My wife and I have been wanting to see Metric for a LONG time. As in years. And I don’t know how we have missed them for all this time but let me say we were stoked. Now, I have been to a lot of shows in my lifetime. I’ve been to big shows (Nirvana, all the 90’s Lollapolooza’s, Beastie Boys, etc.) and I’ve been to a ton of small shows, and I’ve been to a few shows of small bands that got huge (Postal Service, Passion Pit, etc.) The only reason I’m telling you all this is because I thought Metric sucked live. What a disappointment. It wouldn’t have taken much to make it a good show.
The lasers/smoke/lights were great. The crowd was as stoked as were we, but honestly lead singer Emily Haines seemed stiff and awkward. Her moves seemed very staged – like someone who has never toured before and has a coach trying to teach her the moves of rock and roll. Her interludes of conversation with the crowd were no different. I believe she made a reference to how much she loves the “Old Salt Lake Choir” which I can only assume is the Mormon Tabernacle choir, which most people can refer to whether they are Mormon or not, and a real fan of this choir would definitely know what it is called.
She also waxed nostalgic about how great the vibes were in The Depot, and no diss to The Depot – it’s a great place for live music, but she was talking about it like it was CBGB’s or something. Anyways, I know I sound harsh, but I was definitely shocked that such a great band had such an awful stage presence – and really it wasn’t her band, just Haines herself. Maybe it was an off night, again it was my first time to see her, but when you can see a small unknown band like Revolt Revolt rock an empty Urban Lounge for a crowd of 20 for a third of the price, there’s something wrong here. Anyways, I shot a video of Metric’s song “Help I’m Alive” while we were there. In conclusion I’d like to say I still love Metric, the albums are great but I might be hesitant to ever see them live again unless someone tells me different.
