File Under: What the Heck? Casey Dorrell

This just in, Metric will be opening for Rolling Stones. You might want to read that again, metric will be opening for the Stones. To put this into perspective, Metallica also opened for the Stones on this tour. Shades of Sleater-Kinney opening for Pearl Jam earlier this year. Maybe we've entered some sort of weird post-modern musical association era and I missed the memo. No word as to how the Toronto four-piece scored the gigs. They will be opening two shows at Madison Square Garden, one on the 18th and the other the 19th of this upcoming January. After reading the news, one blogger joked that [lead singer] Emily Haines must suck a mean phallus, but the real reason likely has a lot more to with her musical talent. Metric have blown up since their first official full length, Old World Underground, which was a critical favourite of 2003. Their follow-up this October on Last Gang Records, Live it Out, has also garnered positive, if not glowing, reviews. No doubt none of the Rolling Stones has a clue who Metric is, but I guess one of their suits does. I've seen both bands this summer at separate venues. Rolling Stones were, well, the Stones. Metric were late showing up, took an incredibly long time setting up and Haines's stage banter ranged from "we're so great and you're so luck to see us" to the incomprehensible. It'd be interesting to see how that stage presence translates into the Stones spots. After the Stones' shows, Metric will be incognito until March when they do a North America wide tour (including a SXSW show). Metric is also set to release a MSTRKRFT remix of the Live it Out single, "Monster Hospital" next January. Download: Metric - Monster Hospital (Live it Out) Metric - Slow Night (Old World Underground) Pearl Jam & Sleater Kinney - Leaving Here Pearl Jam & Sleater Kinney - Mother Buy: Metric - Live it Out Sleater Kinney - Woods Related Posts: Shoreline Festival CDs We Don't Own but You Should