An acoustic Free At Noon set was Metric at their best

Iconic Canadian rock act Metric stopped by World Cafe Live today ahead of their performance with Noel Gallagher and Garbage tonight at The Mann. After a career spanning two decades, members Emily Haines and Jimmy Shaw are experts at stripping back their smash hits for a more intimate listening experience.

The audience was abuzz before the show. When you can easily overhear fans discussing their plans to see you play two shows in one day, you know you’ve really made it. Haines walked onto the stage ready to dance, glittering in a gold top and blazing red skirt (that I’ll have to find and purchase a replica for somehow). Though the pair played an acoustic rendition of their latest single “Just The Once”, the “regretful disco” energy of the track still shone through. In between songs, Haines reminisced on the band’s vast career, from classic album releases to movie placements such as the use of “Gold Guns Girls” in the animated film Nimona, which was released in June of this year. Despite being contained to a simple vocals-and-guitar setup, it was still clear to see that alternative music legends were in our midst at WCL.

For “Cascades”, the duo did what they like to call a “dirt road version” of the song. As Haines remarked, peeling back layers of their tracks in such a way serves to “let the songs exist in a different identity”. In the same vein, for their final song, “Live It Out”, Haines led the audience in a call-and-response section of the song, during which Shaw and herself harmonized with the crowd. It was heartwarming to see and fun to participate in, even for those in the crowd who may have only been there for a free show (though most were there specifically to see the band, including a few fans with Formentera t-shirts).

If you missed out on today’s Free at Noon show, you can still catch Metric alongside Garbage and Noel Gallagher tonight at The Mann’s TD Pavillion at 7 pm — tickets and info at our Concerts and Events page. Additionally, Formentera II is to be released on October 13th — preorder here — so stay tuned for lots more from Metric.