Stadium Love: On Metric and The Happiness That Follows

Well, it's been a while since I've done anything related to live concerts, mostly due to me either being underwhelmed be the shows(Noel Gallagher) or just not liking them(Pearl Jam). So, for your reading pleasure, I'm going to recount the events of the last two days for me and my cousin and our wild shenanigans in Toronto going to see not one but TWO Metric concerts!!
1. The First Day
Okay, so I'd heard on a radio station that Metric were gonna do a free show down at Sugar Beach in Toronto, so I sent the link to my cousin, who just so we're clear is a super hardcore Metric fan, even more-so then I. We said we'd try and meet up down there sometime before it started, which was 8pm. Well I got there at around 6:30, and it was packed! I must still have the mindset that nobody knows who Metric is so that I'll be the first one there and get the best spot. Well, I may not have gotten the best spot, but when they were calling out to who one prizes, I won a copy of their new album Synthetica(on vinyl!!) when it wasn't even out in stores yet. So at around 8pm, having gotten lost, my cousins(her and her sister) both showed up(they found me on top of a water fountain trying to get a better view). Metric came on, and while I'd like to say it was a amazing show, I don't really remember too too much about what they actually played because we spent most of the time milling around trying to find a better spot. All I remember was after we found a good spot, they played "Monster Hospital" and then left after what must've been only 40 minutes. I was a bit disappointed by this, but hey, if it's free you can't really complain. Also it had been raining most of the day, and only after they left did it finally stop. Thank's for that Metric.
2. The Second Day
After a quick sleep, I was back the next day in Toronto. For this show, I had won tickets on Metric's Facebook page in a first come first serve kind of thing. This concert wasn't really planned in advance, only a weeks notice to arrange everything(not that that was too much, mind you) and I was even amazed I won them at all. So we got to this venue, the Opera House at about 5:45pm and there were about 20 people lined up already. We waited for about 2 hours in line before we were let in, and then the craziest thing happened: they were giving away free drinks at the door. I'm not joking. FREE DRINKS!! And from what I could see, only like the first 50 people got them, so lucky us. We had a spot next to a set of stairs that meant not only could we lean on a railing, we could see just over the heads of everyone, perfect spots. While we were waiting, we caught a glimpse of a few elderly ladies(instead of the usual old women) sitting in these reserved seats, and my cousin wondered "Is that their parents over there?" I though it might be, but wasn't too sure(they were about 4 feet or 1.3 meters away from us).
The concert started at about 9:15 and they played through the first 3 or 4 songs from the new album in a row before Emily Haines talked to the audience, and then they went into (I think, as I'm too lazy to look up the actual set list) "Hustle Rose", which I really got into, more then I've gotten into any song at any concert I've ever been to. This went into Empty, which once again I was jumping and dancing to this as well, like so many others around us. They then went into 2 or 3 more songs from the new album, in between playing "Dead Disco", which I'm ashamed to say I didn't recognize when I first heard it. After this, the concert kept getting better and better playing, in this order "Gold Girls Guns, Stadium Love(then coming out for the encore)Help I'm Alive, Monster Hospital" and finally finishing with a emotional acoustic rendition of their "maximum fucking hit" "Gimme Sympathy". By this point I was covered in sweat, having head banged to all these songs(well, except the last one), jumped around like crazy and really got into it, and before you ask, no I wasn't drunk or anything. It was probably the best time I'd ever had at a concert and the way they ended it, leaving the audience wanting more, is exactly how bands should be, always leaving you wanting more.
Well, believe it or not this wasn't the end of the night. We found out that indeed the people near us were Emily Haines's parents. So we were waiting for our ride, still inside the venue when all these people start having a party. It was a VIP thing I think, so we were kinda gatecrashing, but not really. So we go back to where the stage is, and all of a sudden we can see members of the band talking to family members and friends. We saw who must've been Emily's sister and mother(her sister looks just like her) hugging Emily and we were like 3 feet(or 1 meter) away! We were so excited, but we didn't want to disturb them cause we weren't invited after all and they were meeting with family and friends. But then, we saw Metric's bass player Joshua Winstead walking over in our general direction and my cousin grabbed his arm and just said thank you to him and we probably spent 5 minutes talking to us, thanking us for coming out, shaking our hands many times, talking about how important fans are and he didn't seem like he was in any rush to leave, it was actually my cousin that let him get back to whatever he was up to. After that, we ran outside, jumping with with, skipping down the street so happy that we met somebody from Metric. It was so unreal and it was very nice of him to talk to us. Big bands lose this connection with their fans, so it's quite a change to see someone from the band not only shaking your hand, but having a 5 minute conversation with you.
3. The Morning After.
At the time of this writing, it's 9:17am, almost 12 hours since they came onstage. This concert is one of the happiest moments of my life not only by the band themselves, but for who I went to the concert with; the cousin I went with was the very same cousin who I mentioned in my Beaver Reflections article, the one who put me back onto the right path with my depression. It's been almost 2 years since that day and I've always been thinking in the back of my mind of someway to repay her for her kindness, something that it in itself is impossible to do, but the way I feel right now is a feeling that I never want to go away. I was in the train station afterwards, all alone listening to "Stadium Love", knowing that I would always think of this night when I hear it and that I never want this night to end. This is my happy moment, the brightest moment inside me right now. Coming home at 2am, you couldn't wipe the smile I still had on my face. I've never been so happy that I've cried tears of joy, as I did in the station last night. Nothing will ever replace last night and that's alright by me. The combination of two things that I care/love so much is just beyond words. I still feel it right now as I'm writing this. Moments like this are once in a lifetime and are the moments you will be able to look back on and smile at 5, 10, 15 years from now. I've had the time of my life and the moments just keep replaying and replaying over and over.
And for those of you who still doubt how happy I was, just picture me dancing and jumping in front of a mirror in a train station, headphones blasting as I "sing" Stadium Love to myself. Yes, I did.
So I want to thank my cousin once again for coming with me last night. You were so much fun to be with, you made great moments even greater, and you've once again made me feel so so happy. Hopefully we can do something like this again, I wouldn't miss it for the world. I'm still smiling writing this(also, I still haven't eaten)
You and I have stadium love!

