The Hives; The Livids @ Irving Plaza

The Hives; The Livids
@ Irving Plaza
New York, NY - March 24, 2013

It was almost 9 years ago that I first saw the Hives. And it was in this very venue. They were still hot from Veni, Vidi, Vicious, and Tyrannosaurus Hives had extended their relevance to both the the populists and tastemakers alike. The concert was so explosive, so rapid fire, so immense and intense, it etched me as a fan for life, even if later records were a little too slick for the sound on the LP. All the better then that this Swedish monstrosity has never broken up and never had a line-up change. They remain a pure, authentic demonstration of rock n' roll at its finest: loud, raw, nasty but at the same time sweetly melodic and joyful. And the fact that their leader, Howlin' Pelle Almqvist is a positive egomaniac of the highest order, only ensconces and enshrines the band in rock n' roll amber as legendary, even iconic. Yeah that's right - you read that. Deal with it, learn to love it.

This old hack had the privilege of being at a pre-show meet&greet/soundcheck for the show (and it featured an exclusive performance of "Two Timing Touch..."). There was a time where I would have had a heart attack over such a premise. I'd have been at my gimmicky best (worst?), ready to hype up this sham of a site, and if I had been doing my Internet radio-style music show during said-once-upon-a-time, I'd have been itching to somehow get the event recorded as an exclusive. Instead I met ol' HPA and co. with just a hello hows-ya-do nice top hat chief, have fun tonight, 5 seconds of socializing. That works for me these days. Let the Hives carry on this madness, I'll just be on the receiving end thank you very much.

However, had I girded myself for what was coming with the opening act, the Livids, I might have made something of an old time press...something. In about 25 minutes of insanity, Eric Davidson - as in THEE Eric Davidson of the New Bomb Turks, suckas! - transported me back to a time of Maxwell's, killing my ears in the amp, and...other things maybe best left unwritten. The Douglas Adams of rock n' roll, no one is faster on the draw both in sound and presence than Eric D. If anyone else is having as much fun on stage as him, I'd like to meet this person. It might be Pelle, so who knows. Of course they did a cover of "You Made Me Love You", as in Jolson. Of course they did. Eric Davidson is so...Eric Davidson...it almost makes me wish my name was Eric.

Side note: One of his badass bandmembers wore a "Eat Shit & Die" t-shirt. I am fairly certain my mother coined that phrase. Assuming she copyrighted it, I can sue the shirtmaker, correct? After all, this sentiment was my mother's life lesson to me, the one maxim she told me to carry with me since the world in which we live requires this notion to be dispatched at a moment's notice. Maybe this is why I like the rock n' roll music that I do, music such as the Hives and the Livids. Which is ironic because I grew up in a household of "The Hustle" and some Neil Sedaka.

The Universe is expanding.