PHOTOS: Dear Rouge, Metric @ The Orpheum Theatre - August 13, 2022

Dear Rouge, Metric
The Orpheum Theatre
August 13, 2022
Christine McAvoy Photography

Read Kirk’s review of the show HERE.

Metric with Dear Rouge @ Orpheum Theatre -- August 13, 2022

With their latest album Formentera released a little over a month ago, Metric hit the road for the Doomscroller Tour. The west coast log of the tour included Vancouver’s own Dear Rouge, and made a stop at the gorgeous Orpheum Theatre in Vancouver.

The very first time I saw Dear Rouge perform -- at the Red Room, as part of the Peak Performance Project ten(!) years ago -- I distinctly remember thinking they gave off Metric vibes, so I was really happy that they were opening this show. Especially since the last few times I saw them were at outdoor music festivals, so it was great to get them in a proper venue, particularly one like the Orpheum.

With a large neon 'Dear Rouge" sign behind them, the band opened with "Relationship Problems" off their latest album Spirit. They split the short set between new songs, like the biting takedown of influencers, "Fake Fame", as well as older tunes, getting everyone to sing along to "I Heard I Had".

Performing at the storied theatre seemed to put the always-energetic band on top of their game, Danielle McTaggart’s voice ringing through the theatre as she bound across the stage, backed by Drew McTaggart ripping it up on guitar, and the rest of the band holding their own.

They closed out the set with their ode to the best movie theatre in Vancouver, "Meet Me At The Rio", building to a huge and raucous finish.

After the brief intermission Metric took the stage, with a setup that included some "modular" keyboards -- four different keyboards all on stands with castors, so they could be rearranged at a moment's notice -- and an intense light show.

They kicked off the show with the tour's namesake "Doomscroller", the 10-minute epic going through almost as many twists-and-turns as the entire rest of the set. From there they went on to play cuts from the new album, including my favourite so far, the moody & ominous "All Comes Crashing", as well as classics like "Gold Guns Girls" and the thumping "Help I'm Alive", Emily Haines’ incomparable energy leading the fist pumping through the crowd, as Jimmy Shaw’s guitar wailed.

Part way through the set bassist Joshua Winstead and drummer Joules Scott-Key took a break, so Emily and Jimmy could perform a couple acoustic songs, including "Combat Baby" which got an overwhelming response from the crowd; literally, as Haines had to pause and compose herself at the bridge before continuing, and could barely get the last line of the song out at the end.

The band returned for more singalongs to “Gimme Sympathy” and “Sick Muse”, before the main set ended appropriately enough with the final song on the new album, “Paths in the Sky”. But of course, they weren't done and returned moments later for an encore consisting of another one of my all-time faves from them, "Black Sheep" (coincidentally being performed on the 12th anniversary of the release of Scott Pilgrim) and capping off the night with Emily Haines saying how after the last two and a half years, she could have stayed on stage forever, but reluctantly ending the show, sending the crowd home with "Breathing Underwater".

A lot of the shows I’ve seen so far this year have had a sort of catharsis to them, like a collective exhale. Maybe it was the size of the venue, the fact that it was still early in Metric’s tour, or a combination of various things, but this show felt a perfect example of that. There was an energy in the theatre, both on-stage and buzzing through the audience, that’s not going to be matched any time soon, and it made the bands, and the show, all the better for it.

Dear Rouge Setlist
Relationship Problems
Live Through the Night
Fake Fame
I Heard I Had
Black to Gold
Gimme Spirit
Tongues
Meet Me at the Rio

Metric Setlist
Doomscroller
Gold Guns Girls
Dark Saturday
What Feels Like Eternity
All Comes Crashing
Help I'm Alive
Formentera
Cascades (acoustic)
Combat Baby (acoustic)
Enemies of the Ocean
Gimme Sympathy
Sick Muse
Now or Never Now
Paths in the Sky
[encore]
Lost Kitten
False Dichotomy
Black Sheep
Breathing Underwater

Metric & July Talk @ Pacific Coliseum -- 04/18/19

I’ve said before that it’s hard to get me out to an arena show, and someone must have heard that and accepted the challenge, because I wasn't going to miss the combination of Metric and July Talk at any venue. Especially after they added Murray A Lightburn to the bill for what I had (probably ad nauseam) been calling the best three-act bill I had seen in a long time.

Murray A Lightburn was out first, taking the stage with just his guitar under a single light. It was kind of surreal seeing a singer for The Dears on this type of stage, only weeks after seeing him do the same at The Fox, but...

Starting with "Belleville Blues", Lightburn playing a short set of acoustic material, both his solo songs from the latest album Hear Me Out, like the gorgeous “Centre of my Universe”, as well as a few Dears songs, like the powerfully emotional "There Goes My Outfit" from Gang of Losers.
After joking that he hoped he wasn't boring the audience -- the growing crowd responded with a supportive cheer -- he finished off the set with "Fan Fiction (Ballad of a Genius)" which he made sure to point out was NOT autobiographical, and then "When They See Me", which was.
From a selfish point-of-view, I would rather see him play at venues like The Fox any time, but he somehow translated that intimate performance on to the big stage.

