Tuesday, May 11, 2004
Keep Your Eyes on This One
On my last night in Philly, I saw Metric. I've mentioned them before, but after seeing the show, I can say that this is a band that's Got It. Their singer, Emily Haines, has an attractively creepy look, bizarre musical robot dances, excellent stage presence, and a voice to die for. But what was most impressive was the willingness of the band to, well, rock the fuck out. The last song of the set they played, was Dead Disco - which on the album is a driving pop/punk song. In concert, though, they made it edgier and more dissonant, and instead of finishing it, the second half of the song became a half-improvised poetry/self-hatred session, that culminated with Haines inviting a member of the audience on stage to play the keyboard - though she said "You can come on stage, but you can't touch me."
It reminded me of Horses-era Patti Smith - a combination of rock and roll drive, poetry, and a diagnosis of nihilistic society, all done with enough insanity that you think that maybe she actually is about to collapse on stage.
But me talking about music you haven't heard isn't gonna do much for you. So go download Combat Baby. It's a catchy little ditty about dating a punker. I had this song for about 3 months before I realized "hey, this kicks ass!" and then downloaded a couple more songs, and suddenly, New Favorite Band!
On my last night in Philly, I saw Metric. I've mentioned them before, but after seeing the show, I can say that this is a band that's Got It. Their singer, Emily Haines, has an attractively creepy look, bizarre musical robot dances, excellent stage presence, and a voice to die for. But what was most impressive was the willingness of the band to, well, rock the fuck out. The last song of the set they played, was Dead Disco - which on the album is a driving pop/punk song. In concert, though, they made it edgier and more dissonant, and instead of finishing it, the second half of the song became a half-improvised poetry/self-hatred session, that culminated with Haines inviting a member of the audience on stage to play the keyboard - though she said "You can come on stage, but you can't touch me."
It reminded me of Horses-era Patti Smith - a combination of rock and roll drive, poetry, and a diagnosis of nihilistic society, all done with enough insanity that you think that maybe she actually is about to collapse on stage.
But me talking about music you haven't heard isn't gonna do much for you. So go download Combat Baby. It's a catchy little ditty about dating a punker. I had this song for about 3 months before I realized "hey, this kicks ass!" and then downloaded a couple more songs, and suddenly, New Favorite Band!