Coca-Cola stage reviews: Peach Pit and Metric
By Daman Singh, July 16 2024—
Halfway through the Calgary Stampede and still going strong, people had lined up to see Canadian icons Peach Pit and Metric on the Coca-Cola stage to finish their day off. The scorching heat couldn’t stop their fans — on the contrary, July 10 saw one of the most crowded Coke Stage performances the grounds had seen so far.
The evening was opened by Vancouver-based indie rock duo, Dear Rouge. Their set was a pleasant introduction into the craziness that followed that night. Peach Pit took the stage right after and the crowd turned up. People pushed their way to the barricade and it felt like no one cared about how hot the grounds were. Some people got to the grounds closer to four p.m. even though Peach Pit didn’t go on until 8 p.m.
Opening their set with a personal favourite — “Give Up Baby Go”— their set was already memorable for me. The funk driven riff of the song went perfectly with the guitarists dressed in full Western wear. Peach Pit’s signature overdrive twangy guitar with the groovy mix of the rhythm section was a delight as the sun went down on the Coke Stage.
On the stage, guitarist Christopher Vanderkooy was living up the cowboy dream, not only with the outfit but also his movement on the stage. You couldn’t look away for even a second out of fear you might miss another “Chris moment”, as someone in the audience noted.
The crowd was packed and if you couldn’t already tell, the opening riff to their hit song “Alrighty Aphrodite” made sure everyone on this side of the grounds knew how many people had shown up. As the band sang the chorus to the song, you couldn’t even hear anything from the speakers anymore — it was an army of heartbroken people singing the words “I’d let you waste another guy” and it looked as cathartic as it would have felt to be in that crowd.
Peach Pit ended their set with a special cover of Shania Twain’s “Man! I Feel Like A Woman!”, an excellent cover which was executed so well in their own style. The end of their set had you wishing you were wearing some cropped men’s shirts and short skirts too given how hot that night got.
The sun had set, the crowd had not moved an inch and I saw the exact same people at the barricade that I saw during Peach Pit ready for Metric to take the stage.
Metric are an act that you cannot forget even if you tried. They have managed to stay relevant and produce nine sonically diverse over 20 years, and as performers? They only got better.
From their 2022 release Formentra, “Doomscroller” is a 10 minute long four part journey. The synth bass driven track layered with James Shaws’ distorted guitars and Emily Haine’s distorted “Don’t give up yet, don’t give up now” is a melodic trance that comes together beautifully in a live setting. With changing time signatures and tempos, the song is a showcase of the group’s skill as veteran live musicians.
Metric performed a selection of tracks from their iconic 2009 LP Fantasies and it did not disappoint. The tracks felt fresh, with a few upgraded live arrangements — there wasn’t a single dull moment through the entire set.
The star of the show was Emily Haines’ stunning sequin outfit. She walked onto the stage bejeweled and shining, and you couldn’t keep your eyes off her. Whether it was autotuned eerie vocals or her raw voice, hearing her was a delight. Haines is testament to the brilliance of women-led rock bands and goes to show that you can never have enough of them.
Metric had a four song encore with classics that the entire crowd waited the whole set to hear. Going from “Combat Baby” into “Breathing Underwater” felt like a dream. It was my first time watching Metric live and hearing my favourite tracks together like it was my own playlist. The bridge of the latter became a chance for Haines to give an emotional pep talk to the crowd before having everyone sing along to the verses.
Ending the show with fan favourite and probably their biggest song ever, “Black Sheep” was the perfect set closer. Even if you don’t know who Metric was, you probably know “Black Sheep” or maybe the “Brie Larson song!” With a revised, more gritty live arrangement for the track, it was the perfect send off to Metric’s headlining set.