OUT TO SEE…METRIC
I noticed via Facebook that a friend was buying tickets to see Metric. This was a band I wanted to see live. I mentioned to her sometime later that I was thinking about buying a ticket for Metric. She said, “Yes, buy a ticket.” I tried getting other friends to come along, but no one seemed interested. In fact, none of them had even heard of Metric. Shame on them. I headed over to the Palladium on a Saturday morning, getting a ticket without the service charge.
Sidebar Reflection. I’ve written this ‘Notes from Vivace’ column for over a year now. My life has certain cycles. The Metric concert occurred on March 26th. What happens in March? March Madness. College basketball. How many of you read that Great Northern blog I wrote a year ago?
Here’s what I wrote on May 3rd, 2009:
“Let’s talk sports briefly. If you enjoy sports, you’ve experienced your favorite team suffering through more than its share of blow out losses. This is what you go through as a fan, but it particularly hurts when that type of loss ends a post-season run. For example, the Boston Celtics blowing out the LA Lakers last season. That one hurt. And so it happened again on a still too recent Thursday night when one of my favorite teams, the Duke Blue Devils, fell victim to a blow out loss in March Madness. The Villanova Wildcats just took them apart. It was a game that if played during the regular season, I would have turned off the television (perfect example being the Duke v. Clemson game). But since it was March Madness, I felt compelled to watch the full game. For some tortured reason, I felt that by watching the game I was showing my support for their over-all successful season.
What does this have to do with the local music scene? Well . . . after the game ended, I headed off to The Roxy to catch Great Northern. (Yes, the two events’ only connection is in the fact that one followed the other.) I felt a tad miserable driving the streets of Los Angeles that night. Driving down Sunset, I kept thinking, “How is it possible that Duke couldn’t find an open shot all game long? How could Villanova contest every single shot the whole night?”
Current state sidebar. Once again, Duke played a March Madness (Duke vs. Purdue) game on a night I was heading off to see a band. For this year’s game, I did the DVR thing. I watched the first 10 minutes. The score was tight. I then took off for the Palladium and listened to the last couple minutes of the first half on the radio. While at the Palladium, a friend told me that Duke was up by two points. After the show, I headed straight home. Of course, I couldn’t help myself and turned the car radio on to KNX 1070. Duke had won. This provided relief, but I still watched the rest of the game (including the portion I’d heard over the radio).
Parking. $5 parking at the abandoned Old Spaghetti Factory. Admittedly, you need to walk a couple blocks to the Palladium, but it isn’t like you’re hiking up Mount Whitney.
A larger group of friends. I learned the day of the event that a couple other friends were going to show up that night so there was a group of five that ended up at the Palladium. (more…)
Deltron 3030 Recommended:Metric ‘Fantasies’
What do you get when you take Jenny Lewis, remove the ginger hair and skin and add some synthesizers? You get Emily Haines and Metric. She’s part of the Canadian Indie pop rock brat pack, which really needs a clever name by now. I’m taking suggestions. Emily Haines is a workhorse. She splits time with Broken Social Scene and Metric while guesting on albums by Stars and The Stills. After two solo acoustic albums she’s re-joined her Metric mates to return to do what they do best: hooky new wave pop rock.
In “Gimme Sympathy” she asks a deep deep philosophical question that has tortured mankind since the early 60’s: “Who would you rather be The Beatles or The Rolling Stones?”
Feels like a no brainer to me: The only way I’m picking the Stones is if its a battle between Ringo Starr and Charlie Watts. Watts always looks pissed off and annoyed to still be touring. I’ve always liked that. His face screams, “I’m 70 for f*cks sake, why am I still behind this bloody kit!“. A famous anecdote relates that in the mid-1980s, an intoxicated Mick Jagger phoned Watts’ hotel room in the middle of the night asking where “his drummer” was. Watts reportedly got up, shaved, dressed in a suit, put on a tie and freshly shined shoes, descended the stairs and punched Jagger in the face, saying: “Don’t ever call me your drummer again. You’re my fucking singer!” There’s no shot Ringo would ever punch John or Paul.
Advantage: The Stones.
Highlights: “Help I’m Alive,” “Gimme Sympathy,” “Twilight Galaxy”
Catch them on tour in June:
June 8th, 2009 in Los Angeles at the Wiltern (tickets)