The Hives bring Rock ’n’ Roll back to Denmark Street with a riotous show

HERE at Outernet, 2 September 2025

Review & Photos: Aggie Anthimidou

 

Ahead of their headline show at Alexandra Palace later this year, The Hives treated fans to an intimate show celebrating the release of their latest album The Hives Forever Forever The Hives. In a venue more accustomed to corporate functions than chaos, the Swedish five-piece delivered a riotous reminder of Denmark Street’s celebrated rock heritage. And there could hardly have been a more fitting band to do it.

From the moment they tore into opener Enough Is Enough, the sold-out crowd was in uproar. Dressed in their trademark black-and-white suits, The Hives showed why they remain one of rock’s most electrifying live acts. While they’re veterans of the rock scene, they still radiate the freshness and reckless vitality of a band you’ve just stumbled upon in some underground club.

The new record is a raw and swaggering homage to rock ’n’ roll, and the gig’s setlist balanced its high-octane garage stompers with fan favourites. Legalize Living, with its sly, Cure-tinged intro, proved a crowd-pleaser, and Bogus Operandi truly accelerated the night. Frenetic, unrelenting and full of mischief, Pelle Almqvist hurled himself across the stage, launched into stage dives and engaged in his trademark repartee with the audience.

 

After a three-song encore, it still wasn’t enough for a crowd that clearly would have stayed all night. Almqvist himself called the show “just a warm-up” for November’s Alexandra Palace date but if this was only a warm-up, The Hives made it feel like the main event. Five stars!

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