The Hives Rock Kool Haus for CMW
Contributed by John Hargraft
Toronto, Canadian Music Week is here. The opening show for me was a packed room at the Kool Haus featuring The Hives with support from The Donnas and The Carps.
The Carps are a hard-to-place-in-any-one-genre duo from Scarborough. A mix of Rock/Punk with some Soul/R&B and a little Electro. Jahmal Tonge works the lead vocals plus drums and Neil White plays bass/computer and also does some vocals. They played a short set to try to get the early crowd going but most people really just wanted to see The Hives.
After a short break, The Donnas, from Palo Alto, California, came out to a crowd that had swelled since the opener and was ready for some some rock & roll. The Donnas are a four piece, with Brett Anderson on lead vocals. Maya Ford on bass, Allison Robertson with the axe and Torry Castellano on Drums. These ladies didn't disappoint as rock is what they do well.
For those who don't know, The Hives are a five man band from Fagersta, Sweden. They came out in their classic matching suits and jumped right into a couple songs from their newest release The Black and White Album. They rounded out the set list by throwing in a few songs from the previous releases, Tyrannosaurus Hives and Veni Vidi Vicious.
The Hives played for almost an hour straight followed by a few moments of break time before another fifteen minute encore -- never slowing down for an appreciative crowd.
All in all, The Carps piqued my interest, The Donnas were great, but The Hives were fantastic. A pretty good start to what should be an action packed week of musical mayhem in Toronto.
All photos by John Hargraft.
Comments (6)
I'm sorry that I missed this. The Hives are awesome live. I saw them once by accident at a festival in Japan, and I became an instant fan.
Key Music Group @ CMW 2008
The Marble Index/Lowest of the Low/The Breeders and more...
Key Music Group is thrilled announce our oustanding presence at Canadian Music Week this year. After a lengthy hiatus, The Breeders are a featured part of our international roster. In the solo spotlight look for: Drew Smith, Stephen Stanley and Kenny Mehler who has made the trek from Hartford, Connecticut.
The talent overflows with: The Meligrove Band, Kid Gib, The Marble Index, Spirits and this year's crowning glory goes to the Lowest of the Low who will be inducted to the Indie Music Hall of Fame.
It's a week in music you won't want to miss and it all takes place in Toronto as scheduled below:
The Meligrove Band - Thursday, March 6th -- Supermarket
Stephen Stanley - Thursday, March 6th -- The Rivoli
Spirits - Friday, March 7th -- The Rivoli & Saturday, March 8th - Indie Awards - Fairmount Royal York Hotel
Kenny Mehler - Saturday, March 8th -- The Hard Rock Live
Drew Smith - Friday, March 7th -- Royal York Hotel Library Bar
The Marble Index- Saturday, March 8th -- El Mocambo
Lowest of the Low -- Saturday, March 8th, The Indies -- Fairmount Royal York Hotel
The Breeders - Saturday, March 8th -- Phoenix Concert Theatre
Kid Gib - Saturday, March 8th -- Cathedral
Sincerely,
Team at Key Music Group
Key Music Group
It was an amazing show!
Second time seeing them since October! (I went to Maroon 5 only for them)
The Hives = Amazing.
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