Computer vs. Human: Metronomy at the Red Room

After Fool's Gold dragged their show on for a little too long, Metronomy lit up the stage at the Red Room with chest lights and personality. The UK band had visited Vancouver last January and played a crazy show at the Biltmore Cabaret. This time, I was excited to see that they were playing at a venue that was constructed a little better for a concert but to my surprise, it wasn't as packed as their last show. Considering it was a Tuesday night, it was impressive that at least the die hard fans showed up anyway.

They started the show with "Night Out Intro" and transcended it into "Heart Rate Rapid", which was performed fairly well. My two favourite songs, "The End of You Too" and "Back on the Motorway", weren't performed as well as some of the other songs. I felt like songs from Pip Paine (pay back the £5000 you owe) and from the new EP, Not Made For Love, were performed better than songs from Nights Out. I know the band has recently acquired two new members and has decided to drop their computer as a live band member. But when I saw them in January, I felt like the computer did a better job on these two songs. It just seems like the band needs to practice some of their songs a little more.

Besides a couple songs that weren't played that well, there were plenty that were played well. "You Could Easily Have Me", "What Do I Do Now", and "Holiday" were all played excellently. "What Do I Do Now" had a sweet live twist to it. Joseph Mount (vocalist, guitarist, keyboardist) talked to the audience a lot, which was nice. I always like it when the band speaks to the audience. He even invited everyone out to play pool with them at the end of the show. Mount also introduced the new, and old, members of the band while the beginning of "A Thing For Me" (the Breakbot remix) was playing in the background, which ended up transitioning into the original "A Thing For Me." Very nice touch.

The band had those little push lights on their chests; the same push lights that appear in the "Trick or Treatz" video. These lights were synchronized with the beats of the music. I thought this was very cool, obviously.

I know I'm probably making it sound like the band needs their computer back asap but that isn't really what I meant. Really, I just think they need to practice a little more. I really think the band will be phenomenal live once they all get on the same page. I still danced a lot and ended up sweating. And to be honest, that was the most I've sweated and danced in a long time. I remember the last Metronomy concert was the same; a nice sweaty dance fest. So besides my two favourite songs not sounding as good as I had hoped, the concert was still enjoyable for the most part.

Metronomy - You Could Easily Have Me