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REVIEW: Metric’s “All The Feelings Tour” Brings Friendship, Community, & Canadian Good Vibes to Phoenix (6-17-26)

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PHOENIX — It’s always interesting how tours come together. By and large, most tours have a similar structure: interesting newcomer, established second band, and the headliner, with the lineup usually put together by the headliner’s management and approved by the headliner. What made Metric’s “All The Feelings Tour,” with support from Broken Social Scene and Stars, special was that it was put together by Metric and based on two things: long-standing friendship and Canadian indie-rock history, but mostly friendship. All three bands hail from Toronto and have spent decades as friends, collaborators, tourmates, and guests on one another’s albums. Their show at Arizona Financial Theatre was as much about community, friendship, and love as it was about the music.

Stars

Toronto-born and Montreal-formed band Stars opened the show with their beautiful brand of eloquent indie pop. Their set pulled from seven of their nine albums, but more importantly, it set the tone of fun and community for the night. Opening with “Hold On When You Get Love and Let Go When You Give It,” the band immediately established the themes that would define the evening: connection, compassion, and finding joy together. 

Torquil Campbell of Stars sings into a microphone under warm orange stage lights during the All The Feelings Tour.
Torquil Campbell of Stars sings under warm orange stage lights during the Phoenix show on the “All The Feelings Tour.”
Photography: Katherine Amy Vega © All Rights Reserved

Stars delivered a set that felt both intimate and celebratory, moving from the soaring “Build a Fire” and “Elevator Love Letter” to some fan favorites like like “Take Me to the Riot” from In Our Bedroom After the War and “Dead Hearts” from the fantastic The Five Ghosts album. At one point in the set, singer Torquil Campbell joked about performing Shakespearean monologues to kill time, adding a sense of warmth and playfulness that made us feel like part of a gathering of friends rather than the audience at a large concert. 

Torquil Campbell and Amy Millan of Stars sing toward each other onstage under purple lighting.
Torquil Campbell and Amy Millan showcase the co-lead vocal chemistry and emotional connection that have long made Stars such a beloved indie-pop band.
Photography: Katherine Amy Vega © All Rights Reserved

What has always made Stars special was on full display in the co-lead vocals of Campbell and Amy Millan. The two have a magic that manifests lush harmonies as their voices merge as one, creating songs that feel deeply personal while somehow belonging to everyone in the room. That shared emotional space was especially on the night’s standout performances of “Your Ex-Lover is Dead” and “Ageless Beauty,” songs that remain as moving now as when they were first released on their 2004 masterpiece Set Yourself on Fire. 

Amy Millan of Stars sings and plays guitar onstage under blue lighting.
Amy Millan of Stars brings warmth and emotion to the band’s Phoenix performance, balancing shimmering guitar with the expressive vocals that help define their sound.
Photography: Katherine Amy Vega © All Rights Reserved

Stars closed out their set with the joyous “No One is Lost,” complete with its call to the crowd to “Put your hands up if you ever feel afraid, yeah/Until then, that will listen/No one is lost.” On this night, certainly, no one was lost because we had the music and we had each other. 

View full Stars photo gallery below

Broken Social Scene 

“Well, it only took us 26 years to finally get to Phoenix,” Broken Social Scene singer Kevin Drew said, opening the band’s set.

Kevin Drew of Broken Social Scene sings and plays guitar onstage.
Kevin Drew of Broken Social Scene performs at Arizona Financial Theatre, bringing the band’s communal indie-rock spirit to the Phoenix stop of the “All The Feelings Tour.”
Photography: Katherine Amy Vega © All Rights Reserved

On a night built on the idea of friendship and community, this group took the evening to another gear, as Broken Social Scene is as much a musical collective as they are a band. With the group’s membership ranging from as few as six to as many as nineteen, the current eleven members approach music like a neighborhood potluck, with each person bringing their own style to the mix and everyone making the pieces work together. They are chamber pop by way of a good-time neighborhood jamboree.

