tim’s thought property

The last of my flurry of concerts has ended.
Jordan and I, along with his brother, and friends; went to the Walker to see Metric play.
It had been a while since I set foot in the old theatre, and I must say that it was good to be back. I really enjoy the atmosphere of the space. As we walked up to the doors, and had the big, burly Event Staff rip and scan our tickets, we entered a crowded lobby.
As we took our seats, we were “graced” with the performance of two opening acts. The first, Panarch, was what seemed to be a slightly bored and generic rock band. The crowd did not seem too taken with them, and the band, to their credit, played tight. However, the music was quite forgettable. The second act, The Elected, was a little more involved with the audience. But they opened by saying something like “Get of your seats, guineas!” Jordan remarked that starting off a set with what sounded like an insult isn’t the best way to gain an open ear. They played well, but didn’t seem interested in the city. They thanked Metric quite a bit, but never once the crowd for coming out. There was a lot of energy from the lead singer, but he seemed a little wrapped up in the rockstar mindset to care if anyone enjoyed the set.
By that time, we were really getting eager for Metric to play. We met up with Farthing, another S.bucks’ co-worker, and the group of us tried to get to the front before the band took stage. We were told by a mercenary of a man that we, in the aisle, were making a fire hazard. As there was time to kill, we attempted four times to stake out a better spot, but every time, a giant, with the arms the circumference of a horse’s leg, stopped us and turned us away.
Standing in our row, we had the lights go out, and the group take the dim stage. The boys in the band wore white shirts, and Emily Haines wore a short white dress. With much smoke, and many spot-lights, the stage had changed from hues of grey to green to blue to purple. They started off with Live it Out, the title track from their newest album. As they got more comfortable, they seemed to loosen up their antics. Emily would dance with stiff moves, but also be quite animated from behind her two keyboards. Guitarist James Shaw began to unwind by the time they played Poster of a Girl, and it sounded great live. The crowd was up and into the music by this time. Ending Start was in there and quickly following was Monster Hospital. The crowd seemed to love this one quite a bit. As they played out most of the new album, I had found that I knew less of their music than I thought. One song, Hustle Rose, from their 2003 release, blew me away with the long outro done on the keys. They played Combat Baby right after, and I found that too, was a great song, that was new to me.
As the night went on, the outros and instrumental bridges got longer. When they finally left the stage, the loud crowd called for more. Being the polite musicians that I took them to be, the band returned for a few more songs. Amongst the encore songs was Dead Disco, one that Jordan really wished to hear.
It was a great performance by Metric. The band was great at what they do. Steady drumming, intricate bass, and elaborate guitar all courtesy of Joules Scott-Key, Josh Winstead and James Shaw respectively. Emily Haines was of course the lead vocalist, and keyboard player. And when they left for good, the crowd made its way out. It was satisfying.