Rockfreaks.net

support Bratakus
author PP date 13/10/23 venue Store Vega, Copenhagen, DEN

Store Vega is rammed to its limits tonight for The Hives' long-awaited return to Copenhagen. I don't recall the last time I felt this much like a sardine in a box at Vega despite having attended plenty of sold-out shows here in the past. You're barely able to fit into the room through the side doors, and contrary to the usual, there's also zero space in the middle once you've squeezed through the first layer of people or so. Even the back bar area is packed to such an extent that you have to basically swim through people to move anywhere. The show has been sold out for months, suggesting that perhaps it's time to move The Hives to the next level, to Falkoner Salen or perhaps Forum Black Box next time around.

Bratakus

Bratakus

First up is Bratakus, a Scottish band consisting of programmed drums and two sisters with a guitar and bass. They play politically-charged punk rock with riot grrrrl style vocals, that is, shouty and delivered with plenty of rebellious, old-school spirit. This is in stark contrast to their looks: the lead vocalist is wearing high heels, a dress, and lipstick, which she mentions in a fiery rant about how people tell her she's not a real punk just because she looks like this. "Fuck that", she screams, before launching into yet another raw, unpolished three-chord punk piece. Most of their material is introduced with a political message of some sort, whether about animal rights or something else. But despite displaying plenty of attitude throughout, and even thrashing around the stage energetically from time to time, their songs just aren't that interesting. It's the same monotonous, repulsive shouting style throughout with basic chords delivered in total DIY fashion - they also book their own tours, print their own merch, etc. Kudos for the punk spirit, but the songs just don't do anything for me.

The Hives

The Hives enter the stage all wearing identical suits with white lightning strikes and music note graphics. Delayed from the rest of the band, Pelle Almqvist arrives last, waving around his mic stand everywhere, aggressively pointing it towards the crowd for every bit of the chorus for "Bogus Operandi" from their latest album. That's about the last we see of the stand itself though, as from here onwards it's all about the mic cord and how to maximize its diameter while swinging it around, it seems.

The Hives

Almqvist is such an entertainer at heart. He's down at the barrier for "Main Offender", climbing on the front rows, and instigates a mass clap-along for "Walk Idiot Walk" right after. He swaps between Swedish and English for his jokes, all of which appear to be variations of "isn't The Hives the greatest band on the planet / the greatest band you have ever seen live". The crowd laps it all up though, and the atmosphere inside Store Vega is electrifying, to say the least.

The Hives

"Rigor Mortis Radio" is the first moment where the crowd reception mutes to a lukewarm one, but it only lasts a moment because midway through "Good Samaritan", the band freezes into an extended period, which causes the audience to progressively scream louder and louder until it launches the band into an energetic finish of the song."Go Right Ahead" is a predictable crowd favorite with sing-alongs and heads nodding along everywhere you look. Yet it doesn't quite feel as crazed and frantic as Friday night shows usually do. "Am I playing to a sober Danish crowd? The world really is ending", Almqvist comments in an attempt to egg us on into wilder energy levels. It could also have to do with the fact that the average age at The Hives show these days is well beyond the 30+ mark, thanks to an eleven-year pause between their new album and "Lex Hives".

The Hives

"Stick Up" is therefore broken down in the middle for a quick talk. "How are we doing? Is this the best show you've seen this year? The best show since the last time you've seen The Hives? The best show in the last two centuries?". You can't fault the band for lack of confidence, at least. "One of the greatest hits of our generation and the previous generation", is how Almqvist introduces "Hate To Say I Told You So" to the crowd. He's not entirely wrong. He also starts by humming the melody himself, which everyone quickly picks up on and all of a sudden it is the crowd that provides the instrumentals while he sings part of the song a capella. Pretty cool.

The Hives

"What a crowd, what an evening, what a song, what a singer", Almqvist howls, as he continues to showcase himself as an entertainer at heart. We go through "Smoke & Mirrors", "See Through Head", and "Countdown To Shutdown" before we reach the encore to echoing applauds. They return for a brief "Come On!" before finishing the show off in style with "Tick Tick Boom". Here, Almqvist gets everyone to sit down so he can walk through the crowd all the way to the sound booth. He then storms down the middle back on stage when the song continues, and a frantic party ensues in the middle as a result.

The Hives

Store Vega is eating from the palm of his hand for this one. Still, I'm not sure whether the performance feels genuine or just like a very, very well-rehearsed circus act of sorts. For most people here tonight, it probably doesn't matter.

Setlist:

• 1. Bogus Operandi
• 2. Main Offender
• 3. Walk Idiot Walk
• 4. Rigor Mortis Radio
• 5. Good Samaritan
• 6. Go Right Ahead
• 7. Stick Up
• 8. Hate to Say I Told You So
• 9. Trapdoor Solution
• 10. I'm Alive
• 11. Smoke & Mirrors
• 12. See Through Head
• 13. Countdown to Shutdown
• --Encore--
• 14. Come On!
• 15. Tick Tick Boom

Photos by: Stefan Thor Straten