Andrew Whiteman of Broken Social Scene smiles while playing guitar onstage.
Andrew Whiteman of Broken Social Scene smiles through a guitar part, adding to the loose energy of the band’s Phoenix set.
Photography: Katherine Amy Vega © All Rights Reserved

Before going into their set-opener “Cause = Time” from their album You Forgot It In People, Drew told the audience “This tour is about friendship, and friendship is a form of protest so let’s do this!”

Jill Harris sings with Broken Social Scene, raising one arm under blue stage lights.
Jill Harris sings with Broken Social Scene, raising a hand as the band builds one of its richly layered live moments.
Photography: Katherine Amy Vega © All Rights Reserved

In a set that spanned all but their debut album and leaned heavily on their recently-released sixth album, Remember the Humans, Broken Social Scene created a party atmosphere that allowed moments not only for their eleven members, but also for their friends. Campbell and Millan from Stars came out for “Hug of Thunder,” “Only the Good I Keep,” “Texico Bitches,” and “Fire Eye’d Boy,” while Emily Haines and James Shaw from Metric joined for “Anthems of a Seventeen-Year-Old Girl” and “Parking Lot Dreams.”

Broken Social Scene’s horn section plays trombone and trumpet together onstage.
Broken Social Scene’s horn section brings a burst of brass to the set, adding punch, movement, and extra color to the band’s already expansive live sound.
Photography: Katherine Amy Vega © All Rights Reserved

Before closing their set with “KC Accidental,” Drew left everyone with this: “Phoenix, don’t let them weaponize community. Their tragedy will end.” It was a good reminder that our future can be one built on the ideas of friendship and love. That’s beautiful. 

View full Broken Social Scene photo gallery below

Metric

Headliner, tour masterminds, and Toronto-trio completists Metric understood the assignment on this Wednesday: “With the ‘All The Feelings Tour,’ we’re bringing Saturday to every show. This is Saturday night in Phoenix,” singer Emily Haines told the crowd just after their opening song “Victim of Love.” Their set was the complete deal: the music, their performance, and their stage show. It’s not just a band playing their songs, but a totally immersive experience. 

Emily Haines of Metric sings into a gold microphone while wearing a black leather jacket onstage.
Metric vocalist Emily Haines commands the stage with sharp focus and unmistakable presence during the band’s set.
Photography: Katherine Amy Vega © All Rights Reserved

Metric also knows how to give  their crowd an irresistible desire to dance. Their music moves through you. It gets you out of your seat and directs your body how to move. You don’t dance? Metric makes you dance. You hate dancing? Metric makes it what you want to do more than anything. You could walk into a Metric show as John Lithgow in Footloose and, within a few songs, you’re transformed into Kevin Bacon. 

Joules Scott-Key of Metric plays drums surrounded by cymbals and purple stage lighting.
Metric drummer Joules Scott-Key drives the band’s set from behind the kit, framed by cymbals and moody stage light.
Photography: Katherine Amy Vega © All Rights Reserved

Toward the end of the night, musicians from all three bands in the lineup gathered for a spirited performance of “Loyal.”  The night’s setlist could not have been better chosen. It felt like the perfect Metric mixtape, pulling from most of their albums and moving easily between  newer material from their just-released Romanticize the Dive, and  older songs like “Combat Baby” from their debut, Old World Underground, Where Are You Now? 

Emily Haines of Metric sings into a gold microphone under warm stage lighting.
Emily Haines (vocalist) channels the joy and purpose behind Metric’s set, leading into a moment that framed the night around music, feeling, and connection.
Photography: Katherine Amy Vega © All Rights Reserved

Haines articulated the night’s ethos: “Our sole purpose in the world is to bring good feelings into this broken-hearted world. We do what we can. You do what you can!” Metric and their supporting bands brought the energy, the feelings, and the music, and the crowd brought the dancing. We all did our part. 

Photo Galleries

Photographer: Katherine Amy Vega

View Full Photo Sets:

Metric

Broken Social Scene

Stars

Each set linked above contains many additional images—view the full galleries for more.

Metric, Broken Social Scene, & Stars – Arizona Financial Theatre 6-17-2026

Photography © Katherine Amy Vega, Kataklizmic Design
All Rights Reserved.

