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The Hives: Bent on world domination, they conquer Electric Factory

The Hives aren't an arena rock band, they just play one on stage. All faux-bluster, comic petulance and winking self-aggrandizement, they evoke the high dudgeon of Diver Down-era Van Halen upon having learned that the brown M&Ms have not been exiled from the backstage banquet. But unlike Van Halen, they play it strictly for laughs.The prime driver of these immensely entertaining delusions of grandeur is the band's sassy, boyish front man, Howlin' Pelle Almqvist, a born entertainer with lungs of leather, a certain Jagger-ian grace, and large expressive eyes that could have made him a star in the silent film era. Straight outta Fagersta, Sweden, the Hives have been, if they do say so themselves, single-handedly saving rock ‘n' roll since at least 2000. That was the year they unleashed Veni Vidi Vicious, which is, all kidding aside, the greatest garage-punk album since 1965's Here Are The Sonics. Missing in action since 2007's The Black and White Album, the Hives are back in black-and-white (their signature stage-wardrobe color scheme), with a new album, Lex Hives, and a global quest for world domination masquerading as a tour that brought them to the Electric Factory Wednesday night.

The Hives aren't an arena rock band, they just play one on stage. All faux-bluster, comic petulance and winking self-aggrandizement, they evoke the high dudgeon of Diver Down-era Van Halen upon having learned that the brown M&Ms have not been exiled from the backstage banquet. But unlike Van Halen, they play it strictly for laughs.

The prime driver of these immensely entertaining delusions of grandeur is the band's sassy, boyish front man, Howlin' Pelle Almqvist, a born entertainer with lungs of leather, a certain Jagger-ian grace, and large expressive eyes that could have made him a star in the silent film era. Straight outta Fagersta, Sweden, the Hives have been, if they do say so themselves, single-handedly saving rock 'n' roll since at least 2000. That was the year they unleashed Veni Vidi Vicious, which is, all kidding aside, the greatest garage-punk album since 1965's Here Are The Sonics.

Missing in action since 2007's The Black and White Album, the Hives are back in black-and-white (their signature stage-wardrobe color scheme), with a new album, Lex Hives, and a global quest for world domination masquerading as a tour that brought them to the Electric Factory Wednesday night.

Currently occupying the sartorial middle ground between Bela Lugosi and the Residents, the Hives arrived on stage in top hats and tails. Clearly having drank his own Kool-Aid, Almqvist bragged that he could control the weather. "The hottest day of the year is the day the Hives show up," Almqvist declared. "A coincidence? I think not!"

Set against a two-story backdrop emblazoned with the image of a wild-eyed Almqvist seemingly reenacting the "It's Alive!" scene from Frankenstein, the band proceeded to introduce the rubber to the road, pounding out an hour's worth of primo blitzkrieg bop that hit just about all the high-water marks of their five-album catalog: "Main Offender," "Hate to Say I Told You So," "Tick Tick Boom," "Take Back the Toys." Unfortunately, the band's legendary Herculean prowess in live performance was hobbled by a sound mix so paper-thin and excruciatingly shrill it literally made your eyes hurt. "We have to leave," said Almqvist, midway through a three-song encore. "This building has suffered all the structural damage it can handle." Indeed.