Photos by Sofia Cardenas
On a warm June evening, indie bands Broken Social Scene and Metric, supported by Stars, stopped at Los Angeles’ iconic Greek Theatre en route to their co-headlining All the Feelings summer tour.
Throughout the show, there was a repeated message highlighting the significance of closeness between the three bands. Hailing from Canada, the members of each act shared their sentiments of growing up amongst one another, discovering and navigating their individual passions for music along the way. The tour itself has acted as an outlet for these artists to honor the musical journeys they’ve paved while sharing the famous stage with each other throughout the night.
Releasing their own respective albums earlier this year, BSS (Broken Social Scene) and Metric turned the residential neighborhoods of Los Feliz into a buzz of now grown-up tweed-rock teens, some with their families, all eager to watch alumni of the 2000s indie rock scene come together and celebrate live music with their community.
Stars
The first act of the night was the Montreal band, Stars. Being previously unfamiliar with this group, I watched their performance with zero expectations. Yet soon after their first song, I mentally shook my head in disbelief for not knowing them prior. Lead singer Amy Millan’s soft, dreamy vocals mixed with Torquil Campbell’s gritty yet passionate tone were a perfect contrast during their opening song, “Hold On When You Get Love and Let Go When You Give It,” along with the rest that followed. Campbell constantly interacted with the audience that had been quickly filing in for their performance. “This is a Los Angeles song,” the singer said before the opening guitar chords of “Elevator Love Letter” hit the venue speakers with an echo of “woos” from the Angeleno crowd. Beginning with Stars and followed by the next two acts, they voiced their gratitude in being able to play at the Greek: “I can’t speak to how much this means to me…I’m gonna be cool, f**k it, I’m just gonna be a rockstar,” said Campbell, “this means the world to us.”
Broken Social Scene
The next act was the Toronto group Broken Social Scene. Rather than behaving as a set band, BSS is more of a musical collective – with members of both Stars and Metric briefly participating in the group’s lineup prior. Founding members, lead vocalist Kevin Drew and guitarist Brendan Canning, along with both new and returning members of BSS, began their set with “Cause = Time,” a nostalgia-fueled song off their 2003 album You Forgot It In People, which immediately earned an eruption of cheers from the audience. “We’ve got friends from middle school, summer camp, high school, early 20s [in the crowd]…friendship is the greatest protest we have these days,” said Drew earlier. The set was followed by the popular 2005 track “7/4 (Shoreline)” and the new “Paying for Your Love” from their album Remember the Humans released this May, their first since 2017.
Recognizing the history of their ever-changing lineup, BSS invited Stars’ Amy Millan to perform duets of “Hug of Thunder” and “Only the Good I Keep,” then brought Torquil Campbell on stage to provide backing vocals for “Texico Bitches.” In total, eleven of these members took the stage during the song, turning a supposed ‘normal’ BSS performance into a reflection of the joy shared in performing with one another as both musicians and longtime friends. The casual nature of these acts coming in and out of each other’s sets through the whole show further emphasized the message of not just friendship enhanced through creative expression, but the sole importance in being able to have the ability to confide in anyone — which now is more crucial than ever. The fervor radiating off the stage and into the crowd was far from discreet. The upbeat drumming, guitar chords, and melodies from “Fire Eye’d Boy” were mirrored through every energetic head bop, sway, and hop of the audience from the pit to the upper bowl.
Nearing the end of their set, BSS then brought out Metric front woman Emily Haines to do vocals for “Anthems For A Seventeen Year-Old Girl,” a song that she had sung originally whilst a member of BSS. Based on the overjoyed screams by the attendees (and me), this had been the most anticipated BSS song of the night, and for good reason. The whimsical, airy song reflecting on the bliss of one’s adolescence, intensified by the emotionally driven instrumentation by BSS, makes it a sentimental fan favorite. The lyrics also build onto the urge to reminisce on life before adulthood – alongside Haines, the crowd sang: Used to be one of the rotten ones and I liked you for that / Now you’re all gone, got your makeup on and you’re not coming back…lyrics that I especially sung with care as a fan entering early adulthood; being seventeen feeling so recent yet so long ago. “Please remember, don’t let them weaponize community,” announced frontman Kevin Drew before ending BSS’ set with a powerful rendition of “KC Accidental,” a personal favorite of mine and a perfect choice to close the performance.
Metric
The final band of the night was fellow Toronto act, Metric. Their set began with a series of strobes and fuzzy synth noises before opening with “Victim of Luck,” an easy-going dance track off their newest album Romanticize The Dive. Lead singer Emily Haines then walked over to a keyboard, which happened to be on wheels, dragging it towards and pushing it away at her convenience – a sign of her effortless musical skill. She plays a colorful electronic solo as the punchy kickdrums leading into “Oh Please” begin. Though the track was released in 2022, Metric’s neon sound and spunky stage presence still feel fresh as ever, even two decades after their initial debut.
Throughout her musical career, Haines has not been foreign to speaking her mind about issues that are crucial to her, especially as a woman in the music industry. In a 2017 interview with Vice Magazine, she mentions her urge to express feminist notions through her work outside of Metric, including the music video for her solo song, “Statuette.” As she sings, the video randomly cuts to a video of her standing still, with a male voice behind the camera suggesting that she perform shirtless to gain more listener attraction. “The most interesting thing I got from that experience, in being regarded as if your value is only in the commercial viability of your flesh, is the apathy from him [male voice],” said Haines. “It’s not like he’s looking and going, ‘Oh my god, what beauty, let me see more.’ It’s so soulless and inhumane; just the way that it’s like, evaluating whether your body would be viable or not.” Though using this particular video to highlight the negative aspect of being a female musician, Haines faces the positive side of feminism through new track, “Crush Forever” during the show — a song that she describes as an ode to “strong girls in this world.” “This is a song I wrote for all the girls out there causing trouble in my honor…Make your people think. Scare them a little bit.”
Adding to the pattern of collaboration, Metric invited both Stars and BSS onstage for a rendition of “Loyal.” After being lifelong friends, the respective groups performed the song together with immense passion. Haines told the audience, “These are our friends. Not only have we played music together over the years, but we also grew up together. You know Jimmy (Metric’s guitarist) knew his pals Chris Suligman and Evan Cranley from Stars since he was seven years old. I’ve known Amy Millan and Kevin Drew since I was fifteen.” As the set progresses, the band continues to play new and old songs off their catalogue before introducing the 2003 song “Combat Baby,” giving a shoutout to KCRW Radio for playing the song to a larger audience during its initial release.
After leaving for encore, Metric returned to the stage with “Help I’m Alive” and ended the night with ever-popular “Black Sheep,” a song that has gained notoriety among a newer and younger audience after being covered by Brie Larson in the film adaptation of Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010). The bass forward track had the crowd moving with every note, dancing their way out of the venue doors.
The carefree nature of the entire three-act show echoed the importance of maintaining close friendships and the means to express oneself freely to others. All the feelings that come with embracing community serve as a perfect mindset heading into the rest of this year’s summer concert season.
Listen to Metric’s newest album, Romanticize The Dive, here!
And check out Broken Social Scene’s newest album here!
