Tick Tick Boom.

On a Monday evening that was meant for college, I was preparing to attend my last class of the day. With dark, baggy circles underneath my eyes, I wondered would I be able to withstand two more monotonous hours of grim lectures. Then, as if by godsend, I saw I had a message. That text went something along the lines of:

“Want to go see The Hives tonight?”

“The Hives?” I thought to myself. Who the hell are The Hives? Are they a pop band? A jazz band? Distant relatives of mine looking for money? I started browsing the web for a ticket and saw that the doors to the gig would open in roughly two hours.

I couldn’t go to this gig, could I? My very important studies must come first surely? I mean, I still have one more class today….

But we all know what they say about best laid plans right?

So, I bought that damn ticket and got the bus into the city. Totally rejuvenated for the rest of the day, I reassured myself that I would definitely watch that recorded lecture the following day. On that journey into the city, I couldn’t picture what this gig was going to look like or sound like but I just had a good feeling about this one. Sometimes you just have to trust your gut.

Hives, let’s be having ya.

 Background

I started to recall that I had indeed been informed of The Hives before. I had been shown the songs Hate to Say I Told You So and Tick Tick Boom. Of course, like most, I had heard these legendary tunes before but I just wasn’t able to put a name to the music.

So, louder for the people in the back, who the hell are The Hives?

The Hives are a Swedish garage punk band that were established back in 1993. The original line-up consisted of frontman Per Almqvist (Howlin' Pelle Almqvist), lead guitarist Niklas Almqvist (Nicholaus Arson), rhythm guitarist Mikael Karlsson (Vigilante Carlstroem), bassist Mattias Bernvall (Dr. Matt Destruction) and drummer Christian Grahn (Chris Dangerous).

 The Hives have since become iconic in both look and sound. They are famous for their matching half-and-half black & white tuxedos but also the hard-hitting openers of most of their music. Many of their songs start off quite calmly. It could start with a guitarist sounding like their practicing a riff at a lower volume or with the drummer quietly counting the band in. More experienced Hives fans will know when you hear The Hives tee up to the track like this, it’s gonna be a good one. It acts as a calm before the storm as the rest of band smash you over the head with bass, drums, and the glorious punk vocals of Howlin’ Pete Almqvist.

 

Performance

This bring us to the 15^th of April 2024 where we stood at the back of a packed 3Olympia eagerly anticipating the main act. We got to catch the end of Bad Nerves’ performance as opening act. A punk band from Leeds, they did quite an excellent job in getting the crowd ready The Hives and I was also impressed with the amount of people that were interested in their own performance before the main act took the stage.

When The Hives made their entrance on stage, it set the tone for what the night would be all about. That tone being passion. Despite being a band that have been performing for roughly thirty years, they played with the energy of a band that consisted of late-teens and adolescents. In comparison to other punk gig that I have been to where it felt like watching the funeral of punk rather than a celebration of it (I won’t throw any bands under the bus), punk is indeed alive and well in The Hives.

The Hives’ garage punk sound was well-suited to the cosy (in comparison with the 3Arena) 3Olympia. It didn’t matter whether you were at the front or the back of the room, the intensity of the drums, guitars and vocals were gonna smack you around the head without prejudice. The Hives sounded incredible that night. From the first note to the last, you couldn’t help but bang your head and jump around (with the little room that you had). Whoever was involved in sound and production that night, I tip my hat.

Each individual member of the band played their part perfectly creating what I can only describe as an adrenaline rush for the listener. I imagine the target audience The Hives first had in mind were bank robbers. Their music is perfectly suited to a getaway after a heist has gone awry. It soundtracks that feeling of ultimate risk. Their music elicits intense, ntralling movie scences in the mind’s eye of the listener. Something along the lines of outwitting the police chasing you and as you are driving away, 180 miles an hour, you think to yourself; “I am the fucking man”. The Hives make you feel like you have gotten away with daylight robbery, scot-free.

That feeling the band creates is all the more special given the thirty years or so they have been performing. It would not be a wild concern to worry beforehand if Pelle Almqvist would be able to give his fans the breakneck speed performance they are looking for. Would Pelle’s voice hold up during the set?

