Just came back from the Lifebeat show @ the Hammerstein Ballroom with Sugarcult, Pete Yorn, Jimmy Eat World, and THE HIVES. Sugarcult I gladly missed, and Pete Yorn sucked MAJOR ass. I mean his band was on vacation so he did a solo acustic set. His voice sucks too much to do that kind of stuff. He was one of the worst performers Ive ever seen in my life. Its too bad cause I kinda digged his single "For Nanci". But I can't beleive this guy has a record contract and that no one actually booed him off(except me). I gotta tell ya tho the only thing that kept me from hanging myself was the lack of rope and the hot bitches up in that joint! I mean everywhere you looked there was a hot bitch. Most of them weren't the "rocker" type tho, more like sorority girls. WHich kept me sane during the bad sets but kept me laughing during the Hives. Before the Hives tho Jimmy Eat World came out and did a pretty good job. Not the greatest band, didnt do anything special, but they are a tight band who can play nice tunes. They really got the place going when they first came out I started the pit, and people joined in but then I realized this music is f00king slow and melodic, so I stopped. Yet the teens were bumping heads to a slow song. AMATURES! Most of the people there just pogoed tho, that was more J.E.W. type of stuff. I think all those Sorority girls and delicate chicks that where there was there to see these guys cause once the Hives came out all hell broke lose. First came out Johnny Knoxville and Steve O to introduce the band then as the first cord struck, that when my elbow hit the guy in front of me square in the back and I thrust back that when all the chicks start falling on their asses. It was funny as hell, these chicks dont know what hit em. Then everyone else joined in the pit. I gotta tel ya Pelle is one of the best, if not THE best, front man out there today. He combines so many moves from other great singers and gives the show more energy. Also it doesnt hurt that he talks with a funny accent and says funny stuff. He's got the funniest cockiest attitude. Anyways The Hives made the 2 hour wait worthwile. Sorry if you were one of those chicks, but hey this is a Hives concert not a Hoboken bar.
The next time you find yourself in a Hoboken bar, feel free to start a mosh pit anyway. Maybe you'll break a few bones.
Re: Re: All of YOU, LOOOOVE THE Hives!! I second that!!!!!! For all the time I lived in abfab Jersey City, I found that the only place in Hoboken worth spending any time at was Maxwell's.(i'm sure there are other places, but i was soured early on) I also noticed a strange phenomenon last summer-everytime I went to a bar in Hoboken (usually forcibly dragged by one of my roommates who had to run sound for some shite cover band) half the girls would be wearing lavender sleeveless shirts with turtleneck-like collars..... Anyhow-back to the point of this thread-I'm glad you had a good time metrocorazon because everyone I've known who's gone to see them has come home disappointed...which always surprised me. They seem like they'd be a fun live band to see regardless of whether or not you think their music is just a blatant rip off of older stuff.
Mrs. Footix was at this show, and said Pete Yorn's set was excruciating. She thought Jimmy Eat World was impressive, and absolutely loved The Hives. From her vantage point at the soundboard, she said Serg's crew looked like they had a ball. Waiting for Michael K to see if his gurl Kirstin D was there...
I missed last night's show, but having seen the Hives before and not having seen the Rolling Stones, I can say without any exaggeration that Pelle Almqvist posesses the greatest showmanship of any singers out right now.
True dat. For my money, Pelle is the most charismatic front man out there right now, bar none. I really don't care if his every move is derivative or contrived (love the 'Southern-preacher-liftin'-your-soul-up, good-Gawd-almighty' accent, Pelle. I didn't know they spoke that in the Swedish hinterlands)...I paid 35 bucks for that show, and I wouldn't have felt ripped off if I'd paid that just to see the Hives. More later.
Jim Farber (a notorious Yorn fan)'s review of the show: http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/story/14742p-14005c.html
Saw The Hives tonight at Webster Hall...as usual, they rocked. Pelle is still manic and brilliant: "Before we let this show go any further....how 'bout a big hand for yours truly!" Apparently, they couldnt get their lighted H-I-V-E-S backdrop rig through customs, because as Pelle put it, "it might be used as a weapon of some sort." One of NYC's uber-hip bands of the moment The Rogers Sisters opened, and played their jagged new wave to a pretty receptive crowd. My date, the lovely Jamison, didn't really care for them, though I thought they were pretty cool.
You call me lovely again and I'm making you pay for dinner. Okay, that was pretty g@y. I'm amazed how fast you found this thread, but anyway. Yes, The Hives were very, very good live. A couple of notes. 1. They were loud, the were tight, and they had fun. It was a very good show. 1a. The Rogers Sisters were loud, loose, and sounded kind of confused. The bass player was funny though. 2. Back to The Hives, the rhythm guitarist (right, above) was channelling some serious Ricky from Better Off Dead. Speaking of vibes, Pelle had some Alex de Large going on (clockwork orange), and he seemed to have learned his English in Texas. When talking to the crowd, he would pull some early Mick Jagger body language on over his George Thurogood rambling, and it was damn funny. 3. They mentioned flying straight in from Rome, being up for 48 hours, and made up the jet lag by spitting a lot. But, I was in Rome once, so I think I understand. And yes, they mentioned getting jacked by customs at JFK and not being allowed to bring in the lights, and then said "This is the country you live in...", which was kind of funny. I just hope they don't go using that line in...say...John AshcroftLand. 4. The bass player got very, very sweaty. Like, standing in the shower for a good day or two kind of sweaty. Wearing the exact outfits as above, his black shirt got so soaked it look like it was made from shiny rubber, which, trust me, is a better look on Halle Berry from Catwoman than this dude. But, he played a mean bass, so credit to him. 5. Webster Hall is still a cool place. But...it's a bitch to get out of, especially when they close 5 of the...5 exits. Anyway, I would just like to take this time to thank the parents of the bartender grey sweatshirt upstairs. You folks...nice work. N.i.c.e. They have a very odd, union-derived process of bartending, but at least it was fun to watch. Cheers. Thanks to fancy man footix for the hookup. Thanks to the @sscrank in front of me for giving me something to wish hate and death upon for the 60-odd minutes of the show. You and your friend are a-holes, and I hope you both die in a fiery bus crash that involves everyone else on the bus trampling you and making it out alive. And thanks to The Hives for a rockin' show.