The cover of the August issue of SPIN magazine proclaims: "The Hives -- The best live band on the planet."

While the stylish Swedish garage-punk quintet, who played a sold-out show at the Phoenix on Saturday night, didn't reach those lofty heights, they sure were fun to watch during a speedy performance that lasted all of 50 minutes.

"Are we too fast for you?" bug-eyed lead singer Howlin' Pelle Almqvist wondered out loud at one point.

Almqvist, a manic, chatty and Jagger-esque showman, provided high entertainment value with moves that included scissor kicks, microphone twirls, speaker-climbing, stage-diving, falling to his knees and wrapping his microphone cord around his neck.

His other mission was addressing the crowd like a southern preacher in the throes of a sermon.

In fact, Almqvist's theatrical, over-the-top stage banter often lasted longer than some of the band's rapid-fire songs.

"If you don't clap and scream we're going to destroy your city!" he warned.

Fortunately, Almqvist and his four other bandmates -- guitarists Nicholaus Arson (Almqvist's older brother) and Vigilante Carlstroem, bassist Dr. Matt Destruction and drummer Chris Dangerous -- had the musical goods to back up such Almqvist statements as: "We are very big in Europe!"

Kicking off the evening with Abra Cadaver and Walk Idiot Walk, from their week-old third album, Tyrannosaurus Hives, the band held the audience's rapt attention with a ferocious, loud sound that occasionally overpowered Almqvist's raw, strangled vocals. But it did produce a full-blown mosh pit near the front of the stage.

And just in case you forgot who you were watching, there was a red neon sign that spelled out the band's name above Dangerous' drum kit.

Almqvist also wasn't the lone performer of the group -- all dressed in identical black-and-white suits and spats for shoes -- with the loose-limbed, finger-blowing Arson and precision-like Dangerous proving equally riveting as players.

By the end of their 50-minute set, all but Almqvist had disposed of their white dinner jackets as they worked up a decent sweat with their raw, raucous performance.

In addition to other new tunes like Missing Link, No Pun Intended, A Little More For Little You, Dead Quote Olympics and Two-Timing Touch And Broken Bones, The Hives also sprinkled their set with songs from their 2000 second album, Veni Vidi Vicious, like Die, All Right!, Hate To Say I Told You So -- their breakthrough hit -- and Supply And Demand, while 1997's debut Barely Legal also made an appearance via A.K.A. Idiot.

Given the under-hour performance, Almqvist promised The Hives would return to Toronto in a couple of months before blowing yet another kiss at the crowd and quickly exiting the stage.

After given the impression he had studied the masters of rock 'n' roll, Almqvist also adhered to another showbiz maxim: Always leave the audience wanting more.

JAM! Rating: 4 out of 5