Next up was July Talk, who were under a large, inflated, illuminated moon balloon, and behind a giant, circular projection screen (also a moon at times, but used to play video clips as well). Leah Fay gave the introduction, acknowledging they're on unceded territory, and thanking everyone for being there.
They started the set off with a bang, first with "Headsick", then going right into "Guns + Ammunition", getting the crowd to “woo-hoo-hoo” along with them. The whole band has a fantastic stage presence, but especially the chemistry between Leah and Peter Dreimanis. Not only how their sweet + sour voices intertwine, but their playful interactions on stage. The way they interact and bounce off each other (sometimes literally) is off the charts.
They also got the crowd involved, getting people to sing along to “Summer Dress”, and during a new song — introduced as being about toxic masculinity (I think called “Pay For it”) — Fay went right up to the crowd and sang to the people up front. And that wasn’t the only new song, as they previewed a few, including a more upbeat sounding — if not lyrically — “The News”.
As they brought the set to an end, they somehow managed to ramp up the energy even more, with the raw intensity of “Beck + Call”; one of my favourites, the steamy "Lola + Joseph"; and finally the haunting “Push + Pull”.
I could have left right then and been completely satisfied with the evening, but if anyone could successfully follow July Talk...

... it would be Metric. The set started off with a dark stage, only a single, thin LED strip with smoke, creating an appropriate effect for a song entitled "Twilight Galaxy". Unfortunately there was a bit of an awkward pause after the first song, as I believe they had to deal with some technical issues with a guitar... but they got the momentum back with the dance-y "Synthetica".
As usual, Emily Haines was a dynamo on stage, hardly standing still, her incredible voice ringing through the arena, and I always seem to forget just how good Jimmy Shaw is on guitar, to say nothing of Joshua Winstead and Joules Scott-Key on bass & drums. Highlights from the set included songs from the new album, like the title track “Art of Doubt” and the bombastic “Dressed to Suppress", as well as older favourites like “Gimme Sympathy”, which got every last person in the stands on their feet, and the frenetic “Gold Guns Girls” which ended off the main set.
They returned for the encore, Emily, James, and Joshua standing shoulder to shoulder at the front of the stage to go into "Dark Saturday" before ripping through a few all-time hits, like "Monster Hospital"; one of my personal favourites, The Clash At Demonhead “cover” of "Black Sheep"; and "Help, I'm Alive", which once again had the arena singing along. That could have ended off the set, but they still had one left in the proverbial tank, leaving the arena with "Now Or Never Now" off the new album.

Going in to the show, I was very excited, and everything pretty much lived up to my expectations. Both Metric and July Talk are among the most high-energy bands working and absolutely felt at home on the stage. Plus it was a great joy to hear the more stripped-down Lightburn in a setting like that as well.

Metric setlist
Twilight Galaxy
Synthetica
Risk
Breathing Underwater
Art of Doubt
No Lights on the Horizon
Cascades
Dress to Suppress
Love is a Place
Underline the Black
Gimme Sympathy
Sick Muse
Gold Guns Girls
(encore)
Dark Saturday
Monster Hospital
Black Sheep
Help, I'm Alive
Now Or Never Now

July Talk setlist
Headsick
Guns + Ammunition
Now I Know
Pay For It[??]
Summer Dress
Still Sacred Can Fall[??]
The News
Pretender
The Garden
Touch
Beck + Call
Lola + Joseph
Picturing Love
Push + Pull

Murray A Lightburn setlist
Belleville Blues
Centre of my Universe
I Give Up
Ticket to Immortality
There Goes my Outfit
Fan Fiction (Ballad of a Genius)
When They See Me

Metric @ Commodore -- 06/23/12

I am not too sure the circumstances behind this show, as I think it came about as I was away, but for some reason Rogers Wireless was putting on a free, win-to-get-in Metric show at the Commodore. I was able to snag free tickets by simply being on the internet at the right time -- and being a Rogers customer -- and I am always happy to see Metric, especially in a venue like the Commodore, so I can't complain.
There were also cameras filming the entire thing, so I don't know if it'll be released at some point or not.

As it was a "private" Metric show there was no opener for the night, and as the stage filled with smoke, bathed in blue lights, Emily Haines and James Shaw came out to open with the first song off Synthetica, "Artificial Nocturne", joined by Jules and Josh on drums and bass mid way through the song. The first half dozen tracks of the set were off the new album, and lived up to the albums title with electronic elements blended with Metric's usual dance-pop sound. The frantic "Speed the Collapse" is one of my early favourites and sounded great live, and after the chunk of new songs, "Empty" got everyone jumping, bouncing the Commodore's dance floor, and nearly the entire venue joined in for the chorus of "Dead Disco".

There wasn't too much banter from the band, but they had, as usual, an incredible stage presence; Haines was an electric ball of energy, strutting across of the front of the stage and dancing along, and Jimmy Shaw melted more than a few faces with some amazing guitar work and solos.

They wrapped up with another couple older singles, "Help I'm Alive" and "Stadium Love" before "leaving". But the inevitable encore was obvious, given the stage lights flashing and guitar reverberating, and they were back out with a few more older songs, "Monster Hospital", "Gold Guns Girls" -- which saw Haines pick up a guitar instead of being behind the keys -- and an acoustic "Gimme Sympathy" which ended with all four members of the band standing at the edge of the stage leading the packed Commodore in a sing along.

Metric always puts on high energy and fun shows, and this was no exception. And given that Metric's new tour will have them play in arenas and stadiums, seeing them in a venue like the Commodore was quite a treat.

setlist
Artificial Nocturne, Youth Without Youth, Speed The Collapse, Dreams So Real, Lost Kitten, The Void, Empty, Synthetica, Dead Disco, Clone, Breathing Underwater, Nothing But Time, Help I'm Alive, Stadium Love.
(encore) Monster Hospital, Gold Guns Girls, Gimme Sympathy.