Old Song Review: Don't Look Back In Anger

Yesterday(or however many day's it's been since I posted it) I did a review of Wonderwall, calling it a good song that maybe gets too much praise for what its worth(figures that even quoting myself, I'm too lazy to look up my actual work). So today, I'm going to review for you another Oasis song, for your pleasure, the song that mentioned kept Wonderwall off Number One in England, Don't Look Back in Anger.
This song on the album comes right after the previously reviewed song, so for many of you, this may just be the "song after Wonderwall" on that album, What's the Story Morning Glory. For me however, this song is one of two songs on the album that I'd call as being the best.
The song is once again Beatles influenced, as the opening chords are (supposedly) lifted from John Lennon's Imagine. Is this true? Yes and no. While they may very well have been the same chords from Imagine, doesn't it seem likely that in the world of music, someone was bound to use them again at one point? I think many songs if you look hard enough have the same chords(which you can all do, cause again, I'm too lazy to list off examples this time); this song is the only one that gets attention because it was a hit song off a hit album, just like Imagine. Other then the opening chords though, there really isn't anything similar to the two songs.
The song itself is beautifully written, with an organ that comes in at the chorus to give it that feel-good feeling that we get when we hear certain songs. Noel Gallagher sings this and he never sounded better. This song was his masterpiece, the one song that he knew he could always point to when people may have doubted him as a writer/singer cause both here are spot on. I've heard rumors that the line in the chorus "So Sally can wait..." was inspired by his brother, but if this is actually true or not I'm not too sure. Noel has said that it was true and his brother was next to him, but the manner they discuss it makes me unsure. In any case it doesn't take anything away from the song and if anything, it's nice to see that Liam might have been coming to his own as a writer by giving the odd idea to his brother on his songs.
This song is the one that you have to hear it live to really understand how great Oasis were as a band as well as how devoted their fans were. Most times, the crowd would sing in unison to the chorus and when I say crowd I really mean audience, cause literally, the whole place sings along with it. I should know.
I was at one of Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds shows late last year in November at Massey Hall in Toronto. He ended with this song and it was one of the coolest things I'd seen at a concert. The entire audience stood up(all 2000 of us, myself included) and basically sang the entire song with him. I remember looking around as this was going on and I don't remember seeing a single person sitting at the end. It was something not to be believed. He had done a few Oasis songs that night, including Wonderwall, but nothing got a response like Don't Look Back In Anger did. That's magic.
Overall, I'd for sure put this at the top of my favorite Oasis songs off all time(maybe Live Forever or Some Might Say being other top contenders). Everyone's always looking at the crown on the Queen's head, but only a few look at the jewels on her hands. This song is the jewel on Oasis's hand, perfect and sometimes overlooked.
Rating: 5/5

Old Song Review: Wonderwall

For last month, I was going to put up a tribute to the band who wrote today's song, Oasis. As you might've guessed, that never happened, and probably won't, like many things on this blog I lost interest in the moment I started them. Still, I owe you something, so for today I'll review a song that is the most looked up song on Google for guitar players to learn, Wonderwall.
This was Oasis's biggest hit over here in North America, it being their only top 10 hit, but over in England, this only got as high as Number 2. This was hardly a problem for them, as they had had a Number One over there, with Some Might Say(the last song with original drummer Tony McCarroll), and would go onto have a few more number ones, with such gems as D'Ya Know What I Mean, from their follow up album Be Here Now.
Now like many of the great songs, this one was inspired by a girlfriend of either lead singer Liam Gallagher or main songwriter Noel Gallagher(yes the two are related). The song was rumored to have wanted to be sung by Noel, but later relented to Liam in exchange for singing their next single, Don't Look Back in Anger(which got to Number One in England).
The title itself comes from the first Beatles solo album, called Wonderwall Music by George Harrison released back in 1966(having this album doesn't make you hipster, it makes you an obsessive fan who has access to a credit card and a basement to store this shit). As far as a song goes, there's really nothing to dislike about it; the production is very good, the singing is nice, the lyrics are very lovey-dovey and impossible not to flatter a girl into a blowjob if you dedicate it to her(not all girls mind you, I apologize[nevermind, I take that back]). The only thing that this song isn't is the best Oasis song.
Oasis were not a one hit wonder and it's a bit of a shame that they seem to be remembered only for this song. The band themselves even said it wasn't one of their best, which is a different approach from the usual way of just plain saying that they don't like the song and not ever playing it again(Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit, Neil Young's Heart of Gold, Radiohead's Creep and every good Bob Dylan song are examples of this trend).
They played live all the time, but what surprises me is that it's not the climax of the show, not the song that every fan sings along to. There are far better Oasis songs that they made that came out before and after this. If you look hard enough, you'll find your favorite Oasis song. Odds are it's not Wonderwall.
Overall, Wonderwall hit with a shock of lightning and looks like it will live forever.
Rating: 4/5