I have been a fan of Canadian-based band Metric for quite some time and was excited to see them in Denver during their 13 stop US tour. However, after watching them play at the Ogden Theater, I was left wanting a little more.

Performing to an almost sold out show, Metric did not waste any time playing their current single "Help I'm Alive", which is off of their new album Fantasies. Lead singer Emily Haines, who wore a sparkly number that seemed to be influenced by a flapper's costume, switched between synthesizer, tambourine, and guitar during the hour-and-half-long set of new wave influenced riffs and energetic light show. The band seemed pretty focused on their music and hardly engaged the audience until Haines went on a rant about which band would they rather be - The Beatles or The Rolling Stones. This question normally annoys me, however, their point that being either band would suck since the Beatles broke up and the Stones went corporate was quite entertaining.

After concluding that the band could be the Canadian equivalent of both The Beatles and the Stones, Haines danced around the stage while the fans started to be more active. By this time however, I became bored and felt like I was watching the show on the tube. I could tell that the band was enjoying what they were doing and the fans were having fun, yet there was a huge disconnect for me.

On a lighter note, the opening band, Sebastien Grainger And The Mountains were fantastic. They did their job of getting the fans excited for the headliners, even though they claimed that they were not, and made me want to check out their last LP, Sebastien Grainger And The Mountains. However I was not that surprised since lead singer/guitarist Sebastien Grainger was drummer/singer of popular dance-punk band, Death From Above 1974.

As I left I did not feel that the night was a flop. Even though Metric did not impress me like I was hoping they would, I got to hear a new band that has now become a fixture in my music collection. And that puts a smile on my face.

-Melissa Skrbic-Huss

Metric with Sebastien Grainger And The Mountains, Smile Smile
Ogden Theater, Denver CO
June 11, 2009

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