The Swedes are Coming! The Swedes are Coming!

As you may or may not know, we had the pleasure of seeing Refused this past weekend in NYC! When we booked the trip, we had no idea that they would be visiting our great city this summer. However, as we told you, they will be making a stop at Royal Oak Music Theatre on July 25th! And surprisingly this is one of the only US dates that hasn't sold out yet! We're really not sure how it isn't sold out and after seeing the show over the weekend, we're REALLY NOT SURE how this show is not sold out. It was amazing, to say the least.

One thing that had me down at the NYC show was that the openers weren't as good as the San Fransisco shows. San Fran had the pleasure of also seeing two of my all time favorites... The Bronx and The Hives! When my friends heard that line up, they said it was like the show was made for me! I tried my hardest, but couldn't score those tickets. However, I guess someone was looking out for my pockets because The Hives just announced that they too will be making their way to the Detroit area this summer!!! They will be playing on June 27th at Clutch Cargos in Pontiac. Pre-Sale is at 10 a.m. Thursday morning and regular sale is at 10 a.m. on Friday! So many Swedes in so little time!

The Hives are touring in support of their new album, Lex Hives, set to be released on June 5th. The band has already played some U.S. dates, the dates supporting Refused, as well as Coachella and then tomorrow night in NYC. (Wish I knew that before I booked my trip for the days leading up to Refused!) While in the U.S. the band also made an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel! Here are the videos from their performance:

   

If you have never seen The Hives live before, I highly recommend that you check them out. By far one of the best live bands I have ever seen. This television performance really didn't do them much justice. 

The first time I had the pleasure of seeing this band live was at The Shelter when they opened up for The (International) Noise Conspiracy. Prior to the band going on stage, they just looked like some normal indie rock dudes walking around with giant scarves. Once they hit the stage, everyone's mind was blown. From their classy threads with a letter for each member of the band, to their high energy performance, everyone in the crowd kept saying two things..."Who the fuck are these guys?" and "I Love Sweden!" At least everyone by me kept saying those two things. Every time I saw this band from that point on was awesome. The lights, the clothes, the swagger and the music make this band one like no other. 

I leave you with a slightly better representation of The Hives Live, but it's still not as good as the real thing. Do yourself a favor. Put a reminder in your phone to buy tickets this Friday. I guarantee you will not be disappointed! 

~C