Metric Balance Their Numbers Right

I hate going to shows where the band only play their hits, and play them exactly how they sound on the record. I also hate shows where they refuse to play anything well-known, simply out of spite for their peripheral audience. I want a balance between the two, and I want each song to have new life simply in the way that it's performed. I don't care if the group's been playing it for years. They have to make each performance unique. Do I sound like a needy guy? Maybe. But Metric know what I want and how to give it to me.

Thursday night at The Sound Academy was largely devoted to new material from their still-untitled, much-anticipated upcoming release. Frontwoman Emily Haines has previously described the new album as more adventurous and experimental than previous Metric records, which probably means there's going to be a hell of a lot of synths. I prefer their rock stuff, and so did the crowd at the Academy. "Monster Hospital," "Hustle Rose" and "Empty" all got massive cheers, while drifters "Rock Me Now" and "Too Little Too Late" received weak response. In fact, a large portion of the crowd started heading for the doors when guitarist James Shaw switched to an acoustic for the set closer, a subdued duet version of "Live It Out" without bass and drums. This was especially strange considering how devoted the crowd seemed only moments earlier during the more dynamic "Combat Baby." Thank goodness Haines started the encore by asking, "Should I rock your faces off?" And thank double goodness that Haines is one of the few people who still sounds cool when asking something so... KISS.

Hell, Haines could make folding laundry cool. Her Sonic Youth-meets-Kraftwerk stage personality has always set Metric apart from every other like-minded renewed-wave group. She brings a playfulness that softens her rhythm section's robotic beats and jagged guitar riffs, and she always seems completely tuned into her songs. It could be inciting a crowd chant, trying to explain the meaning behind "Handshakes" (and only muddying it further) or just simple head-banging. She's captivating. On the subway ride home I overheard a fellow concertgoer ask, "Did you go for the band or did you go for her?" No answer was necessary.

That said, you gotta hand it to drummer Joules Scott-Key for justifying the group's name. It's not often a drum line can be described as thoughtful.