Metric Fight for the Right to Party at Miami Art Festival

They didn't have Auto Tune. There were no circus acts or costume changes. The stage setup wasn't designed with frills or flare. There was just Metric -- and the Canadian indie band gave Miami fans exactly what they wanted -- raw, unadulterated music.

On Thursday, hundreds of young fans took to the sands of Miami Beach outside of Collins Park for the free concert that is part of the Art Loves Music installation for Art Basel, a world-renowned annual art exhibition. On the way to the stage, concertgoers walked beneath a giant glowing jellyfish-like installation designed by Phu Hoang Office and Rachely Rotem Studio. When the stage lights finally dimmed, the band slowly took the stage and began to fill the air with a dramatic instrumental build. The drums were beating like a hammer, the lights pulsing in syncopation for several minutes until lead singer Emily Haines took to the microphone with 'Black Sheep.'

The band has had a solid following since their debut album in 2001, but has recently found themselves gaining more mainstream acclaim since they recorded 'Eclipse (All Yours)' for the 'Twilight Saga: Eclipse' soundtrack. In the song 'Help, I'm Alive,' a huge hit off their 2009 album 'Fantasies,' you can hear Haines struggling with this fame.

Metric shift between eerie and dreamy New Wave sounds, striking rock beats and fun, hopeful indie pop. At once stoic and fierce with a vulnerable charm about her, Haines is reminiscent of Primitives frontwoman Tracy Tracy as she twitches in pseudo robotic form to the music.

Haines didn't speak much between songs -- everything she had to say she said in her music. Now and then she would utter a sweet "thank you" to the crowd, but otherwise, the band took over with more dramatic builds and soft drops that then exploded into shocking rock grooves. The real hits of the night were 'Help I'm Alive' and 'Gold Guns Girls,' both hits off 'Fantasies.' Haines even gave nod to the Beastie Boys, singing her own version of '(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party!).' Another highlight was 'Dead Disco,' in which Haines laments the way the music industry has turned into a faceless, formulated, song machine where everything sounds the same.

The band ended with a buildup that sounded as if the entire beach would take off into outer space and landed with 'Stadium Love.' The crowd screamed and clapped and chanted for one more song, but the band left them wanting more. Alas, the only disappointment of the night was the lack of an encore from the band -- but even if they played one last song, the audience would still be aching for more.