Fret not.

On the night, Pelle showed up and showed out. Every song he performed like it was his first of the night. I was incredibly impressed with the stage presence, power, and stamina this 45-year-old lead man had considering he has performed a million times before and has nothing left to prove.

It was also easy to tell that there was a connection between band and audience. Whether you were a life-long fan of The Hives or someone who was new to the music, you were definitely going to be in love with The Hives after that night. 

Between some songs, Pelle created some amusing moments with the audience. He mentioned how their previous show was in the UK which drew boos from the Irish audience. He wondered whether our audience would be better than that already impressive UK crowd. That question garnered a great response from our pack, seeking to be the best mob of fans that The Hives would ever perform for.

 Anything to out-do the Brits I guess. In a funnier moment, he was able to get sections of the audience to boo each other. He asked those of us standing what we thought of the members of our audience that got seating spots above us. As you can expect, those above us received a lovely chorus of boos for the crime of simply being seated (and for loving The Hives).

Perhaps, the best example of crowd control came at the end of their set. Pelle managed to command everyone who was standing to sit down until the famous first note of Tick Tick Boom kicked in which led to the roof of the 3Olympia exploding and to the creation of a massive crater in the heart of Dublin.

I promise that actually happened.

 

Production:

I was impressed with what was a simple yet effective stage. Behind the band was their name adorned in massive, florescent lettering. From my own angle, the wording “HIVES” seemed almost three times the size of the band themselves. This was the level of design and flashiness the band needed because lord knows Pelle was about to add the rest of the flair. For the size of the venue, there was no need for big screens at the sides of the stage so you could see better which I think added to the snugger feel of the gig.

I briefly mentioned the iconic suits that The Hives are known for but that performance was the first time I, myself ever saw them. I loved the white and black colour dynamic and thought from a costume perspective, it really separates them from their competition. Less is truly more. They get bonus points too for reminding me of Two-Face and his suits.

 

Setlist

From the beginning to the end of their set, The Hives had their fans in the palm of their hand. Every song just carried on the momentum of the last. The Hives could do no wrong. Aside from going through their hits on Tidal (no, not Spotify. Please don’t beat me up), I didn’t really know if their other songs would be quality listening or not. I ended up enjoying all of the set with the “worst” of their songs being at least a 7 out of 10. My favourite first time listen had to be Bogus Operandi. I’ve gone on to listen to this song repeatedly which is off their latest album The Death of Randy Fitzsimmons. Oh, also, The Death of Randy Fitzsimmons is the name of their tour. As you can probably guess, Hate to Say I Told You So and Tick Tick Boom were the biggest hits of the night.

 

Crowd

It’s been mentioned before but I was really impressed with the crowd on the night. We entered the venue at roughly 19:30 (doors opened at 19:00). We could see that there was already quite the crowd that had arrived and was loving the opening act that was playing at the time. We decided to head to the bar for a beer and when we returned to the floor to find a good place to stand, we found that even more people had congregated to watch the opening act. We then found places at the back of the crowd but luckily, had a decent view of the stage. This was the perfect crowd for Pelle to play off. From getting our section of the crowd to boo those above us all the way to getting the floor to sit down until Tick Tick Boom kicked in, this Dublin audience was ready, willing, and able all through the night.

 

Final Thoughts

In conclusion, I only had a faint idea of what to expect from The Hives. I was slightly familiar with two of their hits and nothing else outside of that. Given the last-minute plans of actually going to see them, I also didn’t have that exciting anticipation of going to see one of your favourite bands. Thankfully, these factors didn’t affect my enjoyment of the night at all. On reflection, I think The Hives is one of the best gigs I have been to and one of the most impressive concerts I have been to as well.

At one point during the set, Pelle asked:

“How many of you are now lifelong fans of The Hives?”

I answered that I was and after the dust has settled, I feel the same way.

Hot gignwings review

Performance: 🌶🌶🌶🌶

Production: 🌶🌶🌶

Setlist: 🌶🌶🌶

Venue: 🌶🌶🌶🌶

Crowd: 🌶🌶🌶🌶