Metric - Showbox at the Market (Seattle, WA; Jun. 04, 2009)

Everyone has that band. That one band you become completely obsessed with and follow from their early days. Sometimes you might actually see them make it. Mine is the Toronto-based Metric, and every time I see them play live, a part of me becomes a bit more jealous. That’s because as the years go by, their venues get a little bigger, the number of fans increase a little more, and it gets a little harder to obtain tickets. I still remember seeing Metric for the first time in 2004 at a festival put on by a local radio station. They were the first act in a very long lineup that stretched to the early morning. At that time, they were promoting their 2003 album, Old World Underground, Where are you Now? (a fantastic album and you should go listen to it right now) to a relatively empty amphitheater where concert-goers milled about, not paying much attention to the dynamic foursome onstage who were giving it their all. From that day, I became completely hooked. A total fangirl, if I may.

Now, in 2009, they have continued to give it their all and even though I hate to share my favorite band with the masses, I can’t deny that Metric deserves every oodle of success that they get. They have worked hard; relentlessly touring and interviewing, traveling and recording new music, even taking on solo and side projects. And people have caught on. Their recent release of Fantasies with its uber catchy tracks has given Metric a huge boost in popularity. Nowadays, when I say that I am obsessed with Metric, people understand that I am referring to the band not the international system of measurement.

The Showbox had easily sold out for Metric’s first stop on their US Fantasies tour and security was tighter than I had ever seen it at that venue. I heard from a fellow concertgoer that a gaggle of bodyguards actually surrounded lead singer Emily Haines as she walked to the bar earlier in the evening. It’s no wonder, as she has more star quality in her pinkie finger than most musicians have in their entire body. A retro beauty with wispy golden hair and sporting a gold sequined mini-dress, she struts, dances, headbangs, and shimmies around the stage. Backed up by her equally stunning bandmates, guitarist Jimmy Shaw, bassist Josh Winstead, and drummer Joules Scott-Key, you have to admit that they’re just pretty. And cool.

They opened their set rather quietly with “Twilight Galaxy,” obviously showing forethought that it would be the only time to play a quieter song. But the crowd really got going when the first drum machine beats of “Help I’m Alive” sounded. In my opinion, this song is the battle-cry of the Fantasies album that was an awakening of sorts for Metric. Lyrics such as:

If you’re still alive
My regrets are few
If my life is mine
What shouldn’t I do?
I get wherever I’m going
I get whatever I need

characterize the entire album. Distancing themselves from their more socially combative earlier recordings, Haines and Shaw wrote songs about, as corny as it sounds, living life to the fullest. During the show, Haines at times became motivational speaker, telling the crowd that everyone’s path is different and to keep on moving forward. She personally had seen friends pass her on the road to success and has at times gotten a little bitter, but has learned that everyone has their own timeline for greatness. The teeny boppers in the audience hung on every slightly hokey word.

Metric’s power ripped through the Showbox, one bouncy track after another, from “Gold, Guns, Girls” and “Gimme Sympathy” to the amazing “Stadium Love” and “Sick Muse,” which are not my personal favorites but hearing them live was spectacular. The crowd cheered and sang along and cried (oh wait, that was me.). I was happy that Metric not only performed nearly every song from Fantasies, but also made time for a couple of songs from their earlier albums. Thankfully, Haines still did her characteristic head bounce/sway to “Empty” and “Dead Disco” as she hunched over her small keyboard (I still cannot figure out how she does this without getting disoriented and/or passing out).

They ended the night with two encores, the last being an acoustic version of “Live it Out” by Haines and Shaw. I often wonder if the duo will ever turn into its own touring entity. The chemistry between the two songwriters is so strong that sometimes you feel like you are intruding on their own private jam session. After a couple minutes of acoustic, the rest of the band joined the two onstage to finish the original version.

Though I have to share “my” band with a whole lot more people now, I am happy to see that their celebrity hasn’t affected their performance. Rather, I feel like this new surge of acknowledgment and fame has given them a little boost in confidence and they treat it more like a gift than something deserved. Their performance at the Showbox was just as energetic as that afternoon in 2004. Except this time they were headlining for a packed house and not a single person could keep his eyes off the dynamic foursome onstage giving it all they have.

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For a special treat, please enjoy Metric’s album streaming:

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