VICTORIA – It’s been nearly three years since Metric performed in Victoria when they headlined Rock The Shores in 2016. With their seventh album ‘Art of Doubt’ being released

in September 2018, the band finally returned to Victoria to launch 12 city Canadian tour at Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre on Wednesday April 17, 2019.

Close to 3000 fans were in attendance as Metric opened their 18-song set with ‘Twilight Galaxy’ from their 2009 album ‘Fantasies.’ They would later end the main part of their set with three more songs from that record in ‘Gimme Sympathy’, ‘Sick Muse’, and ‘Gimme Sympathy’. One third of the set was from the new album with singles ‘Dark Fantasies’ and ‘Now or Never Now’ starting and closing out the five-song encore.

Friends of mine that watched the show from the floor commented to me that they didn’t recognize some of the songs, but if they were from the new album, they were impressed. Having seen Metric four times in the last 11 years, I have never seen a bad performance from them. This was no different. If there is one thing that could have been better it would be the sound mix. At times, James Shaw’s guitar overpowered Emily Haines’ voice.

July Talk was the main supporting act of the night. Victoria is very familiar with the Toronto based band having seen them headline Rifflandia, perform at two installments of Rock The Shores and sell out Sugar Nightclub (now Capital Ballroom). Lead vocalists Leah Fay and Peter Dreimanis’ on-stage chemistry is a photographer’s dream. Their stage setup included a large moon lantern that at one point lowered to the stage as Fay laid on the floor to “kick” it. Also early in the set Fay walked along the security rail.

The band hasn’t released an album since 2016, but they performed a couple new songs in their 14-song set. Prior to the concert, July Talk held a free meet and greet at Ditch Records for over an hour in the early afternoon.

Opening the night was Murray A. Lightburn, lead vocalist of The Dears. He performed a low key acoustic set.

Below are photos from the show shot by Magmazing Music. You can also view the photos at our Facebook Page.

Metric Setlist:
1. Twilight Galaxy
2. Synthetica
3. Risk
4. Breathing Under Water
5. Art of Doubt
6. No Lights On The Horizon
7. Cascades
8. Dressed to Supress
9. Love is a Place
10. Underline
11. Gimme Sympathy
12. Sick Muse
13. Gold Guns Girls
—-
14. Dark Saturday
15. Monster Hospital
16. Black Sheep
17. Help I’m Alive
18. Now or Never Now

July Talk Setlist:
1. Headsick
2. Guns + Ammunition
3. Now I Know
4. Pay For It
(interlude 1)
5. Summer Dress
6. The Garden
7. Still Sacred Can Fall
8. The News
9. Pretender
10. Touch
11. Beck + Call
12. Lola + Joseph
(interlude 2)
13. Picturing Love
14. Push + Pull