LIVE FROM THE PIT: Metric, Broken Social Scene and Stars

There was something special, something fitting about three of Toronto’s most enduring musical exports sharing a stage together. All three bands had spent decades orbiting the same venues, they had members collaborating and moving between projects as well as real friendships running through each other bands’ foundations. The ‘All the Feelings Tour’ brought all of their tangible history together on one stage and proved to everyone just how much warm, ear-happy noise can come from such a cold city. METRIC’s new 10th album Romanticize the Dive came out as of April this year, as well as BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE’s Remember the Humans in May which gave a fresh hit of material to their already classic set-lists. On the other hand, STARS decided to carry the proverbial flame of Set Yourself On Fire to its twentieth anniversary which gave the entire show a huge hit of nostalgia to get the crowd hot and ready for Toronto’s finest.

STARS kicked off the night with their killer indie pop promises and introduced Day to Day with Amy Millan who stripped things back with her solo performance and held the room captive, until eventually the whole band stepped in showing they know how to start things off with style. Following that, Hold On When You Get Love and Let Go When You Give It and Losing to You showed off the band’s ability to balance intimacy with more widescreen melody. Next came Elevator Love Letter and Build a Fire which provided the set with more energy, while The Theory of Relativity and Dead Hearts afterwards leaned into STARS' knack for making melancholy feel familiar and hands down, showstopping. Finally, Take Me to the Riot, Ageless Beauty and Your Ex-Lover Is Dead were brought in, rounding out their set but sitting with you as a potent emotional swell which has become part of STARS’ unmistakeable trademark. This is truly a band that can make older classics feel alive and present rather than preserved.

BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE were next up with their unpredictably fluid and collective sound that thrived on layers of vocal work as well as heart thumping rhythms coalescing into something larger than any one performer. Their performance fired off with Cause = Time, before Sweetest Kill brought an unexpected turn in which Kevin Drew hurt his ear, this only forced them to change course with their set and announce that they would be going “basement style”. The resulting set then became more subdued without felling smaller which only proved their lasting tenacity as a band. Superconnected allowed them to settle into the new and improved mood before launching into Hug of Thunder gave way for restoration of the group’s familial mass. By Shoreline, Drew was wearing the necessary ear defenders, an unusual sight that only emphasised their spirit and skill, not only in music but in their unwavering showmanship. Ibi Dreams of Pavement carried the set forward before Anthems for a Seventeen Year-Old Girl became one of the night's defining moments with Emily Haines and James Shaw bringing heaps more METRIC energy to the room with the crowd itself roaring in excitement. Looks Just Like the Sun followed before KC Accidental wrapped up the electric set framing what could only get a whole lot bigger.

And so entered METRIC. Emily Haines, James Shaw, Joshua Winstead and Joules Scott-Key brought a bigger package of sound, more sharp, and definitely drew the crowd’s attention away from the bar. Chattering became held breath, shuffling leather boots became a cacophony where the pit got tighter. Everything from Victim of Luck and Oh Please, to Youth Without Youth and Monster Hospital is where the crowd really picked up, almost drowning out Haines herself. Crush Forever gave Manchester an insight on how Haines truly commands a stage, only to be matched by Shaw’s high end guitar work and Winstead’s unforgiving bassy grasp.

The set kept building bigger and more hearty with tracks like Antigravity, Now or Never Now and Breathing Underwater, the latter of which featured Amy Millan, which not only enabled their sound to multiply but had the crowd tearing the roof off with cheers of unbridled encouragement.

By the time Synthetica had started, jaws were agape, hands pointed at the sky and BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE’s horn section had joined the collective sound mid way through, only before before Sam Goldberg Jr. had made his appearance to spark even more life into Gold Guns Girls. That final sequence of the set belonged to everyone that found themselves on stage. BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE once again joined METRIC for Loyal, even STARS filled the remaining space on stage with whatever they had laying around to use as a shaker. Gimme Sympathy and Combat Baby were the remaining two tracks where all three bands were joined together to share the rhythm in unison. Finally came their encore, a slow chant of hot rubber smacking the worn wood floor, palms clashing to a rhythm for eager ears. Everyone knew there was more to come. Until the lights fell one last time for METRIC’s final bout. Silence gave way to a couple of big words, “I tremble”. Introducing Help I’m Alive where floods of cheers from adoring fans rang out. Haines didn’t need to sing for you to know exactly what the lyrics were. The synth showed its exit and so came the night’s finishing blow. Black Sheep had found its way home as a steady bassline leaned into a heart pumping chorus. Sending their love on a wire, heart strings were easily pulled into place with this iconic tune making the walls rumble with chorus and giving everyone “a ride” they were looking for.

Words and photos: James Smith