My Top 10 Gigs of 2005: #2

#2 - The Hives, The Forum, October
You can tell The Hives are a huge band from the amount of "false starts", the times where a roadie walks on stage or the lighting changes and the crowd start cheering. It'll normally happen a few times, but it just happened constantly as the impatient masses couldn't contain their excitement. I was waiting in the drinks line, hoping to get back to my spot in time for the start. Anticipation is not usually a tangible quality; this evening was about as close as I've come to considering it as one, like at the start of all the Grand Finals I'd been to put together, except with better music courtesy of The D4.

The wait was not in vain. We were impressed immediately by the opening track Abra Cadaver. Lead singer "Howlin" Pelle Almqvist commanded the crowd from the get-go with his conversational style and witty Swedish accented remarks. They know everyone loves them and Pelle and guitarist Nicolas Arson really ham it up for the ladies. No Hives show goes without some clapping along, both impromptu and conducted by Pelle.

The setlist, the sound, the energy was all very good. Standout tracks from the night include Supply and Demand, Statecontrol, Walk Idiot Walk and the closer A.K.A I.D.I.O.T. The greatest moment was during Diabolic Scheme when they all froze like statues. The boys held it for quite a while while we cheered crazily and then they continued on with the song supremely. Come to think of it, they similarly stopped mid-song and then continued earlier on in the night when Pelle wanted to strip off his jacket.

It was quite an experience, as I suspected it would be. Their music lets you go nuts or mosh if you want, so a lot of people do their own thing. As they gradually take off their matching white-on-black suit jackets, it feels like the crowd lets their hair down along with them. Their style is accentuated by their outrageous performance. Pelle encourages, even forces the crowd to get involved and pumped up to the lofty heights of energetic madness that The Hives themselves play and perform to. They know the tricks to get the most out of the crowd and you can hardly prevent yourself from obliging.