Pop Break Live: The Hives live at The World Famous Troubadour in Los Angeles, CA on May 9, 2023
The rumors are true – The Hives are back! After an 11-year hiatus, the Swedish quintet have returned to take over the world of rock ‘n’ roll with their fifth studio album, The Death of Randy Fitzsimmons. In their own words, the band explained on Instagram, “We left the throne for a decade just to prove that we could. No one sat on it, so we did, again.” Anyone who feels like this might be an overstatement has clearly never seen The Hives live, as they’re widely considered one of the greatest live acts today. This fact remained truer than ever at their first ever performance at Hollywood’s legendary venue, The Troubadour on May 9th.
In anticipation of their new record, The Hives surprised Los Angeles fans with two incredibly intimate shows in the LA area, the first being at the Troubadour. With no opening act and this show being their first non-festival performance in the U.S. since 2021 (some Angelenos might’ve caught them last summer at Just Like Heaven), excitement was sky high by the time the band walked onstage in their signature bespoke, black and white suits. In the darkness of the Troubadour and huddled on the tiny stage, the band opened with their newest single, “Bogus Operandi,” a rip-roaring singalong that highlights everything The Hives do so well in the studio. Lead singer Pelle Almqvist – always known for on-stage antics – wasted no time leaping through the air, joining fans in the crowd, and climbing up The Troubadour’s iconic infrastructure. Within only minutes, it felt like every person in the venue was jumping in unison and singing along with the brand new song.
By the time the band got into their early hit “Walk Idiot Walk,” Pelle Almqvist had made his way up the scaffolding of the stage and was singing to fans on the small upper balcony. His brother and the band’s guitarist, Niklas Almqvist, was falling into the crowd with only a dozen hands holding him up as he strummed wildly. “Rigor Mortis Radio,” another new track that made its live debut, continued the new record’s death theme with haunting lyrics and yet again another catchy chorus – a staple of The Hives that the band regularly churns out with ease. Pelle took time to acknowledge the iconic venue they were playing in, referring to all the memorable acts and artistic feats that took place on stage, and then joked none of that would be happening that night. The irony of the joke was that everyone present would be hard pressed to agree with the singer; with every track played, the night grew more special.
A memorable chunk of the evening included the back-to-back-to-back run of high energy singalongs, “Go Right Ahead,” “Stick Up,” and “Hate To Say I Told You So.” During “Stick Up,” Pelle had such a deep command of the audience that he repeatedly paused between the bridge and chorus, jokingly telling crowd members who kept anticipating the next lyric to “shut up.” Even though “Stick Up” is a brand new track, it’s written like so many brilliant Hives songs; even if you’ve never heard it before, you can’t help but sing along. The band continued to play behind Almqvist, drenched in sweat, removing a piece of their suits one at a time throughout the evening. When a mosh pit started during “Hate To Say,” it felt like any member of the band might actually join it.
New tracks, “Trapdoor Solution” and “Countdown to Shutdown” fit right in alongside the classic hits and fans will surely recognize them as some of The Hives’ best work in their career. Another big highlight was the number “I’m Alive,” a one-off single released in 2019 that sonically and thematically paved the way for The Death of Randy Fitzsimmons with its spooky atmosphere and eerie lyrics of rebirth and resistance. This will no doubt become a live staple for the band going forward.
Although the whole set was just north of an hour and flew by, The Hives left a definitive mark on the Los Angeles audience. Their encore of “Come On!” and “Tick Tick Boom” was played with such veracity that it felt like the band was closing out a three-hour stadium show. Every corner of the club was occupied with bodies as all hands were clapping wildly in the air. Before leaving the stage, the band came together, bowed in unison, and all reached out to grab as many hands of fans as possible, thanking them for coming out. This, more than anything, exemplified why their version of rock ‘n’ roll has remained so powerful. The unbreakable connection The Hives have with live audiences, and their commitment to releasing music only once it’s reached the band’s standard for greatness, exemplify why The Hives will always have staying power. They’re back for the throne and it’s quite clear that it was always theirs; long live The Hives.
