Tonight was one of five UK album launch shows for The Hives’ seventh LP: The Hives Forever Forever The Hives, staged at one of London’s newest venues, Here at Outernet. Built deep below Charing Cross Road, the room feels more like a bunker than a gig space — all the hospitality of a bomb shelter without the grit or charm of the old Astoria that once stood across the street. Comparable in size but lacking in atmosphere, it was nevertheless packed wall-to-wall with 2,000 eager Hives fans.
The Hives @ Here at Outernet, London, 2025.09.02 - © Pauline Di Silvestro
The red carpet photo ops were over long before the Swedes finally took the stage at 8:20pm, striding out in their trademark matching suits. The five-piece garage-rockers opened with Enough Is Enough, frontman Pelle Almqvist instantly whipping the crowd into a frenzy with chants and call-and-response. He needn’t have worried — the audience was already fully on board, while brother Nicholaus Arson’s jagged riffs confirmed exactly who we were here for. After a rousing round of the band’s title-chant — The Hives Forever Forever The Hives — they tore into Main Offender, one of their most beloved hits, and the floor went wild.
New album cut Paint A Picture followed, sounding like a classic Hives anthem complete with a huge singalong chorus and Chris Dangerous’s rock-solid drumming. Mid-song, the band froze in tableau for 30 seconds, quite literally “painting a picture,” before slamming back into the track. Bogus Operandi, from The Death Of Randy Fitzsimmons, came next, with Pelle spitting lines across a thunderous bassline from The Johan And Only. Oddly, Pelle suggested they were already nearing the end of their set — a surprise given how early it still was.
That claim was brushed aside by the juggernaut that is Hate To Say I Told You So. Still as potent as it was in the ’90s, it drew the biggest mosh pit of the night, every voice in the venue bellowing the chorus. They stayed with the new album for O.C.D.O.D., its scrappy defiance perfectly in line with a band who have stuck firmly to their blueprint. The track came alive in a snarling guitar duel between Nicholaus Arson and Vigilante Carlstroem.
Pelle, ever the showman, teased time running short before unleashing a roaring Tick Tick Tick. He quipped about the venue feeling “a little German” and reminisced about The Astoria before launching into Legalize Living, a barbed critique of senseless laws that restrict freedom worldwide.
Another long chant of The Hives Forever Forever The Hives introduced the title track itself, complete with playful breakdowns and reprises. But after just 45 minutes, the band left the stage, and while the audience dutifully chanted for more, the response felt muted until Chris Dangerous re-emerged to coax the crowd into full volume.
The encore began with Come On before the band lit into Born A Rebel, ramping energy back up. Pelle continued to blame the venue for an early finish, before Countdown To Shutdown wrapped things up — a perfect closer delivered far too soon. After only about 55 minutes on stage (including a five-minute break before the encore), the band bid farewell, leaving many fans bewildered at the short running time.
There’s no doubt that The Hives remain one of the greatest live acts around: sharp, stylish, and relentlessly entertaining. But on this occasion, their decision to deliver a sub-hour headline set felt like a disservice to the 2,000 loyal fans who had packed out the venue. If anything was made clear tonight, it’s that The Hives should be treating audiences to the 90-minute barnstormers they’re more than capable of.
Live review of The Hives @ Here at Outernet, London by Simon Phillips on 2nd September 2025. Photography by Pauline Di Silvestro.
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