the energy and sound one would expect at a Hives concert. They were okay. I didn't know of them going in so I really didn't know any of their songs and that could have hindered my overall enjoyment of the band. The frontman looked like he was having fun, but he went for the Marty-McFly-emulating-Jimi-Hendrix's-playing-on-his-back move one too many times. They did an okay cover of Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Lodi" which made me want to listen to Creedence.
You can probably all ready tell I had a fucking blast, so I'm not going to review their performance. It was awesomer than awesome can get. I'll just explain in note format why I fucking love the show and the band in general, and give you no excuse not to see them live.
- I'm not one for dressing up, especially when it comes to my rock bands. My favorite rock bands all have MY type of fashion: t-shirt, jeans, and fucking rock music. But The Hives always dress in stylish black and white, and they ALWAYS dress to impress. It fucking works for them, and it just adds to their mystique. Last time I saw them play, they were in stylish black suits with white outlining them. This time around? Tuxedos and top hats. Bad ass.
- Their roadies? Fucking ninjas. Blonde, Swedish ninja chicks. Well, one was blonde... though she could have just been backstage, popping her head every now and again and could have not been a ninja. But I would like to think The Hives go around the world, being protected by Swedish female ninjas, because they're just that fucking awesome. Plus, the ninjas, after making sure the cords aren't tripping up the band and the microphone stand is upright, will periodically play backup percussionists, just because they fucking can.
- Howlin' Pelle didn't get his nickname for nothing. He is by far one of the best frontmen ever. Sure, I still beleive that Freddy Mercury is number one in that category, but if there's anyone who can give him a run for his money, it's Pelle Almqvist. I wouldn't be surprised if he evolved one day to a ball of pure energy, because even when that guy is "resting" on stage, he is still full of energy. That guy doesn't stop moving... he needs to stand on everything you can stand on: the drums, the speakers, the sides of the stage that only have six inches of ledge to stand on. If he's not on stage, he's in the audience, slapping hands and putting the microphone to them. He knows he rules every single audience member in the palm of his hands. If he wants them to scream and jump, he'll make them. If he wants them to be quiet, they'll shut up. He's that fucking good.
- And by the way, you know that fucking Maroon 5 song, "Moves Like Jagger." That song is based off of Pelle. And if it's not, it SHOULD be. Douchebag Adam Levine should have learned something when The Hives... grrr... opened... *takes a deep breath, holding in anger* for Maroon 5 years ago. You would think Pelle was Mick Jagger reincarnated until you realize that Jagger is still being kept alive by the Lazarus Pits.
- His brother, guitarist Nicholaus Arson, is just as energetic. When he's not singing backup, he's all over stage, rocking the fuck out. Along with the drummer Chris Dangerous, it just adds to my theory that they're just pure energy in rock form.
- Dr. Matt Destruction and Vigilante Carlstroem, the bassist and guitarist respectively, just play it cool on stage right. But even when they play, they play to rock your socks off. And I love Dr. Matt's rock-out face. I can't help but smile.
- Their music is also infused with that raw energy they possess on stage. They play that "fast punk music" that Californians love, Pelle claims as he's on stage. And well, he's right. It's fast, it's in your face, and it's rock. Their slower hits are fucking catchy, and you get that blast of energy in 2-4 minutes per song.
- The Hives, along with The Sounds, The International Noise Conspiracy, The Cardigans, and The Sahara Hotnights, are the reasons why I would give any Swedish rock band a good listen.
- If you want the concert experience of your life, you need to go to a Hives concert. If you can't handle the wave of general admission, moving constantly, pushing you in all different directions, then don't worry, I can't anymore either. But you owe yourself to either get yourself a seat and enjoy from afar, or stand in the back, and just see the experience upclose. I have to warn you, like any other concert, there will be the usual share of assholes who have no respect for others and act like a complete dick. This just gives you a good excuse to punch someone in the balls for not showing their fellow concertgoers the common courtesy to not have 250 pounds of stanky ass ramming everyone within ten yards of them.
- And one final note... they're totally worth coming out to Oakland and staying up late to see them. Sure, it's the Fox Theater, and that in itself is a good excuse to go to Oakland, but that's just an added bonus.
And now, I have to recover and get some energy up for the next concert tomorrow, the Silversun Pickups. It won't be as beautifully chaotic as a Hives concert, but it will still be an awesome show, if I'm to take into account all the times I've seen them live. The next four shows -- Garbage, Offspring, The Uptones, and The Monkees -- should be just as interesting. I've got a pretty good concert season ahead of me. I wonder if it'll beat out the season I had a couple of years ago. I shall see. Until then, rock on.
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