Emily Haines Gives Soft Solo Performance

Danforth Music Hall

Toronto, ON

on Jan 6 2007

Noah Love (CHARTattack)

01/08/2007 3:30pm

There must be some unwritten rule that if you're female, play the piano and have a slightly engaging voice, a legion of wide-eyed girl fans awaits you. Tori Amos and Regina Spektor? Check and check. Even also-ran Vanessa Carleton had thousands of girls swooning. Metric's Emily Haines already had the fanbase in hand, but recently translated her sound from all-out rock to lush balladry for her first solo effort, the underrated Knives Don't Have Your Back. While the aforementioned legions of late teen and early twenty-something girls were out in full effect on Saturday night at the Music Hall, Haines proved only that she's more suited to her full-time job.

Not helping matters any were Tall Firs, an ultra-quiet indie rock three-piece from Brooklyn, New York. "We're really, REALLY happy to be on tour with Emily Haines and Soft Skeleton," the drummer said at one point. He had no idea.

In addition to playing at a barely-there volume, neither of the Firs' two singers were engaging in the least. I was probably one of the few people in the sold-out crowd who had seen the band previously, and the best thing I could say from previous experience was that the drummer had a beard. I couldn't pick their sound out of a lineup before the Haines show, and I still couldn't. I don't take any pleasure in writing that an indie band suck, but Tall Firs really, REALLY suck.

Only the appearance of Haines meandering on to the stage broke the low atmosphere. The audience burst into applause as though they didn't even know she was coming. Then she proceeded to bring the affair back down to Earth by performing her entire record, minus any of its mystery or charm. You see, Haines is at her best when she's shouting at the top of her lungs - most singers are. You'll always get better melody into your vocals when you put power into them. I assume Haines must have been overwhelmed by her monitors, because she sang almost in a whisper. That meant she was somewhat tuneless for the duration of the 50-minute set.

And 50 minutes? Even the perfunctory standing ovation at the end of the performance (I've never seen anyone in the Music Hall get less) couldn't drag the star back out. The boos that followed were deserved. People don't pay $23 for a 50-minute set. But who knows? Maybe it was an off night and Haines knew it. She was good-humoured, joking about bandmate James Shaw and the city of Toronto in between songs, but it seemed like she was going through the motions all night. At least everyone in attendance knew that she's capable of much more. If anything, the Soft Skeleton tour is a lucrative break from Haines' norm. And if the unquestioning legions are willing to pay, why the hell not do it?