It’s been a few years since The Hives have been out here and I have been quite an impatient fan, dying for a chance to see them again since I first saw them at the Metro Theatre in 2009. That concert has since remained the greatest gig I have ever seen and the most fun I have ever had at a live music event - everyone I knew in attendance could not agree more.

As big a fan as I am of Coldplay and Kanye West, no name on this year's epic Splendour in the Grass line-up excited me more than the colour-coordinated Swedes because I knew a sideshow announcement was imminent. Getting to see The Hives in a relatively intimate environment is not an experience one should neglect and I was quite surprised that this current gig at the Enmore Theatre didn’t sell out straight away - perhaps not as many of the younger generation folk have heard of the universal praise The Hives receive time and time again for their stellar performances.

It’s hard to write a review of such a show without coming across as a biased fanatic, but I’m going to try.

As an added treat we were given a support act who could have easily headlined their own show at the Enmore - The Grates. Patience and her extended band have been relatively quiet as of late but they did well in reminding us that The Grates are one of Australia’s leading bands with their undeniably hip and grungy rock & roll mixed in with Patience’s powerful voice. The set contained all their hits but the highlights came towards the end - the head-banging “Feels Like Pain,” which saw Patience crowd-surf to about halfway through the crowd, much to everyone’s delight; and the set-closer “Turn Me On,” proving to be a certified party-starter as it inspired the first wide-spread mosh of the night.

As the wait for The Hives became smaller I planted myself close to the front - I knew what was in store, and I wanted to experience it all up close and personal.

A giant backdrop drew everyone’s attention towards the stage, it was a huge picture of Howlin’ Pelle Almqvist, complete with crazy-eyes and he was appropriately posing as a puppeteer, he even had strings dangling from each of his fingers. If you have ever seen The Hives in action before you know that Pelle is exactly that, a puppet master, and we are all his marionettes, willing to do absolutely anything he commands us to.

Out of nowhere, the theme song from Godzilla started playing, preparing us for an epic arrival of gigantic proportions. In the blink of an eye, the band, sporting their trademark colour coordinated suits and even top hats, hit the stage and started up a fast-paced punk jam as Pelle chanted “C’mon” about 20 times while the mosh grew in intensity and people were losing their minds all over the Enmore.

The monster “Main Offender” started off the set - the ground shook so much that I felt like I was playing on a jumping castle, and I’m pretty sure I got vertigo only two songs into the already pounding, intense set. The crowd showed their appreciation for the Swedish five piece by showing off the most energy that I’ve ever seen at a concert - in terms of jumping up and down, screaming, and crashing into each other - the front of the Enmore quickly became a boiler room.

Famous for his entertaining, tongue-in-cheek crowd interaction, proving to be the most charismatic man in music today, Pelle howled like a circus conductor and commanded us to make as much noise as possible, constantly throughout the set. It’s obvious these guys feed off noise, and the louder the crowd got the more The Hives rocked out - the more The Hives rocked out, the more the ground felt like it was going to collapse - you get the picture, it was extreme.

Not content on slowing things down, The Hives left their slower jams at home and brought nothing but their fastest, most frantic jams while sprinkling in a few new tracks that showed us all that The Hives are not slowing down anytime soon. “Walk Idiot Walk” made an early appearance and the reception was more than enthusiastic, it is about this point where the mosh started to smell putrid as sweat flew off people’s bouncing, curly hair. I’m pretty sure everyone felt like they couldn’t handle anymore, but The Hives' music and Pelle’s demands for noise just give you such adrenaline that you really lose yourself in the music.

The Hives closed the main set with the rip-roaring “Tick Tick Boom,” creating a kind of contest in the mosh pit - who could jump the highest. Just before the build up-break down towards the end, Pelle made us all do the whole crouch down thing, unfortunately it didn’t work too well as most of the kids up front were way to restless to stop moving, but what made the moment really stand out was the fact that the entire band froze in place - like some professional street performers, and this made the break down all the more amazing as they resumed jamming out as quick as they stopped.

Sweat, tears, even some blood, could be spotted in the mosh as we were given that much needed break between the end of the main set and the encore - not many people could stand straight anymore, we all had to crouch down and breath steadily.

The Hives caused mass hysteria when they came back out and regaled us with the epic “Declare Guerre Nucleaire” before hitting us with a new number, “Patrolling Days,” which fit in quite well with the whole set. The closer was obvious to everyone and we all took a very quick rest to prepare for the hit as the band went into their biggest hit to date, “Hate To Say I Told You So.” I didn’t think anything would beat “Tick Tick Boom” in terms of chaos caused, but the 2000 hit made the whole theatre explode with some deep, hidden energy - the kind that you rarely see at any gig, and the kind that The Hives specialise in luring out.

A surprise came towards the end as a teenage kid up front handed Pelle a note mid-song which seemed to ask if the kid could play bass for the remainder of the song. Pelle must have relished the opportunity to do something different because he actually let him up and bassist, Dr Matt Destruction, let the kid have his guitar and even his vest while Destruction went crowd surfin’. The kid must have practiced for this very day as he took over the bass and did a great job, even managing to arouse a surprised and satisfied look on Pelle’s face. The kid’s luck must have spread joy all throughout the crowd as the biggest burst of energy the night had seen was during these last moments of the song - it was insane.

So I guess I didn’t go a good job at coming across as unbiased, but really, it was amazing and even topped the last time I saw them, making this the greatest concert I have ever experienced - I guess that says it all.

Set List

Main Offender
Go Right Ahead
Die, All Right
Walk Idiot Walk
Hail Hail Spit 'n' Drool
Bigger Hold To Fill
No Pun Intended
Take Back The Toys
Try It Again
A Get Together to Tear it Apart
Won't Be Long
Tick Tick Boom

Encore
Declare Guerre Nucleaire
Patrolling Days
Hate To Say I Told You So