Metric

Maybe it’s due to the number of incendiary live performances I’ve witnessed Metric play, or maybe it’s because of inflating expectations for extensive content on a DVD release, but Live At Metropolis is an underwhelming first attempt at documenting Toronto’s finest fiercely vague and punky syn-pop war protest cheerleaders. It’s definitely a well mixed and slickly played showcase of most of the band’s prime material but their performance seems a little uneasy and self-conscious compared to the high benchmark they’ve set for themselves in prior engagements. The impressively tight rhythm section of bassist Josh Winstead and drummer Joules Scott-Key shine considerably in the absence of stronger leadership from the usually top-notch Emily Haines, whose vocals are surprisingly weak at some points in the concert. Haines seems to deliver her robotic dance moves more due to the crowd’s built-in expectations than as an uninhibited expression of music’s meaning to her. Her skills as a multi-instrumentalist are a wonder to behold though, ably contending with two keyboards while singing through much of the set. This is when Metric are at their best, with the dreamy grooves of "Poster Of A Girl” and "The Police And The Private.” With only three music videos backing a mostly mediocre 13-song live performance, Live At Metropolis doesn’t live up to the live history Metric’s laid down while the cameras weren’t rolling.