Concert Review: Metric w/ Broken Social Scene + Stars @ The Anthem (8/1/26)

“We love you and that is the real fucking truth.” Kevin Drew (of Broken Social Scene)

Metric returned gloriously to DC, performing at The Anthem on August 1^st as part of the 18-date All the Feelings Tour. The tour is shared with two other Canadian bands, Stars and Broken Social Scene (BSS), a powerhouse collective of artists that acts more like a family then a band. Members of the three bands joined the other sets multiple times throughout the evening. Collectively, we in the packed venue, got over 3-½ hours of indie music that hit the spot. It proved to be a refreshing palette cleanser for Canadians to come and give support to the American people. Torquil Campbell of Stars encouraged us, “Don’t let these motherfuckers get you down.” While Kevin Drew of Broken Social Scene gave us the quote at the top, about how many Canadians feel about the American people. He explained that for them, this tour was a “protest tour with friendship”.

After Stars gave the eager crowd a nice intro set, a few members joined for Broken Social Scene’s set (they are part of both bands). BSS started out with a long musical jam session, and never stopped. There were seven band members to start, but with all the mixing and matching and a 6-piece Best Friend Horn Section, they maxed out at 16 performers at any one time. Near the end, Jimmy Shaw and Emily Haines of Metric also stepped on stage. Emily said about the BSS song, “Anthems for a Seventeen Year-Old Girl”, “Songs build little rooms in time. This song is like a nice modest apartment, come in and get comfortable.” And we did, and never stopped.

This was the sixth time I’ve witnessed Metric live, but the last time was in 2019. Also, surprisingly this was the first time I’ve seen them within DC proper, having seen them at Royal Farms Arena (now CFG Bank Arena), The Fillmore Silver Spring, Rams Head Live, and at the festivals Lollapalooza and Coachella. I’ve reviewed all three bands separately in the early days of this blog (see Stars, Broken Social Scene, and Metric), so this was an excellent blend of nostalgia and a chance to catch up on all the new music.

Metric released their tenth album this year, Romanticize the Dive (via Metric Music International and Thirty Tigers). They performed 19 songs it total, including five from the new album, and mixed in one to three songs from six of their other albums.

Metric is Emily Haines (lead vocals, keyboards), Jimmy Shaw (guitar, keyboards), Joules Scott Key (drums), and Joshua Winstead (bas, keyboards), founded in 1998 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. A recent Rolling Stone article ranked them as the #41 greatest Canadian bands of all time. I’d quibble that they should be higher, but my days of watching MuchMusic (now Much) belong in the far past. (FYI – Broken Social Scene is #36.)

Metric kicked off the third and final synth heavy pop/rock set of the evening with a song from Romanticize the Dive, “Victim of Luck”. It delves into the complexities of being successful and how that can turn on its head into anxiety and a powerful need to please others, to the detriment of your own life and needs. The album seems to be an overall reflection of Metric’s history, and the hard won truths they have gained as a band, and how those can be used to move ahead and become stronger. They have a long track record to draw from, and those truths were on full display at The Anthem in the best possible way.

It was the third song, “Youth Without Youth”, from the 2012 album Synthetica, that amped up the energy with real hopping around music. The crowd really got into to the show in this moment. It proved to be one of the band’s standout songs of the evening.

Later they gave us another new song, “Crush Forever”, about passing the torch of crushing it to a younger woman, so she can ‘take a stab at all the men’, except the one that’s already taken. And the message to keep at it, no matter what, even when there’s pain. A lesson for all of us in today’s environment.

Another standout, “Now or Never Now” from 2018’s Art of Doubt, is about casting aside the doubt and regrets that are holding you back. Transforming the fear you feel to seize the moment, as we only get one life, and one chance.

“Leave You on a High” was definitely my favorite of their new songs. The intro hook is elevating and embracing. So obviously the song is about letting optimism take over, and leaving behind vices and letting go of grudges. It was also the moment I remembered one of the reasons I became a fan of Metric to begin with, Emily’s confidence and the strength of her singing.

At different times the Best Friend Horn Section joined Metric on stage, like for “Synthetica” which also included a hauntingly beautiful piano solo. The stage was full of flashing lights and two screens in the back that displayed images and photos highlighting real world issues (like bombed out buildings). I focused a bit more on the music, but collectively all three sets were truly showcasing the protest elements in images and lyrics.

Just before the coda of the main set, Emily dedicated “Loyal”, “to the people I love and all you out there!” All the artists from the three bands joined on stage to perform together. “Loyal” is really a love letter to fans, as it speaks to the long-term hardships of touring and making music, but dedicating yourself to the craft for the people and fans that make it worthwhile. It’s an instant upbeat electronic-heavy pop classic.

They completed the set with two of their very best songs, “Gimme Sympathy” and “Combat Baby”. Emily took a moment to give a shout out to staff at The Anthem, and adding in the staff at the 9:30 Club, as a place they always love playing because “everyone treats us like human beings”. As the synth hooks and chords of “Gimme Sympathy” reached our ears, realizing the set was nearing a glorious conclusion, the crowd became one in dance and joy. No Americans. No Canadians. Just lovers of music. And that was no small part of the reason they ended with “Combat Baby”. The song cries out against the mainstream and demands you come back and fight off lethargy and ‘don’t go quietly’.

For the encore they crushed it with “Help I’m Alive” and “Black Sheep”, the latter from the Scott Pilgrim vs. The World soundtrack.

We all felt alive after Metric left the stage for the last time. You can’t recreate the moment, but you can give Metric’s new album a spin and add it to your collection. If you were too young to remember Metric’s ascension in the mid to late 2000’s, you’re definitely not too young to find out what the rest of us already know.

Until next time. Don’t go quietly.

Setlist