Metric - 2009/06/17

setlist: Twilight Galaxy/ Help I'm Alive/ Satellite Mind/ Gold Guns Girls/ Handshakes/ Gimme Sympathy/ Sick Muse/ Empty/ Front Row/ Dead Disco/ Stadium Love// Monster Hospital// Live It Out

after seeing Metric about four times or so, I'm very familiar w/ their live set and it's something I really appreciate about the band. one thing that bothered me w/ their last record, Live It Out, was that it seemed to fall a little flat, but in the live setting it was a completely different story; their live show, in the right setting, is exhilarating and flat-out AWESOME. w/ that said, I was greatly anticipating seeing Metric once again and in a completely different setting - their kinda-sorta hometown of New York.

granted, we went to All Points West last year and saw them on the big stage there, but it was an abbreviated set, it was hot, we were waiting for Radiohead, etc. but it was there that we were first exposed to the overwhelmingly EEEGHHHH version of Live It Out. it was slowed down, cheesy, and it really ruined the track for what it is - a loud ending that is desperate, a little furious, and definitely in your face. at APW (and once again @ T5), it seemed like a career-ending song, not in the idea the track is single-handedly killing this band's legacy, but that it now comes across as, "we realize that our time together is limited, so let's enjoy the time we have left and hold on to it as long as possible". that's not what I appreciate about the song (see above). apparently that's not how Emily Haines and Co. feel about it and I guess that's fine. I mean, it IS their song and all, and they can reinterpret it as much as they want to b/c I'm sure it gets old playing the same songs in the same structure for YEARS.

and that's how the show @ T5 went. the new songs from Fantasies sounded nice w/ some interesting arrangements - theremin on opener Twilight Galaxy, Emily Haines w/ her own guitar/bass (I was too far away to make the difference, really) on Gold Guns Girls, etc. but the older songs, even from Live It Out, were given new treatments. as a rabid Smashing Pumpkins fan, I've come to accept and even appreciate remakes of songs in a band's back catalog. w/ Metric's, uh, "reduxing" of tracks like Empty (WHICH, YET AGAIN, KILLS ON RECORD) and Dead Disco and even the instant-winner that is Monster Hospital, I felt the material growing a little older as time passed. I mean, I don't really need to hear random-ass rants during a jam session in the middle of Empty - I just want to shake my hips and move my feet... not think a little about side commentary. once again, I've fallen into this trap in the past w/ Smashing Pumpkins and their ridiculous incarnations of Bullet w/ Butterfly Wings. it's just weird to get the same thing from another band that you feel doesn't quite fall into the schtickyness that, say, Billy Corgan does.

it was very nice to have some personal touches during the show, however. it was clear that the band was excited to play NYC once again and this was stated a few times throughout the gig by Emily and her mates. it's always a special treat to be in a band's hometown (even if Metric split their time between NYC and Montreal) for a gig. there's just a certain vibe about the show that makes it unique and I was fortunate to be a part of that.

it's also amazing to be a part of a crowd that is, plain and simple, INTO THE BAND. so many times I find myself unintentionally STUCK @ a show w/ so-called "fans" that don't want to have a passionate reaction b/c they fear losing SCENE CRED, as if showing support and HAVING FUN damages yr scene points. a highlight of the show was during Dead Disco when the floor just broke loose w/ fans and it seemed as if everyone around me had their hands in the air and was shaking about. it was ridiculously fun to simultaneously be a part of and witness.