Live Review: The Hives At Camp and Furnace

Camp and Furnace in Liverpool has hosted multiple shows over the years but tonight the venue is packed out for one of the most entertaining bands on the rock scene, The Hives. 

Forming in Sweden back in 1993, the band have grown increasingly more popular due to their catchy riffs and huge choruses. They may not of quite hit superstardom the way other bands have but they have a strong fanbase of diehard followers and honestly, once you see the band live it all makes sense. Tonight the band bring their live show to camp and furnace for an exclusive intimate run of shows in celebration of their 7th studio album The Hives Forever, Forever The Hives. It’s an album which takes the bands sound further with the intention of capturing an arena rock sound whilst also keeping the bands signature sound, something it does very well.

Taking to the stage in matching suits the band get straight into it with the first single from the new album Enough is Enough followed by Paint a Picture before taking back to a crowd favourite with a huge performance of Bogus Operandi. From the moment the band take to the stage its all action with vocalist Pelle Almqvist wasting no time in wowing the crowd with his mic throwing, and catching skills. When he’s not jumping around the stage he’s on the barrier interacting with the crowd in a way that only Pelle knows how.  

Between songs Pelle frequently interacts with the crowd, often expressing his love for Liverpool and how great the crowds are here. And he’s not wrong, the crowd tonight is more than energetic as a mosh pit opens up during the iconic Hate To Say I Told You So and a few crowd surfers rise above the crowd and over the barrier. Although this is an album release show its also a celebration of the band,  giving the fans what they want by including songs from the back catalogue, whilst also giving them a chance to hear some of the new songs live for the first time. Its not just the older songs that shine here, the new songs also sound fantastic live and the crowd are loving it.

As mentioned on stage this is only a taste of a hives show but the band don’t hold back. The stage is kitted out with a full backdrop of inflatables and the band are fun as ever to watch on stage. But tonights performance doesn’t just stay on the stage. Mid set Pelle disappears from the stage only to appear on the bar as he asks the bar staff for a drink. “Yes take pictures of me in my fantastic suit” he jokes as the crowd take pictures on their phones before he makes his way back to the stage.

The ‘final’ song of the set tonight is the albums title track. Its a fast paced crowd pleaser and its clear what the bands intention was with this song as Pelle shouts “Forever The Hives” to which the crowd respond “The Hives forever”. If this was the final song it would be the perfect way to close but luckily for the fans theres still more to come as the band return to the stage for an encore giving the crowd one final chance to burn off the last of their energy. As the set draws to a close Pelle thanks the crowd and band come together to take a bow. 

Its not often you get the chance to see a band like The Hives in a small venue and its a shame that the set was so short but nether the less its still be a great night. The Hives are true showman, whilst they may sound great on album its nothing compared to experiencing them live. For those at Camp & Furnace, its sure to be a memorable night.

The new album The Hives Forever, Forever The Hives is available now on all streaming platforms and in all record stores plus the band are back in the UK later this year for a full tour.