April 14th, 2010. Cunard Centre, Halifax, NS.
Headlining: Metric
Supporting: Arkells
The week before Metric’s Halifax show, local paper The Coast ran an article titled “Measuring Metric’s Happiness” with an opening line that bluntly states “Emily Haines is unhappy” and then proceeds to tell about an interview gone wrong. The article and the response to the article seemed critical of the band and set them up like they do not like what they do or care about their fans. Their Wednesday night show to a packed Cunard Center of pre-dominantly underage concert goers removed any doubt as to whether or not they enjoy what they do. The show started off with Twilight Galaxy from their latest album Fantasies. The band took the stage with their instruments, with lead singer Emily Haines standing over her keyboard with a fan at her feet to create a windy mess of hair. After gliding through the opening minutes of a relatively calm song, the energy in the room picked up significantly as Emily jumped up and down playing her keyboard, Joules Scott-Key pounded away at the drums, Josh Winstead laying down the bass , and James Shaw being lost in a guitar solo all with blinding strobe lights and a building of jumping fans. Right from the opening song the band established an energy that would be sustained throughout the night as fans jumped, danced, pumped fists, sang their hearts out on the floor. Satellite Mind featured Emily going around the stage dancing, putting the crowd into a Metric trance for the rest of the night as her silver skirt and gold shoes sparkled as they caught the lights. During Front Row, taking a cue from the song title, Emily pointed and sang to the concert goers who lined up early to ensure a spot right up at the front or had forced their way to the front. Lead single Help I’m Alive had the crowd jumping and pumping fists in unison to the heartbeat like rhythm that is carried throughout the song. Five songs they took a step away from their Fantasies tracks and played an extended version of Empty which continued to increase the energy of the show and fittingly ensured that there were no empty spots between people as the show turned into a true communal event. Collect Call was next, and drew a smile and “Alright” from Emily as the crowd boisterously sang along the chorus. Donning a skeleton strapped guitar Emily and the band went into the latest single form Fantasies, Gold Guns Girls. The band then played part of the Neil Young classic Hey Hey My My which led into Gimme Sympathy. Sick Muse was next then followed by Dead Disco which turned into an extended jam and incited an army of crowd surfers to make their way through the crowd. The main set was closed with Stadium Love. After some cheering and chanting by the crowd, James, Josh, and Joules came back onto the dark stage and played some eerie sounds before the screens turned bright red as Emily returned to the stage and the band launched into Monster Hospital. The last song of the night was an acoustic version of Combat Baby featuring a smiling James Shaw and Emily Haines, ending the night with a giant sing a long in what was truly a communal event.
Maybe Emily Haines is unhappy, but Wednesday night made that hard to believe. Metric are a band that know how to put on an entertaining show with something always spectacular to watch. It may be just watching Emily dancing the whole show, or James and Josh looking like they are having a blast being immersed in the sound of their instrument and smiling at the crowd. They made the crowd feel like they were helping them have a great night, and they played each song as if it mattered and was exactly what they wanted to do. Sometimes bands seem like they are just sleepwalking through their songs, but Metric brings life and energy to each song they play making them a must see live band. Say what you want, but Metric certainly made lots of their adorning fans happy in Halifax.
I agree Jon, I read that article in the coast. Emily might come off sometimes as being a bitch, or unhappy, but I think once they go on stage it all melts away so that nothing but true passion for music and preforming is left.