I slutet av mars gjorde the Hives tre oannonserade uppvärmningsspelningar i Stockholm på Debaser och Kafé 44. The Hives är just nu aktuella med singeln Go Right Ahead. 1 juni släpper The Hives sitt nya album Lex Hives [Universal Music]. I sommar spelar The Hives bl.a på Siesta!, Millencolin Festival, Piteå Dansar & Ler, Storsjöyran och Gröna Lund. I höst genomför man sedan en längre Sverige-turné.
Söndags framträdande på Coachella Valley Music And Arts Festival var bandets första officiella framträdandet sedan bandets sångare Howlin’ Pelle skadade sig vid en konsert i augusti förra året. Helgens festivalspelningen fick lysande kritik i den amerikansk press:
?…a moment that live festivals are made for. Almqvist is still one of rock's most engaging frontmen.” skriver LA Times.
?This Swedish quintet remains one of the most riveting live rock bands of the last dozen years.” Spin
?The Hives were the real stars of the festival, tearing through one of the most fantastically fun sets of the entire weekend.” Yahoo
?…one of this weekend’s most impressive acts.” MySpace
?The Hives returned with excited garage-rock and hilarious self-regard from singer Pelle Almqvist”, Rolling Stone
Årets Coachella hade dock Swedish House Mafia som huvudakt – och enligt bl.a den amerikanska musikjournalisten Bob Lefsetz blev deras show festivalens absoluta höjdpunkt. Så här skriver han i sin blogg:
”The Black Keys are one of the hottest bands in America. But they were smoked by Swedish House Mafia. It was no contest.
I'm not saying the Keys were bad. In fact, they were very good.
But most people just didn't care.
But forty minutes after they were done, when it was fifty two degrees and still raining, Swedish House Mafia took the main stage, the Coachella stage, and blasted a sound that united the masses.
Yes, for the first time all day, there was a crowd, covering the entire field. A sea of humanity, a swarm jumping, writhing, dancing, all the way back.
This is how it works. About thirty percent of the way back from the main stage there's a sound booth. And until the Black Keys played, not a single act could fill past this point. Jimmy Cliff KILLED! If you ever saw "The Harder They Come", you'd be thrilled. He hit the stage to the brass notes of "You Can Get It If You Really Want", it was magical. But almost no one cared. Applause was minimal. As was attendance.
But when Swedish House Mafia took the stage, you were reminded of a rally in Nazi Germany or the U.S.S.R. You know, you've seen the pictures, endless people and massive power, scary to those not there. And electronic dance music is scary to the old guard. We were busy debating it in the AEG trailer all night long. Could it fill an arena on a Monday night. What venues, what price.
But what's fascinating is these deejays are not prima donnas. They'll do arenas one night, stadiums another, and clubs and theaters thereafter. It's all about the music, it's all about the sound.
And you couldn't even get in the Sahara tent. You could barely get near it. But you could see the lights, you could hear the music, it was infectious.
Swedish House Mafia is all electronic. They were revealed on stage and the place went NUTS! And so did I.
I felt the energy, the pulse, the adrenaline that a great show delivers. That the pop acts and the oldsters so often don't. The three guys are up there like a parody of an SNL skit but it worked.”
Förutom Swedish House Mafia och The Hives medverkar även bl.a Dr.Dre & Snoop Dog,Radiohead, Avicii och Refused på årets Coachella, som avslutas kommande helg då The Hives uppträder en andra gång.
Claes Olson
