Metric / Death From Above / Golden Horse

New Zealand's Golden Horse came halfway around the world to get the night off to a mediocre start. Fronted by bouncy, cheerful lead vocalist Kirsten Morelle, Golden Horse's unmelodic, disjointed pop suffered from a severe lack of catchy hooks and melodies. Like a less pop-friendly Letters To Cleo or the Cardigans, these New Zealanders tried to be modest by mentioning on stage that their hometown crowds were never as excited as these Montrealers. However, the compliment came off as a pity attempt to win over a crowd that clearly was not feeling them. All the right ingredients were there for Golden Horse, just nothing left an impression. Death From Above then shook up the mood a little bit with their sweaty, dirty hardcore. This noisy duo was an odd fit, but kept the crowd entertained with raucous numbers and hilarious stage banter. High points included their interpretation of the Bible, followed by a truly unholy trip of noise. The duo didn't need a full band to sound loud as hell; bassist Jesse Keeler's bass was drugged with tons of effects that made it sound fiercer than any guitar that night. Metric finally graced the stage, with Emily Haines meeting the crowd by ever so eloquently spitting on them. Delivering a solid first half of favourites, like "Wet Blanket" and "I.O.U," Metric were tight and energetic. Besides a few lulls that usually occurred during new, unreleased tracks, the band marched on. Haines even appeared to be a bit discouraged once some aggressive (and no doubt in love) male fans got a little too close for comfort and the dancing in the crowd began to dissipate. Luckily, crowd favourites like "Combat Baby" brought the set back to its disco-punk spirit.