Metric at Prospect Park (more by Kyle Dean Reinford)

"Don't ask Emily Haines about "indie."

"I don't know what it means anymore," says the Metric frontwoman. "I think it might be a font at this point. Which is fine, actually. Everything changes."

Haines is still a young woman, but at 36 she's old enough to remember what the much-abused word used to signify.

When the Toronto-raised singer-songwriter-keyboardist started her band in Brooklyn in the late '90s, "indie" didn't refer to a style of music. It was short for "independent." An indie record didn't conform to any particular style: It was an album that the musicians released themselves, without the assistance of a record company.

An album like Metric's "Fantasies."

"It's something I'll always be proud of: that we were able to reach the Billboard Top 20 (Rock Albums) without a label," says Haines, who [took] the stage with Metric at the Prudential Center in Newark, opening for Muse. "I believe we're the first band to do that."" [NJ.COM]

Director Katheryn Bigelow is responsible for films like Point Break, Near Dark and the 2009 Oscar-winner The Hurt Locker. She'll be the subject of a MoMA tribute on November 10th at 6:30 which will include an after-party with a live acoustic set by Metric and a DJ set from Nick Zinner (the Yeah Yeah Yeahs). Tickets for the benefit dinner will set you back a bit, but cheaper tickets for the after-party are also on sale. Pick up tickets now OR you can try your hand at winning a pair to the after-party. Details how are on the bottom of this post.

Muse and Metric concluded their trek together over the weekend in New Orleans at the Voodoo Festival (10/30). Pictures from that show (and the entire festival) are on the way but for now, head below for details on how to win those tickets...

Continue reading "MoMA honoring Kathryn Bigelow, Metric playing (win tix) "

photos by Kyle Dean Reinford

"Metric played the exact same set (shaved a song or two) in the exact same way as they did at Terminal 5 a few months ago but with two big differences.The first was they kicked off with the now well known "Eclipse (All Yours)", their big deal single from their big deal appearance on the Twilight soundtrack, which is apparently some big deal with a lot of people (I wouldn't know, I refuse to watch anything in which vampires sparkle in the sun instead of burn). The live performance was infinitely better than the record. It fit right into the Metric mold. The other big difference was the band sounded better as a whole in the open air of Prospect Park than they did at the acoustic horror of Terminal 5. Same band, same performance, better venue = the awesome thunder of Metric in full display." [Sonic Parthenon]

Emily Haines also wore a very similar shirt to what she wore at Terminal 5.

Joan (Wasser) as Policewoman (who I saw in the crowd at Rufus Wainwright at the same venue a couple of weeks earlier) and Holly Miranda (who played a much smaller NYC three days later, and a medium sized show a month earlier) opened for Metric Thursday night, August 5th, at the all-female-frontwoman, free Celebrate Brooklyn show (two nights before Sharon Jones). More pictures from it, below...

Continue reading "Metric, Joan as Policewoman & Holly Miranda Celebrated Brooklyn in Prospect Park (pics) "

"With a horn section behind the already several-member group, Broken Social Scene began with 'World Sick' off their new album Forgiveness Rock Record and then 'Stars And Sons,' the latter with fans clapping repeatedly on cue as six guitarists jammed out the conclusion.

However, from there things got bigger and better, with Metric's James Shaw and Pavement's Scott Kannberg helping out on the danceable 'Texico Bitches.' Then Feist made her way onstage for '7/4 (Shoreline),' dancing around the stage when not sharing vocal duties with Drew.

The only problem perhaps with the set - aside from Drew irked that his guitar pedals weren't working - was how it seemed to peak halfway through. Following the plodding, precious ballad 'Sweetest Kill,' both Feist and Metric's Emily Haines appeared for 'Sentimental X's,' which had the crowd onside from the start." [Toronto Sun]

Sebastien Grainger (DFA1979) and John McEntire (Tortoise/Sea and Cake) also joined BSS on stage on Saturday, June 19th, on Toronto's Olympic Island. The full lineup for the 2010 edition of the annual Toronto Island Concert, which wasn't officially part of NXNE (but which did let in 250 badges) looked like this:

1:15 PM Toronto Revue (The Beauties, Flash Lightnin', Zeus)
2:45PM Timber Timbre
4:00PM Beach House
5:15PM Band of Horses
6:45PM Broken Social Scene
9:00PM Pavement

I left my downtown hotel in a cab at 3pm, and though the ferry station was only a ten minute drive away, I didn't actually get to the stage area until around around 4:45. I heard Beach House as I walked up, but I never actually saw them. I wasn't worried about catching Timber Timbre because I saw them the night before in a club (more on that later), and I knew I wasn't getting there by 1:00 (after being out till 4am at NXNE shows the night before) so I didn't even try.

