METZ + Absolutely Free + Young Lungs @ Il Motore

Young Lungs performed at the CJLO/Safe In Sound showcase during M pour Montreal, so I was pretty familiar with the set that they would be playing. Their first song started off with a guitar sound that made me think of the Beach Boys if they had decided that hard rock was more their style. The sound in the venue was a little off mic-wise, and it took awhile to be able to hear the lead vocals properly. Their sound seemed to echo into the venue compared to the cosy show at l'Esco the previous Friday. However, they sounded tight and the new material that they tested out on the audience was my favourite tracks of theirs by far. The three of them make an odd trio—a nerdy indie front man, a bassist with a punk-power stance, and a drummer with impressive mullet—but the chemistry they have as a band is very apparent, and by the end of the set the venue had filled and the crowd was bobbing along with the band. You could tell that they were really enjoying themselves. The lead vocalist had to take off his glasses by the end because they kept falling down his nose from rocking out so hard. In all, a solid set, but I preferred them in the smaller venue. 

When Absolutely Free started playing, the first thing that was whispered into my ear was "this is some Enya level shit" ...and it was. It was as if Death Cab For Cutie showed up and decided to take us on a space mission. Destination: Meh. They had massive amounts of equipment: a variety of twirly knobs, two keyboards, a drum kit, and a drum pad. The versatility of the band's members was impressive, and you could tell that some of them thought so too. Their music had elements in it that made me want to shout YES, LET'S EJECT FROM THIS SHUTTLE AND FLOAT AWAY. There were moments of Twin Peaks-eqsue melodies mixed in with the music accompanying you on Space Mountain at Disneyland. But just when you would get excited about them starting to play a really cool sample, they would stop using it and the audience was taken back into the spaceship for some more laconic singing and drumming. But the singer was a babe. You got it, man.

I saw Metz perform at Cameo Gallery in Brooklyn back in October, and the show was very impressive. Definitely one of the better ones I've seen all year so it was a no-brainer that I would be attending this show. Plus, they all have luxurious hair—a fact I like to remind everyone I'm with whenever they're mentioned. Metz did not disappoint. Their songs are quick, fast, loud, and tight. With floodlights on the floor adding an extra punch in the visual department, they got the audience excited and moving around and one dude attempted to crowd surf every other minute. It was great to see the band keep their cool when they were just using TOO MUCH POWER, causing their lights to go out. Two members would keep on playing while narrating the attempt to turn the lights and amp back on. Crowd surfer dude kept yelling at the band "BETTER BE LOUD" and the audience got a laugh out of their responses along the lines of: "...well... it's going to be similar" and the amusing intro to "Headache" (which you can check out a video of them performing in the CJLO studio): "This is our slow jam". If you ever see that this band is coming to a venue near you, you have to go. They're awesome. 

--Beansie Saretsky hosts Maiden Voyage, Fridays 12-1pm