The Hives @ The Fillmore - Philadelphia, PA
March 16th 2026: The Hives @ The Fillmore - Philadelphia, PA
The Hives - Photos Courtesy of: Erika Reinsel
If you haven’t been to a Hives show, you’re missing out. And if you have, you already know that once is never enough. That much was clear Monday night, when a packed crowd at The Fillmore Philadelphia braved rain and even a tornado watch just to be in the room.
Our favorite Swedes, The Hives, arrived impeccably dressed in support of their latest album, The Hives Forever Forever The Hives. Clad in suits lined with white LED strips, they quite literally lit up the stage, glowing against a backdrop of massive inflatable balls spelling out H-I-V-E-S… because subtlety has never been their thing.
A Hives show is equal parts explosive rock ‘n’ roll and razor-sharp banter, and the balance is exactly what makes it work. Frontman Pelle Almqvist is nothing short of magnetic, repeatedly insisting it was actually Saturday night (because in Philly, a Monday can feel like one). Between songs, he doubled down on the band’s long-standing, tongue-in-cheek claim: that The Hives are the greatest band in the world – and will be forever. While Pelle Almqvist commanded center stage, he regularly leapt beyond the barrier to mingle with lucky front-row fans, turning the performance into something far more personal. The rest of The Hives matched that energy without hesitation. Guitarists Niklas Almqvist and Vigilante Carlstroem delivered a relentless stream of sharp, electrifying riffs, all while urging the crowd to move, shout, and somehow get even louder. While stage-named The Johan and Only and Chris The Dangerous held things down from the back, their tight, driving rhythm anchored the chaos – effortlessly pulling everything together into a raucous, electrifying evening.
As the crowd danced, thrashed, and jumped along, The Hives tore through their catalog with relentless intensity. Fittingly, they closed the night with ‘The Hives Forever Forever The Hives’, a final, triumphant burst of energy.
And even as fans spilt back out onto the rain-soaked streets, the chant of “The Hives Forever!” echoed on, lingering well beyond the final note.
Setlist:
Enough is Enough
Walk Idiot Walk
Rigor Mortis Radio
Paint a Picture
Main Offender
Born a Rebel
Roll Out the Red Carpet
Stick Up
Bogus Operandi
Hate to Say I Told You So
Countdown to Shutdown
Come on!
Tick Tick Boom
Encore:
Legalize Living
Bigger Hole to Fill
The Hives Forever Forever The Hives
The Hives @ House of Blues - Houston
September 9th 2025: The Hives @ House of Blues Houston - Houston, TX
The Hives | Photos Courtesy of: Violeta Alvarez
The Hives returned to Houston for the first time since 2021, this time with Snooper opening. I only caught the end of Snooper’s set, but their high-octane punk energy set the stage perfectly for the night.
From the first note, The Hives proved why they’re one of the most electrifying live acts around. I photographed the first three songs from the pit, and in that short time, the band’s charisma was undeniable. Frontman Howlin’ Pelle Almqvist was everywhere at once, working the stage, locking eyes with the crowd, and even stepping down into the audience straight from the photo pit to sing shoulder to shoulder with fans. Guitarist Nicholaus Arson matched him in intensity, slashing out riffs while leaning into the crowd, feeding off their energy. The connection between band and audience was raw and immediate.
Unfortunately, after the third song, I was trying to head upstairs to get overhead images, but I ended up stuck in the venue’s elevator for over an hour and twenty minutes. By the time the Houston Fire Department got me out of the elevator, the show had ended, and fans were leaving the venue.
Even with this mishap, the brief time I spent in the pit was enough to remind me: The Hives don’t just play shows, they create an experience that’s larger than life. The Hives don’t just perform, they ignite the room.
The Hives @ Brooklyn Steel - Brooklyn
October 30th, 2023: The Hives, Olivia Jean @ Brooklyn Steel - Brooklyn, NY
The Hives - Photos Courtesy of: Edwina Hay
The Hives blessed fans with another dozen new songs on The Death of Randy Fitzimmons back on August 11th and kicked off their tour with a sold-out show at Brooklyn Steel in Brooklyn, NY the eve before Halloween (Monday, October 30, 2023). Who is Randy Fitzsimmons? He may or may not exist, but has been credited as discovering and managing The Hives as well as being an unofficial sixth member of the band. With their first new record in over a decade, Fitzsimmons is now dead…or perhaps he is still alive?
The long-running garage rock band recently announced on social media that there would be prizes awarded for costumes for their Brooklyn show plus Washington, D.C. on Halloween. Naturally, there were people dressed up like The Hives, including one person up front who referenced frontman Howlin’ Pelle Almqvist accidentally hitting himself in the face with a microphone during their performance at a festival.
Another garage rock act, Olivia Jean, and her band were selected to open the tour. The four members took the stage promptly at 8 PM and played a solid and fun set for 40 minutes. Olivia Jean and her band seemed truly excited to be on tour with The Hives and engaging with their fans at the tour opening show.
The Hives came on stage about 9:15 PM after Frédéric Chopin’s “Marche Funèbre” played over the speakers and frontman Howlin’ Pelle Almqvist jokingly and accurately declaring, “It is good to have us back!” before the group kicked off their set with the first track of Randy Fitzsimmons, “Bogus Operandi,” and subsequently launching into “Main Offender,” “Walk Idiot Walk,” and “Rigor Mortis Radio.” Almqvist announced that the new album made him feel like a proud parent before the band performed the fifth song from the aforementioned record, “Stick Up.”
All evening, Pelle’s banter was witty and sharp: “I looked at the setlist and you people love this song. You’ve loved it for 20 years!” before he introduced guitarist (and his brother) Nicholas Arson to begin “Hate To Say I Told You So,” from their 2000 sophomore album Veni, Vidi Vicious. “Yeah, we’ve been practicing!” he later noted when expressing how good they sounded. When he announced the last song of their set, people loudly expressed their disappointment and he immediately quipped, “Do we have a customer complaint?” The Hives selected “Countdown to Shutdown,” another single from the new album, as the final song of their set before they left the stage, only to return to us a few moments later. We received a two-song encore of “Come On!” (from 2012’s Lex Hives) and “Tick Tick Boom,” (from The Black and White Album). Before the Swedish gents sent us off into the night, we heard Carly Simon’s “Nobody Does It Better” over the house speakers as the band took a bow to a cheering audience.
I caught my first performance from the Swedish quintet back in 2001 and saw them a few months ago in May at a smaller venue. I can always count on The Hives to deliver an energetic and fun performance and I’m so grateful I got to see them twice in a year after a long hiatus. They’re scheduled to return to NYC again in 2024 to open for Foo Fighters at CitiField and I’m very glad I got to see them in a medium-sized venue before they bring The Death of Randy Fitzsimmons to the home of The New York Mets.
Olivia Jean
