A high-energy event from start to finish, Metric were full of intensity on the first stop of their Canadian tour at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre. The Toronto rock band, who recently released their fifth album, Synthetica, played to a packed Victoria crowd on November 9.
Stars, whose members also play in Broken Social Scene, did a fantastic job of getting the crowd worked up with an intense opening set. Despite the rough start through their opener, “Theory of Relativity,” the six-piece band managed to pull through and work out the few minor technical difficulties on stage. Band leader Torquil Campbell moved the crowd with his theatrical enthusiasm. The animated performer was full of drive, keeping up his reeling and dancing around the stage. Campbell and vocalist and guitar player Amy Millan’s intense musical chemistry worked for a great performance of “We Don’t Want Your Body.” Campbell shouted out to the crowed, “I can’t believe I’m playing an arena with my buddies. This is fucking amazing.” The band’s interaction was one of just that: good friends playing together having a great time. Stars gave a strong performance right until the very end of their set.
Metric started off strong with singer Emily Haines jumping into “Artificial Nocturne” and moving into material from Synthetica for the first half of their set, such as “Youth without Youth.” Haines kept mostly to her keyboard for the first few songs, the excitement in the crowd building as the arena filled up with eager fans. Metric played more of their hits later on in their set, with “Help I’m Alive” being a huge crowd-pleaser.
The minimalist set and techno-style lighting reflected the more synthetic quality of Metric’s new album. Haines had boundless energy as she jumped around the strange consistently throughout the entire show. In crazy shoes, no less. The band didn’t slow down that energy all night, between the spectacular performance, the intense light show behind them, and an excited crowd, it was an atmosphere that no one could resist.
The band came back for an encore of four more songs, including “Monster Hospital,” ending the night on a strong note. Metric delivered anything a fan could have asked for: a great performance musically, and dedicated showmanship.
My sister wrote this!!! 😀