Are The Hives the greatest living rock band? That question might seem cliché, but I can assure you that the answer is at least somewhat close to a resounding yes. Even the band seems confident of their royal status, posing as kings on the cover of their humbly titled new album The Hives Forever Forever the Hives as they seemingly boast of their dominance and eternal flame to the world. With the album release just a couple of weeks old, the Swedish rockers are back in the States, leaving a path of fiery wreckage in their wake as they play one sold-out show after another. This is precisely what they did when they descended on Portland, Oregon on Wednesday, September 17th for an almost spiritual performance at Revolution Hall.
Following an absolutely ripping opening set from rising punk outfit Snõõper, eager fans pushed their way forward and lay in wait for the main attraction. The Hives are remarkably consistent with the amount of energy they bring, which means that their fans could count on them to bring the same level of craziness to their new tunes as longtime favorites. For that reason, nobody seemed to mind at all that their set leaned heavily into their two most recent albums. In fact, it was refreshing to see a band that has been around so long not simply shelling out a greatest hits set or half-assedly playing one of their albums cover to cover. Opening with the shotgun blast defiant punk of “Enough Is Enough,” the band would spend the next eighty minutes rabble rousing in the way that only The Hives can do as they gave the audience a taste of their newer material alongside a handful of longtime favorites. “Walk Idiot Walk” was loaded with mega power chords, as Howlin’ Pelle Almqvist wasted little time wading into the crowd to mingle with his people. Almqvist remarked that he fucked up his voice early in the set, but it was hardly noticeable and sure as shit didn’t slow him down as he played the role of fire and brimstone preacher and rock and roll savior while wielding the microphone like a battle sword.
In his perennial quest to rile up the audience and get them spiritually lifted, Almqvist commanded, “You bought tickets a long time ago and it sold out – act like it!” The fans reciprocated by pumping fists and jumping up and down to the point that you could practically feel the floor of this former high school auditorium shaking when they launched into the exuberant thrashing rock of “Paint A Picture” and versions of “Main Offender” and “Born a Rebel” that howled with rockabilly fervor. “Bogus Operandi” was a rush of intensity, while “Hate to Say I told You So” was prefaced with a scorchingly perfect rant about not using your phones to take pictures and dancing to the music instead. Surprisingly, the crowd listened as the band railed through one of their biggest hits only to veer straight into the vicious garage punk fury of “O.C.D.O.D.” “I’m Alive” was a stomping, sinister anthem that had the crowd waving along like members of a fiendish cult as Almqvist bellowed the chorus of “did you miss me, boys and girls.” The answer was a unanimous yes.
By the time the band swerved their way into the bass-driven call and response of “Come On!,” the performance had morphed into a sweaty blaze of glory. “Tick Tick Boom” was just as cranked up, sending the band out on a high note before coming back for another trio of tunes that included the catchy “Legalize Living” and party rocker “Bigger Hole to Fill.” Ending it all with the title track off The Hives Forever Forever the Hives was a fitting send-off and flawless conclusion to leave their fans desperately hoping this band will never go away. At some point during all of the beautiful rock and roll chaos, Almqvist accepted a crown from a fan and donned it proudly as if to remind us all that The Hives remain the kings of rock and roll and surely one of the finest live acts you can see.
All photos by Greg Homolka
