North American co-headliners Metric and Zoé play at the House of Blues

By Isabel Contreras
BU News Service

BOSTON – On Feb. 13, Indie rock bands Metric and Zoé played at the House of Blues in Fenway for the Boston stop of their U.S. Tour. This was the second performance of the tour, after Metric performed solo in Cleveland a week ago.

The international co-headliners, Zoé from Mexico and Metric from Canada, each performed sets of equal length after a brief performance by Canadian opener July Talk.

Zoé’s set featured songs from their new album, “Aztlán”, which won the Grammy award for Best Latin Rock Album on Sunday, the band’s first Grammy since it formed in 1997.

In remembrance of the earthquake that hit Mexico more than a year ago, the band played “Temor y Temblor,” along with their popular single, “Azul.”

Members of the audience cheered, and people chanted “Mexico! Mexico!” in support.

Metric’s performance was filled with lights and movement, including the fan favorites “Help, I’m Alive” and “Black Sheep.”

Throughout the concert, the performers shared messages of unity between Mexico, Canada and the U.S., bringing up political issues and addressing the Trump administration, which has caused tension between different nationalities.

In between songs, León Larregui, Zoé’s lead singer, said that people need to embrace each others’ differences and unite through the things that make them all human.

“I think music really is the language of the universe,” he said. “It doesn’t matter where you come from.”

Near the end of the performance, Emily Haines, Metric’s lead singer, mentioned that all North American countries were present in this tour, with the three international bands visiting U.S. locals.

“We’re going to unite this continent,” she said.

This cultural mix of artists brought excited audience members from different nationalities and backgrounds to see the first performance that featured all three bands in this U.S. tour.

David Marx, 43, from Philadelphia, is a frequent visitor at the House of Blues, and an avid Metric fan.

“I love Metric – I’ve seen them twice,” he said, as he waited in line to go backstage to greet the band.  “I’m excited to see them a third time.”

Mateo Rull, 18, from Monterrey, Mexico, attended the concert with his mother.  He has listened to Zoé since he was 12, but had never had the chance to see them in concert before Wednesday.

“Zoé is Mexico’s number one band,” he said.  “It makes me proud to see Mexican excellence presented in front of the world.  [It] makes them know that we’re more than sombreros.”

Kelsi Hosler, 23, was visiting her boyfriend from New Jersey and decided to join him at the concert.

“I came for the show, but I don’t know the music,” she said. “I’m excited! My boyfriend is a big Metric fan and I think I’ll have a lot of fun.”

The Metric-Zoé tour will continue through the Northeast and visit many major U.S. cities in the coming weeks.