Soon after that disappointment, I found out the Hives were going to play Webster Hall. This quite possibly excited me more because it's been a few years since they've played New York. I saw them twice on that last tour (Irving Plaza, and Webster Hall) and loved every minute of it. I couldn't wait for them to come back and had been bitching ever since that they hadn't. I saw that they were on tour with Maroon 5, but fuck that. I wasn't going to see them in an arena, I wanted a headliner show and here it was. I got my ticket as soon as they went on sale.
I had a hard day. I have just started a new freelance assignment that had stressed me out all day, and I wasn't feeling good around the time I was scheduled to leave in order to make doors by 7pm. I thought maybe there would be an opening act that would give me some time to chill before going into the city. But when I called the venue, they told me there was NO opener and that the band was to go on at 8. I sacked up so to speak and made the next train in, arriving at the venue around 7:30. I kissed front row goodbye, but was glad I didn't stay home like a whiny bitch and was happy I made it to the show at all.
When I got to the venue, they had a sign posted that said the band has changed the showtime to 9pm. I went in anyway, as I had nothing else to do. There was hardly anyone there. Exxxcellent.
I grabbed my front row spot, only to have a short chick weasel her way in front of me. I'm so stupid that I let her by me, thinking she was a photographer. Well she wasn't. And on top of that she had a 6' tall guy with her that stood right in front of me. I sulked for a little bit until I realized I have every right to ask him to move. So I did. And he did. Later on in the show, the girl who duped me tried to steal my spot after she left for a minute and came back. She tried to dance obnoxiously and knock me around but I just dished it right back, so she gave up. F you shortie.
When the lights went down, and a neon red sign reading "The Hives" lit up, the crowd went crazy. I was on Nic Arson's side. When he wasn't attacking his guitar with a vengeance, he was making silly faces and waving the crowd on to make some noise. Gone was his short black hair. Now he was sporting a curly, light brown 'do that flopped around as he thrashed his way through every song.
Pelle is a great frontman with a swingin' personality. He's got the rock star stage strut from the School of Mick Jagger down pat. He loves toying with the crowd: "Do you want to hear a new or an old song? Here, let me decide for you. Everyone say "New song!"
As for the setlist, it was a mix of older songs and a few new ones that I don't know because the album isn't out yet. That's a pet peeve of mine, and I've run into this situation with quite a few bands. I hate when they play shows before the album's out. One or two songs, ok. But 4 or 5 and now you're risking alienating me. It's not that I didn't like the songs. They were great. I'm just a big baby and like knowing everything being played or I start to feel disconnected and almost bored. Oh well. From what I heard, I will most likely be buying the new CD when it eventually comes out.
Of the stuff I knew, here's what I remember from the set:
Two-Timing Touch And Broken Bones
Walk Idiot Walk
No Pun Intended
A Little More For Little You
Diabolic Scheme (highlight for me)
Missing Link
Declare Guerre Nucleaire
Die, All Right!
Main Offender
Hate To Say I Told You So
Supply And Demand
Tick Tick Tick Boom (which sounded GREAT live)
Crappy Cell Phone Photos:
After the show, I thought I would go over to Irving Plaza to see if I could try to meet Kid Rock since the two venues are only a few blocks away from each other. When I got there, I heard music coming out the front doors. I went up to security and asked "Is the show still going on?" and he said he thought so. I innocently asked "Any chance I can get in?" He looked at me, said "Come with me", and took me to the box office, where he ripped a ticket, gave it to me and told me to have fun.
I was SO psyched. This show had sold out and here I was getting in for free. I ran upstairs to find the place jammed wall to wall with drunk people. As I battled the suffocating heat wave coming off the crowd, I found a spot where I could see. All I ended up was seeing the last 3 minutes of "Bawitdaba" and the stagebow. But I was so thrilled just to have gotten in, that it was still a treat.
As I waded through the sea of crushed Bud Light cans littering the floor, I decided that I would try to meet him. Since there was a bigger crowd than I figured there would be by the stage door and I had work the next day, I just decided to head home. I didn't take any pictures of Kid Rock but here's one from the web:
Evidently he decided to dress like the Hives? By the time I got there, he was shirtless and crazy sweating. Which isn't a bad thing.
Good nights like these make me hate life less.