Concerts, Reviews

REVIEW: Nine Inch Nails Peel It Back & Get Closer at Desert Diamond Arena (3-6-26)

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High-angle view of Nine Inch Nails performing on a center platform under intense red lighting and smoke, with a suspended lighting rig overhead and a packed arena crowd surrounding the stage in Glendale, Arizona.
Nine Inch Nails turn the center-stage platform into a red-lit storm of fog and light.
Audience photo by: Katherine Amy Vega

PHOENIX — An impressive crowd gathered at the Desert Diamond Arena for opener Boyz Noize and the legendary Nine Inch Nails. Bass pounded through the speakers as the opening set welcomed attendees to a darkened room, with occasional red lighting shifting between the center of the room, a shrouded, large box-shaped object sitting in the growing sea of fans.

High-angle view of Nine Inch Nails performing on a center platform under intense red lighting and smoke, with a suspended lighting rig overhead and a packed arena crowd surrounding the stage in Glendale, Arizona.
Nine Inch Nails turn the center-stage platform into a red-lit storm of fog and light.
Audience photo by: Katherine Amy Vega

The room transformed as the walls were shed to reveal Trent Reznor playing the gentle notes to “(You Made It Feel Like) Home” (2022). His warm voice invites us into a feeling of intimacy while being surrounded by other fans in the shadows, gazing into the gold light holding him. The experience felt like I was the only one in the room, though when I looked, the arena had little room to spare.

Wide arena shot of Trent Reznor at a small center stage lit by a single white glow, surrounded by a dense crowd in near darkness.
Nine Inch Nails open the night with Trent Reznor alone at the center-stage rig as the crowd closes in around him.
Audience photo by: Ali Crimson

The band assembles and Josh Freese returns

The warm light became cold, brighter, and sterile as the music transitioned to “Non-Entity” (2007). Guitarist/keyboardist Robin Finck and bassist Stu Brooks appeared, coordinated in all black with Reznor, to loud cheers.

High-angle view of Nine Inch Nails performing on a small center platform surrounded by a packed arena crowd, with bright white stage light cutting through haze at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona.
Nine Inch Nails perform on the center stage as the crowd packs Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona (March 6, 2026).
Audience photo by: Katherine Amy Vega

“Piggy” from the 1994 The Downward Spiral album followed, the lights shift back to gold, now a low glow this time with Reznor on his feet, bouncing with his finger to the ceiling signaling the room to bounce with him to the beat.

Close-up concert photo of Trent Reznor singing into a microphone on a dim, smoky stage, wearing a dark oversized jacket with in-ear monitors visible.
Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor grips the mic in a tight, moody close-up within the stage haze surrounding him.
Photo by: Sara Perez

The glow allowed the room to slip into darkness, leaving only a screen at the front of the room showing a drum solo that marked the entrance of newly returned drummer Josh Freese, starting only on the North American leg of the tour. The curtain that once showed Freese lifts, showing the entire band surrounded by sheer veils.

Black-and-white projection of a drummer playing fills large hanging curtains, with the arena around it mostly dark and silhouetted.
Nine Inch Nails project a stark black-and-white close-up of the drummer Josh Freese across the sheer curtains during the early set.
Audience photo by: Ali Crimson

Visuals as an instrument

Live projections of each band member are shown on the sheer curtains as the band blasts into “Wish” (1992). New visuals come with each song; “March of Pigs” (1994) is the first time soundwaves are projected. A dramatic piano piece guides the performance into “Reptile” (1994) a standout at the sixth song in their set, the introduction contrasting heavily, grinding with aggressively flashing green lights as white whips across the screens with the rise and falls of the music.

Side-angle view of the stage draped in translucent curtains, with green lighting and swirling black-and-white projections partially revealing the band while the crowd watches in the dark.
Nine Inch Nails perform behind shimmering sheer curtains as green light and abstract projections wash over the stage.
Audience photo by: Katherine Amy Vega

Peak intensity and set highlights

“If there is a hell, I’ll see you there,” Reznor sings to us in the foggy, red-lit arena, as the audience claps along with “Heresy” (1994). Lights flash chaotically as the lyrics “God is dead, and no one cares” echo into every inch of the space. Shifting away from the earlier chaotic lights, the room darkens to a single spotlight on Reznor, with smaller projections on the walls between the band members that look like a house of mirrors showcasing dancing white silhouettes of him performing “Copy of A” (2013) from Hesitation Marks.

