The Hives News

(5/24/02, 12 p.m. ET) -- The Hives kick off a North American club tour Sunday (May 26) in San Diego as many music industry insiders hype the Swedish rockers as a potential next big thing.

The group plays 17 shows through mid-June, including two-night stands at the Roxy in Los Angeles (May 27-28) and the Bowery Ballroom in New York (June 12-13). To accommodate greater ticket demand in New York, a third performance has been added at an even bigger venue, Irving Plaza, for June 10.

Nearly all of the shows on the entire tour are already sold out, according to a spokesperson at Warner Bros. Records.

The Hives are touring in support of their second album, Veni, Vidi, Vicious, featuring the single, "Hate To Say I Told You So." The effort was originally released by Epitaph Records in 2000 but was reissued on Warner Bros.' Sire Records imprint on May 7. Along with the Strokes and the White Stripes, the Hives play a brand of stripped-down garage rock that many consider a new direction for modern rock.

Hives tour dates (subject to change):

May 26 - San Diego, CA - Scene

May 27-28 - Los Angeles, CA - Roxy

May 29 - San Francisco, CA - Slim's

May 30 - Portland, OR - Crystal Ball

May 31 - Seattle, WA - Showbox

June 1 - Vancouver, BC - Commodore

June 4 - Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue

June 5 - Chicago, IL - Metro

June 6 - Detroit, MI - Magic Stick

June 7 - Cleveland, OH - Beachland

June 8 - Toronto, ON - Kool House

June 9 - Montreal, QC - Club Soda

June 11 - Boston, MA - Roxy

June 12-13 - New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom

June 14 - Philadelphia, PA - Transit

June 15 - Washington, D.C. - Black Cat

-- Neal Weiss, Los Angeles

For more news at LAUNCH, click here.

Got news tips, comments, or questions? Send them to launchnews@yahoo.com.