Those Swedish meatballs The Hives will bring energy that makes Africanized bees seem like slackers to their gig at the Majestic Ventura Theater on Wednesday. Fronted by Howlin' Pelle Almqvist, a Mick Jagger-meets-Jim Carrey madman with no "off" switch, the group will certainly play some tunes off their fifth and latest album, "Lex Hives."
A nonstop hilarious motormouth, Almqvist spins wildly out of control like a cartoon clock, with scissor kicks and pirouettes. His musical philosophy is simple: We play, you cheer. The band's propulsive power punk with absolutely zero soulful ballads makes for a supercharged live show.
Things are either/or in Hives World -- there are no gray areas. Whenever they play, the quintet are inevitably dressed to the nines in some combination of glorious black-and-white, making them forever camera-ready for '50s TV.
