Metric

Music Box - March 23, 2006

Live Review by Amber Henson

There is no denying the excitement that Emily Haines and the rest of Metric bring to the stage.  For almost two hours, there is non-stop action on stage, lights flashing, music blaring, Emily dancing around in her weird way.

After Islands and The End of Fashion went on, Metric took the stage at the sold-out show at a little after 11.  Everyone took their places, Jimmy Shaw on guitar, Josh Winstead on bass, and Joules Scott-Key on drums.  Emily showed up, this time not in a tiny skirt like she’s worn at previous concerts, but in a peculiar pantsuit, except with shorts, so I guess short suit?  It was all white and immediately let the audience know that they would be entertained.

They played around 16 songs, all from their first and second albums, Old World Underground, Where Are You Now? and Live It Out.  There was no new material during this performance.  There also wasn’t that much interaction between the band and the audience.  As usual, the men of the band didn’t say anything to the crowd, but Emily was unusually quiet, too  There were a few comments here and there, like dedicating the song “Dead Disco” to the people who saw them in Silverlake several years ago before they were big.  But there was no speech like there has been before from her, perhaps because this venue was too big.  Actually, that was one thing she mentioned, it being weird to not be playing at the El Rey, a much smaller venue where they’ve played the last several times they’ve been in L.A.

After about thirteen songs, they left and came back for their encore—“Dead Disco,” as mentioned above, “The List,” and “Empty” during which she violently shook her head after telling us “Shake your head it’s empty.”

It’s always exciting to see a small band move up into a larger venue, and step into a larger spotlight—for Metric, this was that show.