Tuneful tidings of joy

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Emily Haines and her sublime indie-rock outfit Metric will be unveiling the en­tirety of its anticipated 2009 record. (CANWEST NEWS SERVICE)

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Tokyo Police Club will be rockin’ around the figurative Christmas tree on Monday at the Burt.

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Montreal orch-pop act the Dears is on the Jingle Bell Rock tour. (CNS)

No, we don't mean the Argentine soccer jersey she's wrapped up for one of her nephews, or the pop-up book for the other. Instead, Haines and her sublime indie-rock outfit Metric are bringing a gift that just doesn't fit under the tree (unless yours happens to have a large stage and full PA system). At the Burton Cummings Theatre on Monday night, Metric will be unveiling the entirety of its anticipated 2009 record, including the just-released-to-radio single Help I'm Alive.

"Metric and all our friends don't go in too much for the holiday shopping nightmare, so this is a way for us to participate in that sense, without being Scrooges," Haines says of the Jingle Bell Rock tour, which also includes the Dears, Tokyo Police Club, Sebastien Grainger and DJ Mike Relm.

Perhaps the tour name is a bit of a misnomer. There won't be any bells or carols onstage on Monday night; to that suggestion, Haines crisply responds, "We just want to use the opportunity to play our new record for fans."

But that isn't to say that the event doesn't have a certain holiday spirit: $1 from every ticket sold will go to local youth charities. (In Winnipeg, MacDonald Youth Services will accept the proceeds; see sidebar for details.) "That was a priority for us," Haines says. "It's funny... we're a bunch of indie rockers, it's not like we're sitting on our piles of money. But none of us have to go to soup kitchens. So we're keeping perspective on that."

Credit Pa Haines with some of the festive inspiration: Haines remembers her dad getting really into the green 'n' red. "My dad would always just go really far with lots of little, really silly presents," she recalls. "It was always stuff we could play with right away, like car sets and toboggans."

In an echo of those childhood days, Metric is bringing out some holiday toys of its own for the JBR tour. The tour setup this time around features surround-sound technology -- the same kind you get in the movie theatre -- which means that the atmospheric sounds of Metric's as-yet-unreleased material will hit the audience

"Think Dark Side of the Moon," says Haines, who was inspired to use surround sound after seeing Roger Waters close out the Coachella Festival in Indio, Calif., last summer. "The possibilities are really amazing in terms of the use of ambient sounds and atmospheric noise that we want to express."

When the tour's over, Haines is getting a real Christmas: she's heading back to Northern Ontario to spend the day with her three nieces and nephews. She won't have much time to cosy in though: with Metric's fourth album due out on the spring, Haines has another tour to plan.

Metric, Tokyo Police Club and the Dears perform on Monday at the Burton Cummings Theatre. Tickets are $37.50 at Ticketmaster.

melissa.martin@freepress.mb.ca

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition December 11, 2008 E4