Yes. Believe the hype. All of the hype. The Hives deserve every ounce of hype they receive because they really are really good.

Monday night at Pop's, the Hives had an opportunity to prove to Sauget just how good they were. After over half an hour of set-up, the stage lights went out, and a scrawled, red neon sign that read "The Hives" flipped on.

It gave off just enough light for the audience to see four/fifths of the Swedish group enter the stage. The last of the five, Howlin' Pelle Almqvist, exploded onto the stage as lights burst back on and the band burst into their first song, "Abra-Cadaver." From that point on, the energy level in the room never dropped under 100 percent.

If you are not familiar with the Hives, then you are at a loss. The Hives are a combination of Ramones intensity and Motown presentation.

Strutting around the stage in matching black and white suits, the band ripped through song after song, mainly from their breakthrough 2000 album "Veni Vedi Vicious" and their most recent album, 2004's "Tyrannosaurus Hives."

Half of what makes The Hives so special is their live performance. Addressing the crowd with a mock arrogance, singer Howlin' Pelle Almqvist would taunt and boast to the audience.

"When I say 'Shut up,' you shut up. When I say 'Scream,' you scream," announced Almqvist to the crowd in between songs.

It wasn't the kind of arrogance that gave the audience would resent, like that of Oasis, but it was an arrogance that the crowd fed off of.

The crowd, a mix of gutter punks, hipsters, mods, meatheads and goofballs, jovially interacted with Almqvist as he would shout various commands at them.

The crowd was having their most fun, however, when the Hives were doing what they do best: Rocking like there's no tomorrow.

The Hives played the obvious singles "Hate to Say I Told You So", "Walk Idiot Walk" and "Two-Timing Tough and Broken Bones" as well as countless fan favorites. The lyrics aren't philosophical or political, but they are clever and sharp and cocky as hell.

On "A Get Together to Tear It Apart," Almqvist shouts "I got a greeting, can't say what it's all about/ but my middle finger is gonna carry it out." If that doesn't bring a smirk to your face, it must be because you are in a coma.

The highlights of the night were "No Pun Intended" and "Diabolic Scheme" from the new album. Halfway through "Diabolic Scheme," right before the wonderfully disastrous guitar solo, the band froze in mid stroke, as if it were one of Zach Morris' soliloquies on "Saved by the Bell."

After about three minutes of holding their pompous poses and having the crowd scream with delight, the band burst back to life as lead guitarist, Nicholaus Arson exploded into the solo.

To start off the encore, drummer Chris Dangerous walked out on stage alone and leaned against his high-hat, smoking a cigarette.

The crowd would cheer louder and louder, but Dangerous continued to lean against his high-hat, imitating James Dean.

After a while, he began hitting the cymbal and the rest of the band returned to play "B is for Brutus" and several others before finally closing the encore with "A.K.A.I.D.I.O.T."

The crowd was in love with their entertainers and that made everything more fun for everyone involved. This is how live shows are supposed to be.