The weather on Saturday in Toronto was hot and beautiful and Band of Horses (who played Grand Central Station in NYC one night earlier) (and the Williamsburg Waterfront in NYC one night later) sounded great as they played out to the thousands of people who were either watching them... or waiting on line for something. Lines were definitely a problem on the island. You usually had to wait a long time for food, bathrooms and most frustratingly to many, beer.

Then came Broken Social Scene and they were in top form - it was my favorite time ever seeing them. In fact, though I've seen the band more times than I can remember over the past six years, I was never 100% comfortable with their live show before. That changed on the island. Maybe it was because they were in their hometown of Toronto with all their friends (though sadly no Jason Collett or Amy Milan who are both on tour). Feist and Emily Haines together on stage contributed strongly to the specialness (par for the course for Toronto), and Lisa Lobsinger no longer feels like the new girl.

Full setlist (and lots more pictures and some videos) below.

As painful as it was to leave while BSS was playing their last song (aka I didn't stay for Pavement), I made the decision that I was going to catch The Stooges who played a competing show at Young Dundas Square at 9:30. My trip off the island was much quicker than my trip on. I got a ferry immediately and then a cab immediately and I was 40 minutes early for Iggy. I even caught the last ten minutes of The Raveonettes who played before the Stooges on the outdoor stage which was in the middle of a Times Square-like area of town. It was a complete madhouse (a free show in the middle of town open to anyone... with Iggy Pop), but more on that later.

Andrew Frisicano was with me on the island. He missed Band of Horses but stayed for Pavement. His post on the headliner is coming later. More about BSS and Band of Horses, with a ton of pictures and some videos and both setlists, below...

Continue reading "Broken Social Scene (w/ Feist & Emily Haines) & Band of Horses opened for Pavement @ Toronto's Olympic Island - pics, video, setlists"

photos by Bao Nguyen

One night after they appeared at Webster Hall, Broken Social Scene played a show at the smaller Music Hall of Williamsburg over in Brooklyn with their Arts & Crafts label-mates Zeus...

"...Saturdays show was the best I've seen them. There's always a sense of discovery with seeing a band for the first time. It's overwhelming, exciting and you become a fan for life. On the hand, location, setlist and performance is what really prevails when you think of memorable concert experiences. With BSS, they've added a handful of fantastic songs from their recent release Forgiveness Rock Record. Texico Bitches, art House Director and Meet Me in the Basement all get the FTW! label..." [Music Snobbery]

The pictures in this post (and the setlist) are from that Saturday night show.

The band's next NYC show will hold more people than Webster Hall and Music Hall combined. It takes place at Central Park Summerstage aka Rumsey Playfield on September 18th (tickets). If you want a more intimate experience head up to Toad's Place in New Haven, CT where they play two days after that, or Theatre of the Living Arts in Philly where they're appearing on September 14th. Those are a few of many tour dates they just announced. All of those, with more pictures from the Brooklyn show, below...

Continue reading "Broken Social Scene played Music Hall of Williamsburg (pics & setlist), announce more tour dates "

photos by Dominick Mastrangelo

Broken Social Scene made their return to New York Friday night and a sold-out Webster Hall (In 2006 they played the venue three nights in a row). The collective, out in support of their new full-length, Forgiveness Rock Record, played for two solid hours with no opener. BSS Alumni Emily Haines and Jimmy Shaw came out for a handful of songs in the middle of the set, including "Anthems for a Seventeen Year-old Girl" and "Almost Crimes". Those songs book-ended the live debut of Forgiveness' "Sentimental X's" (video below). Shaw came out to play trumpet on "Lover's Spit", the final song of the night. Band leader Kevin Drew gave the crowd a multiple choice of final songs. "We can play "Superconnected". We can play "Major Label Debut". Or We can play "Lover's Spit". A show of hands and applause a minute later tipped the epic ballad to close the show.

One night later, Saturday, the band played the smaller Music Hall of Williamsburg (more about that soon). The full setlist, that video and more pictures from Friday below...

