Metric at the Moore Feb.21
After the release of their sixth album, “Pagans in Vegas”, I was looking forward to their Seattle date at the Moore. I always feel that Metric is a huge band that is still small enough to relate and appreciate when you see live. After purchasing tickets in November I never checked for opener details and I was surprisingly happy to see that Joywave would be joining them that night.
Joywave has been steadily building a following and that is no surprise due to their catchy pop tunes and on stage banter that is hilarious. The band caught a break not only with their own “Tongues”, but a bigger one with “Dangerous”, their collaboration with Big Data, which reached number one on the Billboard Alternative Songs. They release their debut LP, “How do you Feel Now?”, in 2015 and have been touring extensively since. They are really fun to catch live, but be aware, the dancing will not stop.
Metric took the stage shortly after the setup was complete and their opening was as big as you would expect it to be with “IOU”. Their production was really huge with lights flashing everywhere along with cool displays in the background to go with specific tunes. Emily Haines possesses the stage in a way that she keeps all eyes, and ears, on her the whole time.
They went on to play “Help I’m Alive”, and “Youth Without Youth”, which I wasn’t expecting to hear so early in the set but it did pump the audience even more. Even thought the Moore does not have a GA standing room floor the people on the main floor were out of their seats the entire time, as expected.
I was glad to hear their new tunes as they grow into more pop-indie with their latest album but it feels like a progression of their sound, that is not formulated. “Cascades”, “Too Bad, So Sad”, “The Shade”, will make you move around each time with the catchy hooks and lyrics.
Haines brought up the importance of music and how it touches each and every one of us. What was interesting was that she emphasized on not only the importance it has once it’s born for the artist but the time that each person will find it. It can be years later but it all depends on the personal experience in the time discovered. I thought that was so true because I’ve never thought of it like this before. You don’t have to be a part of it the year or moment it was born but you can make it your own experience when you discover it even years later.
The band also stopped to thank their fans and share how their VIP moments have been going, before telling us they were bringing tonight’s fans on stage. Emily said she wanted to share this with them so she brought them out and James Shaw gave us direction as he split the crowd in half, each to sing separate lyrics. It was a cool moment as “Dream So Real” became a huge sing-along for every one present, left and right side.
They finished their main set with “Gold Guns Girls”, and “The Shade”, and came back for four more making it a great long set that drew from all of the catalog. The night ended with “Breathing Underwater”, with the whole band standing at the front of the stage singing the words. The last couple of verses ended a capella per Emily’s request and as her voice echoed through the theater I was making sure I took a mental picture of this as it was pure magic.