Latest news with #Howlin'PelleAlmqvist
The Age
24-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Age
The Hives play it like they mean it (even though they don't)
There are bands that play their songs live, and there are bands that put on a show. Sweden's the Hives belong firmly in the second category. They are a group that lean hard into the theatricality and absurdity – but most importantly, the fun – of playing loud songs in a rock'n'roll band. From the country-and-western-style matching black-and-white suits to their stage names – vocalist Howlin' Pelle Almqvist, lead guitarist Nicholaus Arson, rhythm guitarist Vigilante Carlstroem, bassist The Johan and Only and drummer Chris Dangerous – it's clear the Hives don't take themselves terribly seriously (see also: two stagehands dressed as ninjas, one who plays the tambourine throughout). What they do take seriously is whipping the crowd into a frenzied pack of devout rock'n'roll worshippers, all achieved via a killer live show and a livewire frontman. Addressing the audience like a feverish preacher from middle America is Almqvist, who wastes no time in showing off his mastery of the genre's tropes – spinning microphones, high kicks and shouting the kind of hyperbolic boasts that would make the Gallagher brothers blush ('Doesn't it feel good to be in the presence of the Hives?'). None of it would work without the songs to back up the bold presentation, but the Hives have more than enough belters from across their near-three-decade career to warrant the chest beating. Main Offender and Hate to Say I Told You So, the singles that put the Hives on the map in the early Noughties, sound just as electric 25 years on, the latter a highlight when a young fan is invited on stage to play bass, and nails it. A return to the stage for an encore is introduced with more self-referential humour ('Surprise! Who knew? Us!' says a wild-eyed Almqvist), with the final song, Tick Tick Boom, the perfect encapsulation of what makes the Hives great: endlessly listenable primal rock tunes designed for the simple purpose of getting hips to shake ('It's not rocket surgery,' Almqvist observes). 'Do you wanna hear some rock'n'roll?' Almqvist asks earlier in the show. 'We are well equipped, and we're f---ing good at it.'
Sydney Morning Herald
24-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
The Hives play it like they mean it (even though they don't)
There are bands that play their songs live, and there are bands that put on a show. Sweden's the Hives belong firmly in the second category. They are a group that lean hard into the theatricality and absurdity – but most importantly, the fun – of playing loud songs in a rock'n'roll band. From the country-and-western-style matching black-and-white suits to their stage names – vocalist Howlin' Pelle Almqvist, lead guitarist Nicholaus Arson, rhythm guitarist Vigilante Carlstroem, bassist The Johan and Only and drummer Chris Dangerous – it's clear the Hives don't take themselves terribly seriously (see also: two stagehands dressed as ninjas, one who plays the tambourine throughout). What they do take seriously is whipping the crowd into a frenzied pack of devout rock'n'roll worshippers, all achieved via a killer live show and a livewire frontman. Addressing the audience like a feverish preacher from middle America is Almqvist, who wastes no time in showing off his mastery of the genre's tropes – spinning microphones, high kicks and shouting the kind of hyperbolic boasts that would make the Gallagher brothers blush ('Doesn't it feel good to be in the presence of the Hives?'). None of it would work without the songs to back up the bold presentation, but the Hives have more than enough belters from across their near-three-decade career to warrant the chest beating. Main Offender and Hate to Say I Told You So, the singles that put the Hives on the map in the early Noughties, sound just as electric 25 years on, the latter a highlight when a young fan is invited on stage to play bass, and nails it. A return to the stage for an encore is introduced with more self-referential humour ('Surprise! Who knew? Us!' says a wild-eyed Almqvist), with the final song, Tick Tick Boom, the perfect encapsulation of what makes the Hives great: endlessly listenable primal rock tunes designed for the simple purpose of getting hips to shake ('It's not rocket surgery,' Almqvist observes). 'Do you wanna hear some rock'n'roll?' Almqvist asks earlier in the show. 'We are well equipped, and we're f---ing good at it.'