Continue reading "Broken Social Scene played Webster Hall - pics, video, setlist"

Sleigh Bells & M.I.A. (I think) @ Coco66 on 5/7 (actually 5/8) (Seva Granik)

As if the hype wasn't through the roof enough, M.I.A. helped popularize the act her label co-signed (is that the right term?) a little bit more this evening by joining Sleigh Bells on stage at the end of their show at Coco66. The show's promoter Seva Granik writes, "MIA closes Sleigh Bells' set on "Ring Ring." Crowd go nut. Ima get another drank."

In unrelated news, David Byrne was seen checking out Local Natives cover a Talking Heads song at Bowery Ballroom earlier the same night, and Emily Haines joined Broken Social Scene for three songs at Webster Hall. More on those later.

For prettier pictures of Sleigh Bells, check out the set from their show at Webster Hall earlier in the week. Sleigh Bells play another NYC show on May 11th. M.I.A. and Sleigh Bells officially share a bill this summer on Governors Island.

photos by Tim Griffin

One of the more mainstream "big" bills at SXSW was Muse with Metric at Stubb's on Friday night (3/19). It was Emily Haines' 2nd night in a row in the venue because she also performed with Broken Social Scene there. Our Friday day party at Club DeVille was right down the street. After cleaning up we left to find the line to Muse was blocks long (luckily we had no plans to go in). Tim was also at our Friday day party but had taken off earlier than us to make sure he got in in time to get the pictures that continue below...

Continue reading "Muse & Metric @ Stubb's for SXSW - pics "

by Dominick Mastrangelo

"I don't get to see these people. I don't see Leslie (Feist) any more. It's tough to see Amy (Millan) and Evan (Cranley) because they live in Montreal. Jimmy (Shaw) and Emily (Haines) have been on the road so much. They just came and we hung out in the studio for a few days in Toronto. Just to hang out was enough."

Broken Social Scene hasn't closed the door on collaborations, by any stretch. Metric's Haines and Shaw were invited onstage Thursday night to perform You Forgot It In People's show-stopping "Anthems For a Seventeen-Year-Old Girl," while stretches of the show featured a six-piece horn section, the Beauties acting as a sort of all-male chorus line and vocal contributions from Jason Collett. [Toronto Star]

SXSW Day Two startedd out for me with a performance by Sharon Van Etten who was heartachingly beautiful at St. David's Sanctuary. Sarah Jaffe and band followed - great folk/rock songs. Over at Stubb's Emily Haines and Jimmy Shaw guesting on "Anthems For A Seventeen Year Old Girl" with Broken Social Scene was the highlight of their show filled with new songs from the forthcoming record. Band Of Horses preceded and were great but their set was a bit short. Let's Wrestle (who didn't make it to NYC before Austin, but did make it to SXSW) during the day at Lovejoy's was loud and excellent. The Victorian Room at the Driskill Hotel was a perfect venue for Olof Arnalds and probably the most attractive setting for a show I've been to yet.

Some pictures and commentary from SXSW Day 1 HERE. Pictures from Day 2 continue below...

Continue reading "SXSW 2010 day 2 in pics & review (Broken Social Scene, Sharon Van Etten, Olof Arnalds, Let's Wrestle, Band of Horses, more) "

That above picture is the cover for the forthcoming Tegan & Sara album, Sainthood, due out October 27th on Vapor Records. The record is being produced by Chris Walla (of Death Cab and many producing credits) and Howard Redekopp (who's worked with New Pornographers, Mother Mother, and others) - interesting in that they've both worked on past Tegan & Sara individually.

The pair (Tegan and Sara) have a few shows scheduled at the moment. Two of those will happen at NYC's Town Hall on October 30th and 31st (Mischief Night and Halloween). Tickets go on sale Friday at 10am.

Tiestoremixed Tegan & Sara's track "Back in your Head" in 2007. Now the three have collaborated again on "I Feel it in My Bones," a song that'll be included on Tiesto's new album, Kaleidoscope, out October 20th on Ultra Records. That song is streaming on his MySpace. Also guesting on the Tiesto album will be Jónsi of Sigur Rós, Kele Okereke of Bloc Party, Emily Haines of Metric, and others. Full tracklist is below.

Tiesto is going on a pretty big tour that kicks off with three nights at Hammerstein Ballroom in NYC. Tickets for those shows (9/24-9/26) are on sale now. All dates, the Tegan & Sara album back cover and tracklist, and more, below...

