TORONTO - Last night's music playoffs at the Air Canada Centre went something like this: Sweden 1, U.S.A. 0.
If there was ever a strange pairing of bands, L.A's radio-friendly, R&B-and-soul-inflected pop group Maroon 5, and howling underground Swedish garage rockers The Hives, were it.
So it went as The Hives opened for Maroon 5 as part of a North American tour that began a week ago.
Given their performances, however, it really could have been the other way around with The Hives, now three albums into their career with a fourth -- The Black And White Album -- about to drop Nov. 13, giving Maroon 5 a run for their money in the performance department with a fun-loving, personality-infused 30-minute set.
Maroon 5, touring in support of their sophomore effort, It Won't Be Soon Before Long, even got a headstart on The Hives conducting a warm-up tour of smaller venues earlier this year that included a stop at Lee's Palace in June.
The L.A. outfit certainly has a promising lead singer in the form of the charismatic Adam Levine, kind of a Justin Timberlake-lite with an inviting falsetto, close-cropped hair, five o'clock shadow and a great tailor.
"Ladies and gentlemen, once again I feel very turned on , very sexually active -- that didn't sound right," said Levine, sweet-talking the crowd right before the ultra-smooth Secret, which he injected with a bit of Phil Collins' In the Air Tonight.
"Every once in awhile we play in these big concrete palaces and it feels very small and it feels very intimate tonight. I really f---ing love Canada, I really do. We're an American band, and it's cleaner over here, everybody's just a little bit nicer over here. Misbehave a little bit," he urged.
Performing on a large stage that featured two catwalks making up the arms of an enormous 'M', the energetic Levine ventured out early in the band's 85-minute set, first during their new hit, Makes Me Wonder, which was followed by older songs, Harder to Breathe and The Sun, the latter which prompted a spirited audience singalong.
He even alternated between playing electric guitar and a stand up drum kit.
Yet with Levine's bandmates being unremarkable performers, Maroon 5's collective stage presence hasn't caught up with their huge popularity that took off with the release of 2002's Songs About Jane, which sold 10 million copies.
Naturally, such uber-hits as Sunday Morning, This Love and She Will Be Loved, along with the new singles, Wake Up Call, and Won't Go Home Without You, were trotted out and fully appreciated by fans.
Meanwhile, The Hives, who played a small club show at The Phoenix on Wednesday night (so no, they haven't totally sold out), were a united satorial front, decked out in '60s-style matching black-and-white-trimmed suits, black-and-white ties and white shoes.
Behind them was a bright red neon sign with their name in lights.
"Is everybody ready for some rock and roll music tonight?!" screamed Hives lead singer and resident hambone Howlin' Pelle Almqvist, who never missed an opportunity to clap his hands and encourage the audience to join him.
Almqvist even climbed over the barricades during Walk Idiot Walk to get closer to the audience. His strategy eventually paid off.
"You know what? We are some famous Swedish people up on stage," he yelled to the crowd who finally rushed the stage during their hit, Hate To Say I Told You So, and the follow-up song, You Dress Up For Armageddon.
The only tragedy was as The Hives were preparing to play one last song, they suddenly had to leave the stage to make way for Maroon 5's production setup.
