Ever since they released Fantasies last year, Metric has been on the road pretty consistently. It’s not hard to see why. With the energetic and blistering show they put on in New York City on Sunday, this band should be a live favorite for years to come.

In the midst of their 2010 North American trek supporting Fantasies, Metric brought everything a fan could ask for and more to Terminal 5 in Manhattan. Blazing music? Check. Seizure-inducing light show? Check. (Seriously, they must have stock in the strobe-light business.) Emily Haines? Double-check. The entire concert highlighted everything there is to love about Metric, and there’s certainly a lot to love.

Before the main event, opening act Bear in Heaven arrived but didn’t really feel like a good match to warm up the Metric crowd. Their electronic, experimental indie rock sounded more like noise than actual songs, especially since their shrill guitar was turned up way too loud. There were a few good parts of instrumentation here and there that had potential, but the overall experience was disappointing, especially after playing for 45 minutes.

Soon enough, though, Metric took the stage to the slow burner, “Twilight Galaxy”. With the stage covered in a dark blue light and the band members slowly taking their place at their instruments, it proved to be an odd yet appropriate opener. It let the group build up towards their faster-paced songs, but it wasn’t so slow that it killed the crowd’s energy. While Haines spent most of the first number behind her synthesizer, she really started moving during “Satellite Mind” and never stopped for the rest of the show. Throughout the entire concert, if she wasn’t stuck by a synth or guitar, she was all over the stage. Whether reaching out to the crowd, striking a superhero pose, or simply dancing to the music, she put as much energy into every song as the sold-out audience of passionate fans did.

Most of the setlist came from their latest record, with singles “Help, I’m Alive” and “Sick Muse” getting the biggest reaction from the crowd. It wasn’t all new stuff, though. The band threw in fan favorites from both Live It Out and Old World Underground, Where Are You Now? Out of these older tracks, the highlights included the intense “Empty” with savage guitar playing from James Shaw and the high-energy “Dead Disco”.

Every song in the main set felt like it worked perfectly after the previous one. There were no dramatic drops in tempo between numbers, but there was enough slowdown at times to give everyone a short rest. Haines’ tributes to the Beastie Boys (“Fight For Your Right”) and to fellow Canadian Neil Young (“Hey Hey My My”) both managed to fit alongside Metric’s tracks, especially the line “Rock and roll will never die” preceding the Beatles/Stones-inspired “Gimme Sympathy”.

If any songs fell short, they were “Gold Guns Girls” and “Monster Hospital”. While both were performed well, the former was sorely missing its backing shouts during the chorus and the latter wasn’t very memorable or a good pick to start the encore. Another problem was that Haines’ mic was mixed a little too low against the rest of the band, resulting in her being drowned out at certain points and rendering her comments in between songs a little difficult to understand.

Despite these small setbacks, the rest of the concert proved to be an energetic mess of fun. Both the band and the audience had the times of their lives. Ending with an acoustic sing-along of “Combat Baby”, the band members were all smiles as they took a bow and walked off the stage. It’s always great when a concert is as much fun for the band as it is for the fans. If Metric keeps up this level of performance, then the fun is just beginning.

Metric setlist:
Twilight Galaxy
Satellite Mind
Front Row
Help, I’m Alive
Empty
Collect Call
Gold Guns Girls
Gimme Sympathy
Sick Muse
Dead Disco
Stadium Love

Encore:
Monster Hospital
Combat Baby