Continue reading "Tegan & Sara - new album, 2 Town Hall shows, & collab. w/ Tiesto who is touring (dates) & playing 3 NYC shows"

"after seeing this video I lost any respect I had for Perry Farrell. Why is he even bothering with music anymore? He and his wife should stick with porn exclusively". - Anonymous | August 8, 2009 1:32 AM

"Perry's" stage @ Lollapalooza - August 8, 2009 (by kazahel)

Julian Plenti FTW....

Continue reading "Paul Banks (Julian Plenti) & Emily Haines VS Perry Farrell & Etty Farrell VS Perry Farrell & LeAnn Rimes (VIDEOS)"

Marnie Stern @ NYU (more by Chris La Putt)

tonight in NYC
* DANCE
* Jon B @ Marcus Garvey Park
* Cursive, The Love Language @ Maxwell's
* Tyshawn Sorey's Oblique @ The Stone
* Daryl Hall & John Oates @ Seaside Park
* Bad Veins, The Dead Sparrows @ Mercury Lounge
* Scott H. Biram, Boss Tweed & Slim Twig @ Union Hall
* Stlyes P featuring Metermaids & NSR @ Southpaw
* John Kelly sings Joni Mitchell @ Castle Clinton
* Asphalt Orchestra @ Lincoln Center's Hearst Plaza
* Ga'an, Naam, La Otracina, Warmth @ Death By Audio
* Eagles of Death Metal, Rival Schools @ Webster Hall
* Mark Kozelek, Mia Doi Todd @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
* Hard Nips, Ramble Tamble, Invisible Circle @ Bruar Falls
* Brothers, pow wow!, Maricopa, Spirit Houses, Jon Lall @ Pianos
* Das Racist, Gordon Voidwell, Popo, Old Money @ Bowery Ballroom
* Nicole Atkins & The Sea, Hymns, Bird of Youth @ The Bell House
* Darlings, Senors of Marseille, Teddy Blanks, Holiday Holiday @ The Cameo
* Anamanaguchi, Starscream, Graffiti Monsters @ The Studio at Webster Hall
* Lincoln Center Out of Doors Fest w/ Hip Hop Generation Next @ Damrosch Park
* Fucking Ocean, Shivers, Psychic Reality, Royal Chord, Golden Birds @ Cake Shop
* Marnie Stern, Jason & The Scorchers, Oakley Hall, Drink Up Buttercup @ Santos
* Heartthrobz, Bright Light Bright Light, Neon Gloworms, Beach Fossils, Ivory Coasts, Oblisk @ Public Assembly
* Old Crow Medicine Show, Dave Rawlings Machine & Gillian Welch, Felice Brothers, Justin Townes Earle @ Beacon Theatre

Free outdoor music tonight includes Daryl Hall & John Oates at Seaside Park in Coney Island, Escort in Prospect Park, a Woodstock Celebration with John Kelly singing Joni Mitchell at Castle Clinton, Jon B at Marcus Garvey Park, the Asphalt Orchestra (who plays through Sunday) at Lincoln Center's Hearst Plaza, and Lincoln Center Out of Doors Fest's Hip Hop Generation Next lineup at Damrosch Park Bandshell.

Cursive plays a sold-out gig with The Love Language at Maxwell's.

"A federal jury on Friday ordered a Boston University graduate student who admitted illegally downloading and sharing music online to pay $675,000 to four record labels." [MercuryNews]

Adult Swim's free biweekly series at Santos presents Dave Willis (Aqua Teen Hunger Force and Squidbillies) and music from Marnie Stern, Jason and The Scorchers, Oakley Hall and Drink Up Buttercup.

The Big Surprise Tour brings Old Crow Medicine Show, Dave Rawlings Machine & Gillian Welch, Felice Brothers and Justin Townes Earle to the Beacon Theatre. One Felice played Mercury Lounge on Tuesday.

"No matter how clearly Tenenbaum broke the law, it doesn't change the only real fact: the RIAA has failed to embrace new business models when they appear, has attacked and held back new technologies and innovations at nearly every opportunity until dragged kicking-and-screaming into the new era (which it still refuses to fully embrace), and has created a PR nightmare for itself that isn't helped by lying to the public in the name of a bunch of bogus "FACTS."" [Techdirt]

Eagles of Death Metal play with Rival Schools at Webster Hall. Rival Schools' Walter Schreifels plays a show on August 11th at Maxwell's.

