Kick Out the Jams: The Hives at the Joint, Jan. 15

The Hives' first visit to Las Vegas was a successful one Saturday night. As proof, heed these words, straight from the mouth of the rowdy band's front Swede, Howlin' Pelle Almqvist, just a few minutes into the powerhouse set: "I'm going to start singing, and you're going to start clapping. Do we have a deal? If not, I may have to destroy this town."

A packed crowd of Hard Rock hipsters--though none so snazzily attired as the band members themselves, with white jackets over black shirts and pants--was eager to wallow in the Hives' brand of destruction, chanting for the garage punk quintet while the guitar techs were still testing things out. Several camera set-ups were on hand to tape for a possible MTV special or DVD filler, one of which swung back and forth to provide some wide crowd shots. It would prove useless once guitarists Nicholaus Arson and Vigilante Carlstroem strapped on, as all the action was on stage. Reputedly flammable during live shows, the band wasted no time in captivating its audience, thanks mostly to the flamboyantly arrogant Almqvist. Whether or not his hilarious stage banter is just an act, he is unquestionably one of the most commanding frontmen in rock music today. While the Hives' set never lagged in tempo or enthusiasm, most of the people in the audience barely moved, instead standing mesmerized by Almqvist's strutting, plentiful David Lee Roth/Ralph Macchio crane kicks and well, howls.

As the band see-sawed back and forth with loud slabs of Stooges-like rock from last year's Tyrannosaurus Hives and 2002's Veni Vidi Vicious, the players jockeyed for attention. Drummer Chris Dangerous relentlessly pounded out heavy beats, his Col. Sanders tie blowing in the wind. At right stage, Arson thrashed away at his guitar, conniption-style.

During an amped-up version of blowout hit "Hate to Say I Told You So," bassist Dr. Matt Destruction moved up front, snarling and slobbering like a bulldog fighting his way through a painful bowel movement, as Almqvist hollered his praises: "Thank you, Matt Destruction, for making love to the lower frequencies of our ears. Thank you for being the person you are. Thank you, thank you, thank you." The grateful, amazed crowd couldn't have phrased it better.--Brock Radke