Metric, Broken Social Scene, and Stars are calling this the All the Feelings Tour, and for once the tour name undersells it. Both Metric and Broken Social Scene have new albums out this year, so this wasn’t just a nostalgia lap through the Toronto indie scene’s back catalog — it was three bands who’ve known each other for decades still actively making the case for themselves.
At The Anthem on August 1, Broken Social Scene’s set opened with “Cause = Time” — a personal top-10-of-all-time song for me, one I still listen to weekly if not daily, so that alone would’ve made the night. Andrew Whiteman, playing as Apostle of Hustle when he’s not busy being BSS’s lead guitarist, wrote the riffs on basically every one of my favorite songs in this band’s catalog, and you could hear why all over “Texico Bitches” and “7/4 (Shoreline).” Leading man Kevin Drew detoured into a “Total Eclipse of the Heart” bridge during “Ibi Dreams of Pavement (A Better Day)” that had no business working as well as it did.
Watch the official music video for “Cause = Time” by Broken Social Scene on YouTube:
Members of Stars and Metric quickly came onstage as an ever-expanding horn section and at that point the vibes were through the roof. Jill Harris and Amy Milan tag-teamed “Hug of Thunder” while Stars’ Torquil Campbell joined to help sing “Fire Eye’d Boy.” The real peak was when Metric’s Emily Haines and James Shaw arrived to perform “Anthems for a Seventeen Year-Old Girl,” which Haines said was inspired by a Bill Callahan song — a cathartic climax if there ever was one.
Then came the abrupt shift from a twelve-person group hug into Metric’s sleek, electric sheen — a different band entirely, and not just in headcount. Haines seemingly took lots of notes in 2023 when Metric opened for Noel Gallagher and Garbage. She and the band treated this show as an arena gig, with rehearsed speeches in between a few songs. Haines is still an amazing frontwoman, she didn’t stop moving for the entire set. The new material from Romanticize the Dive sounded huge, especially “Victim of Luck” and “Tremelo.” There were a few misses, though. “Now or Never Now” came off more like a sermon than a song — Haines spoke it more than sang it, and it lost some power because of it.
Watch the official music video for “Victim of Luck” by Metric on YouTube:
But the set truly took off once the collaborations started towards the end of the set: the horn section came back for “Synthetica,” BSS’s Sam Goldberg Jr. joined for “Gold Guns Girls,” and then everyone — Metric, Stars, and Broken Social Scene all at once — piled on for “Loyal.” In both bands’ sets, the songs played with guests were a full level above everything else. The camaraderie wasn’t a bit; it was the whole show. And for what it’s worth, the new material from both bands’ 2026 albums sounded great live, holding its own next to two decades of favorites.
Due to the double-duty I was pulling all week at the Mubadala Open tennis, I missed 90% of Stars set, which was a huge bummer because “Elevator Love Letter” and “Take Me to the Riot” are certified indie classics, but I was able to see them whip the crowd into a huge sing along during “No One Is Lost.” Can’t say I’ve ever seen an opening band get an entire venue to sing “Put your hands up ’cause everybody dies.” Respect.
Metric setlist
Victim of Luck
Oh Please
Youth Without Youth
Monster Hospital
Poster of a Girl
Crush Forever
Lost Kitten
Now or Never Now
Risk
Leave You on a High
All Comes Crashing
Tremolo
Synthetica (with Broken Social Scene) (Horn section)
Gold Guns Girls (with Sam Goldberg, Jr.)
Loyal (with Stars) (also with Broken Social Scene)
Gimme Sympathy
Combat Baby
Encore:
Help I’m Alive
Black Sheep
Here are some photos of Metric and Broken Social Scene performing at The Anthem on August 1, 2026. All pictures copyright and courtesy of Kyle Gustafson.
Broken Social Scene setlist
Cause = Time
7/4 (Shoreline)
Ibi Dreams of Pavement (A Better Day) (With “Total Eclipse of the Heart” bridge)
Paying for Your Love
Texico Bitches
Only the Good I Keep
Hug of Thunder
Fire Eye’d Boy (with Torquil Campbell)
The Call
Anthems for a Seventeen Year-Old Girl (with Emily Haines) (and James Shaw)
Parking Lot Dreams
KC Accidental
Stars setlist
Hold On When You Get Love and Let Go When You Give It
Elevator Love Letter
Losing to You
Take Me to the Riot
Dead Hearts
Look Up
Ageless Beauty
Your Ex-Lover Is Dead
No One Is Lost