Mark Kozelek of Sun Kil Moon and Red House Painters plays Music Hall of Williamsburg with Mia Doi Todd.

Tyshawn Sorey, The Stone's August curator, leads two sets at the venue tonight.

"In the five days since a US district court jury ordered Tenenbaum to pay damages to the record labels for illegally sharing 30 songs, nearly 100 people have donated a total of more than $2,000, according to Debbie Rosenbaum, a fourth-year student at Harvard's law and business schools who assisted in Tenenbaum's defense." [Boston.com]

A Camp's new video for "Love Has Left The Room" below...

Paul Banks's Julian Plenti Is...Skyscraper came out earlier this week. The video for "Games for Days" featuring Metric/ex-BSSer Emily Haines is below...

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Thursday?"

Leslie Feist & Grizzly Bear's Ed Droste on the Cyclone - July 13, 2009

Like she will Tuesday on Letterman (tonight, 7/14), Leslie Feist joined Wilco on stage at Keyspan Park in Coney Island on Monday night (7/13) for a few songs. Edward Droste of Grizzly Bear played with them too. Collectively they performed Woody Guthrie's "California Stars". Yo La Tengo opened the show, and then also joined Wilco on stage during the encore. Pictures and more from the show coming soon HERE. Full setlist below.

Earlier in the evening Feist and Ed rode The Cyclone, the famous Coney Island roller coaster (as you can see in the picture above). If you've never been on it, this Saturday during the Siren Festival might be a good time to change that.

For Grizzly Bear and Feist, it was just another example of a growing history of collaborations that includes multiple TV appearances, touring, recorded stuff, and on stage appearances. It's not clear if Ed will be on Letterman tonight too, but we do know that Feist and Wilco will perform the new Wilco song "You and I" on the show. They performed the same song together in Coney Island, and for the first time, in LA on June 25th. Video from that earlier one below.

Two nights before playing in Brooklyn, Feist reunited again with Broken Social Scene on stage at the Harbourfront Centre show in Toronto. For Feist it was at least the second time recently she played with her old band. To make this one even more special though, Emily Haines and Amy Millan were also all up there on stage at the same time - it was a proper BSS reunion. Videos below.

Above mentioned videos, and Wilco's entire Keyspan Park setlist, and video of Ed and Feist singing backup on "You Never Know", below...

Continue reading "Ed Droste, Feist (who just played w/ BSS) & Yo La Tengo played w/ Wilco (& rode the Cylcone) in Coney Island (setlist)"

photos by Bao Nguyen

"This is an epic time for Metric! Fantasies has achieved Gold status in Canada within the first few weeks of its release and it is thanks to the incredible support of our loyal fans. Since the release of Live It Out in 2005 the music industry has been in decline; it seems everyone's sales have suffered a lot since then. To have surpassed our previous album sales so dramatically in such a climate is an astonishing feat and we are so grateful to every single person who has believed in us and made it possible. Our way of doing things has always been unconventional and we took a massive risk in self-releasing Fantasies all over the world outside Canada. We're getting an overwhelmingly positive reaction from listeners around the globe and are so excited to bring the Metric love to all corners of the earth. We gave it our all and the world is magically giving back." - Emily Haines, Metric

Metric are currently touring the United States in support of Fantasies. Last night that tour hit a very packed Terminal 5 in NYC (6/17). It was probably Metric's biggest headlining NYC show to date, which may explain Emily Haines getting all nostalgic about things like going to Fez (RIP).

Smile Smile opened the show with an early 7:30 pm set. Then came a rockin' set by former DFA79 member Sebastien Grainger and his band The Mountains. They're touring with Metric in the US. Metric's headlining set was heavy on the new Fantasies material. That was a good or bad thing depending on who you talk to. More pictures from the show, Metric's new video, and the rest of their tour dates, below...

Continue reading "Metric & Sebastien Grainger @ Terminal 5 in NYC - pics "

some of Metric @ Union Pool in September (more by Kyle Dean reinford)

Following 2005's [album] Live It Out, Metric returns with their fourth full length studio album Fantasies. Written by the band in a farmhouse outside Seattle and by frontwoman Emily Haines while on a soul-cleansing sojourn to Argentina, Fantasies is a densely textured modern mix of psychedelia, electro, and rock with a "really big and really dreamy" sound, says guitarist/co-founder Jimmy Shaw.

