Help, I’m Alive (in 2009 Again): Metric @ MTELUS June 4th
I found myself on Wednesday night at MTELUS exactly where my angsty teenage-self dreamed of being – shoulder to shoulder with strangers yelling the lyrics to Gold Guns Girls under a light show, watching Emily Haines, frontwoman of the band Metric, command the stage with her hypnotic presence and iconic lyrics.
Metric’s Montreal performance was part of their tour celebrating their 2009 album, Fantasies, a JUNO award winning record full of songs that helped make them indie rock royalty. From the moment the house lights dimmed, and drummer Joules Scott-Key struck the first beat of Help I’m Alive – his drum kit adorned with the blue butterfly logo from the album’s cover – it was clear that we were in for a nostalgic evening. The stage clock, which had been counting down from 2025 to 2009, set the tone perfectly: a rewind into an album that defined a generation of angsty indie kids (myself included). Metric played the album front to back and in order, and as someone who wore that CD out in high school, I can’t emphasize enough how satisfying it was. Every time a song ended, the next one I had mentally queued up came on, scratching a specific itch in my brain.
(Emily Haines on guitar performing Gold Gun Girls)
Though Metric didn’t speak much between songs, and I admit I wished for a bit more storytelling from them, Emily did pause to share a vulnerable moment before they played the song Blindness. Reflecting on the state of the world, she described the struggle of staying hopeful while feeling like she’s not doing enough. “I feel like a coward,” she admitted—a powerful, humanizing confession that added extra emotional weight to the performance.
Guitarist James Shaw played exceptionally throughout the show, but I was especially impressed by his solo on Front Row (if only I’d been in the front row to witness it up close!). Overall, the whole band sounded spectacular live, with big synths, crisp drumlines and basslines, giving the audience the signature sound only Metric can make. There were several moments that felt genuinely cinematic: the song Stadium Love turned the crowd into a chorus chanting the lyrics “I walk through the stadium every day” in perfect unison. Before playing their song Breathing Underwater, Emily spoke about her gratitude for James and their relationship as creative partners since 1998. They played the song set to a video montage of scenes from festivals and tours that the band have played over the years, and it felt like a full-circle moment as Emily belted the lyrics “Is this my life?”.
Beyond playing their Fantasies album in full, Metric played several of their greatest hits including Monster Hospital, Dead Disco, and one of my personal favorites, Youth Without Youth. I especially enjoyed seeing the band play their song Dreams So Real live and hear Emily sing some of my favorite lyrics of hers: “to believe in the power of songs, to believe in the power of girls.”
The show ended with the song Black Sheep, Metric’s most-streamed song on Spotify, famously featured in the film Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. Everyone sang along and for a second it felt like we were all part of Envy Adam’s band, The Clash at Demonhead (if you don’t know the reference, go watch Scott Pilgrim now).
There was no encore, and to be honest, I felt pretty disappointed as I was leaving the venue. However, after reflecting on the show and experience to see Metric live, I thought about how they had given us a pretty epic and complete show: they played a front-to-back performance of Fantasies as well as a greatest hits victory lap. Maybe them not coming out for an encore is pretty rock-n-roll of them.
Metric may not have played my two personal favorites Raw Sugar or Combat Baby, but I can’t complain. They gave a dazzling performance honoring a specific moment in time with their Fantasies album, and they performed well. And for one night, I felt like I was a teenager again.
Photography and concert review by Allison Keil