Haines adds, "For me, the major influences on the record were the places we wrote it: Bear Creek, this utopian farmhouse studio, and then our own studio in Toronto, which definitely brought in the electro, dance and rock elements because the city feels so good right now and so many of our musician friends were around. And then for me, being in Buenos Aires, most of the songs I brought to this record came out of being in exile with just a piano and a guitar. And then in the final stages, mixing at Electric Lady in NYC brought everything around to where we first met Josh and Joules."

Fantasies will be available in the US April 14

I think that mixing they're talking about happened back in September which is why Emily Haines was in town to play those Brooklyn shows at Union Pool. They'll be in NYC again this June, when Metric headlines the much larger Terminal 5. Tickets for the June 17th show go on sale Friday at noon.

You can pre-order Fantasies now at their site. Pre-orders include an "immediate digital download of 3 tracks, including the album version of Help I'm Alive PLUS two exclusive pre-order tracks: a cover of Pink Floyd's Nobody Home and the acoustic version of Gimme Sympathy."

The new album tracklist, a video for one of the new songs, and all tour dates, below...

Continue reading "Metric - new album 'Fantasies', UK tour & a Terminal 5 show"

photos by Kyle Dean Reinford

As announced, Emily Haines played back to back shows at Union Pool in Brooklyn last night (Sept 7). The two Emily shows were followed by a third show where Emily joined former tour-mates Tall Firs on stage for a few songs. Ends up, the first two shows weren't Emily solo performances at all. She didn't even play one song off her solo album. Instead, she and Metric guitarist Jimmy Shaw played the new, unreleased 9-track Metric album in its entirety, acoustically, twice. They just finished recording it earlier that day - their reason for being in NYC. Both sets were identical and both ended with the older Metric favorite "Live it Out" - a song the crowd was invited to sing along to.

Future plans for Metric include releasing the new album in November or December, playing more stripped-down, full-album shows, and maybe even recording and releasing the acoustic live version. Kyle stayed for all three sets last night. The below pictures are a mix from all of them (and include the setlist aka the tracklist for the new album)....

Continue reading "Emily Haines (Metric) (x2) & Tall Firs @ Union Pool - pics"

Emily Haines (Metric) @ APW (more by Kyle Dean Reinford)

A distinct contrast from Metric's bold, danceable sound, Emily's solo work is an intimate and subtle collection of mellow, piano-driven tunes complimented by soft string and horn arrangements. [EACH] TICKET IS GOOD FOR [ONE] PERFORMANCE. - #1 @ 7:30PM. A REPEAT PERFORMANCE WILL FOLLOW @ 9PM. TICKETS ARE PRESALE ONLY, AND WILL NOT BE AVAILABLE AT THE DOOR. ALL SHOWS ARE 21+. NO EXCEPTIONS. UNION POOL 484 UNION AVE. CORNER OF UNION & MEEKER BROOKLYN, NY 11211

Sunday, Sept. 7th. tickets are on sale for:

1. an early show ("EMILY HAINES SOLO PERFORMANCE #1")
2. a late show ("EMILY HAINES (w/ JIMMY SHAW of METRIC) SOLO PERFORMANCE #2")
3. a late-late show ("TALL FIRS featuring EMILY HAINES")

(thx anon)

photos by Kyle Dean Reinford

I wasn't super excited for Saturday's All Points West daytime schedule, but I figured it would be at least fun to hangout at the main stage and see Chromeo followed by Metric followed by Animal Collective. Well...running late caused me to miss Chromeo and then a gigantic @#$@#%@#$ line to get into the park caused me to miss Metric which I guess is also partly due to running late since someone told me they walked right in an hour or two earlier. Metric also played a show the night before at Highline Ballroom. More APW pics below...

Continue reading "Metric @ All Points West (day 2), Jersey City - pics"

photos by Ryan Muir

Emily Haines, lead singer and synth player for Metric, gave a special girl power shoutout on Sunday ... to her Pro-One keyboard.

"The Pro-One is one of those instruments, they're like a woman. You can't understand them, there's like 1,000 knobs, and it cries every time you touch it," she said as the temperamental Pro-One faltered on a song.

"I'm proud to be a girl! And I'm proud to play an instrument that behaves like an [effing] woman every show!"

Then after ordering the audience to tell the Pro-One they loved it, in unison, Metric launched into "Poster of a Girl." [San Diego Union Tribune]

More pictures from Coachella below....

Continue reading "Metric & Emily's Pro-One Keyboard @ Coachella 2008 - pics"

passing around Emily Haines @ The Scala, London - Feb 2007 (James Looker)

Metric is coming out with a DVD, and there are NYC screenings at Crash Mansion and Galapagos. I saw something about a "special guest" band after the screening at the Galapagos one - sort of implying that Metric will be there, but I doubt that is true. Let me know if it is though. All dates and trailer below....

Continue reading "Metric DVD - trailer (video) & screening dates"

but Emily and the guy from Pavement did.....

Emily Haines & Kevin Drew @ Webster Hall (CRED)

Scott Kannberg (spiral stairs) & BSS @ Webster Hall (CRED)

The covered a Pavement song with Scott. A set list that Dirk is 'pretty sure' about, below...

Continue reading "J Mascis didn't show - BSS @ Webster Hall, NYC - pics"

BSS ("Spirit If") @ The Metro, Chicago - Nov 3, 2007 (CRED)

J. Mascis (Dinosaur Jr), Scott Kannberg (Pavement), James Shaw (Metric) and Emily Haines (Metric) will all be joining Kevin Drew & friends on stage tomorrow night at Webster Hall in NYC. (Nov 14, 2007). Arthur & Yu are opening. Tickets are still on sale. I definitely want to go now. Updated tour dates below...

Continue reading "special guests with BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE tomorrow"

Metric @ Webster Hall, NYC - Sept 21, 2007 (CRED)

When Emily Haines wasn't talking about giving up the music life to do cooking shows, she was leading her ferocious dance-rock band Metric in a blazing performance at Webster Hall. [Sonic Parthenon]

Check out Emily Haine's really cool-looking new (I think) video for Our Hell below...

Continue reading "METRIC played Webster Hall + new EMILY HAINES video"

UNRELATED: Nations who have not yet adopted the metric system

Bang Lime (not to be confused with NYC's Drop the Lime) is the "the two-man side project from the rhythm section (and American half) of the band Metric." Their debut album 'Best Friends in Love' comes out on Last Gang Records on August 14th. You can hear some songs from it streaming @ their MySpace, and they're touring in August - they'll play Union Pool & Mercury Lounge.

I don't love what I'm hearing from Bang Lime, but I do love Metric (live especially), and Metric will also be going on tour - in September with Crystal Castles. Tickets go on sale Friday for a show at Webster Hall on September 21st. Metric recently released their "lost debut of sorts" Grow Up and Blow Away. As Pitchfork points out, "The album has been available on the internet for years, but this marks its first hard release, and it showcases Metric as a two-piece, before bassist Josh Winstead and drummer Joules Scott-Key became permanent members." I think Metric has been recording a new-new album as well.

Emily Haines also has a new EP out - a tribute to her dad called 'What is Free to a Good Home?'. She contributed some pianos parts to the new Les Savy Fav album as well. All known tour dates below...

Continue reading "METRIC & side-project BANG LIME playing shows (2007 Tour Dates) + a new EMILY HAINES EP"

Metric's Emily Haines is coming back to do her solo thing at Hiro Ballroom in NYC on January 9th, 2007. All tour dates below...

Continue reading "Emily Haines | 2007 Tour Dates"

BrooklynVegan interviewer Christos Mountzouros had the chance to speak with Emily Haines over the phone the other day. Here's a preview of their conversation -- it's especially relevant to the short solo tour Emily kicks off at Joe's Pub in NYC tonight...

BrooklynVegan Christos: Another Joe’s Pub show had to be added and they're both sold out. How exciting is that?

Emily: That’s good! I’ve always wanted to play Joe’s Pub!

BrooklynVegan Christos: Are you really going to be playing blindfolded? Isn’t that hard?

Emily Haha, no I’m not. I did that once and I keep getting asked about it.

BrooklynVegan Christos: Yeah it’s like on their site that you’re going to be playing blindfolded.

Emily Are you serious?

BrooklynVegan Christos: I guess someone got their press screwed up somewhere at some point.

Emily That’s really funny. Yeah that would be hard, I did that a show in San Francisco. But I’m playing with a rhythm section as well.

---

Stay tuned for part two. Christos' last interview was with Think About Life.

Previously
Metric doesn't win Polaris Music Prize
Amy Millan, Emily Haines & Leslie Feist together