Wide arena view of the band playing behind translucent drapes, with bright backlighting projecting large silhouettes onto the curtains and stage lighting rigs hanging overhead.
Nine Inch Nails perform behind sheer curtains as towering shadows and silhouettes ripple across the stage.
Audience photo by: Katherine Amy Vega

The energy high, beneath the red and blue flashing lights during “Gave Up” (1992), a small, seemingly friendly mosh pit begins on the floor level. The room is one with Nine Inch Nails, every moment seeming perfectly executed to the plan of long-time industry professionals.

Wide stage photo of Nine Inch Nails performing live in smoky yellow light, with the vocalist at a microphone, guitarist in the foreground, drummer at left, and lighting rigs behind the band.
Nine Inch Nails performing at the O2 Apollo Manchester on June 20, 2022.
Photography: aliina s. (CC BY 2.0), via Wikimedia Commons

Drowned in red and fog, almost by magic, Reznor has returned to the smaller center platform. Electric fuchsia zaps and flashes in the foggy clouds surrounding the stage as “Vessel” (2007), from Year Zero, pumps through the veins of every listener. The music surges beneath the skin.

High, wide arena view with a bright white glow and haze rising from the center stage, surrounded by a dense crowd, with a large side screen showing black-and-white live footage.
Nine Inch Nails ignite the center stage in a burst of white light as the crowd surrounds them.
Audience photo by: Katherine Amy Vega

The final stretch: “Closer” to the closing moments

Entering the final songs of the set list, the most popular song of Nine Inch Nails’ nearly 40-year career, “Closer” (1994) starts and engulfs the room in purple, fuchsia, and white, flickering to the heat of the music. The feeling this song gives is undeniable; the words are on the lips of everyone there.

High, wide shot of a packed arena with a small center stage surrounded by the crowd, as bright white beams cut through haze and cast rippling, curtain-like light patterns across sections of the audience.
Nine Inch Nails light up the center stage as rippling, curtain-like beams pattern the crowd.
Audience photo by: Katherine Amy Vega

“Parasite” (2010), originally by How To Destroy Angels (a band featuring Reznor and his wife Mariqueen Maandig Reznor) poured fresh green lights and fog down the room. The projections return with close-ups of Reznor, where I note a link chain around his neck I hadn’t noticed before. In this song, Trent Reznor’s vocals have a more digitized effect than in previous songs in the set.

Nine Inch Nails bathe the arena in red as sharp white beams cut through the haze over the center stage.
Audience photo by: Katherine Amy Vega

 “As Alive As You Need Me To Be” (2025), off the newest album TRON Ares: Divergence (a 24-track soundtrack for a movie of the same name) plays with coordinating white and red flashing lighting. The full band returns to play “Mr. Self Destruct” (1994) with the entire stage flashing, energy peaking — a song they had played so many times before, and it shows only with the smoothness of their performance. It is practiced to perfection.

Wide arena view after the sheer curtain lifts, with the full band visible through heavy haze and bright stage lights, while a large silhouette projection looms on a side curtain and the crowd cheers at the front rail.
Nine Inch Nails surge into the open stage as the curtains lift, flooding the room with light, haze, and towering silhouettes.
Audience photo by: Ali Crimson

“Less Than” (2017) raises the sheer curtains that provided the veiled cover for the entire show, signaling that it is one of the final three songs of the evening. This is the one and only time I believe Reznor plays a tambourine the entire show, which I did not expect.

“Head Like a Hole,” “Hurt,” and an unexpected interruption

The closing songs for the evening are fan favorites “Head Like A Hole” (1989), off Pretty Hate Machine, and “Hurt” (1994) from The Downward Spiral. “Head Like A Hole” is one of the most recognizable songs of the band’s extensive catalog, inspiring dozens of covers over the decades. 

Nine Inch Nails blast through a bright, blue-lit moment as Trent Reznor raises a hand to the crowd at Staples Center in 2013.
Photography: Al Pavangkanan (CC BY 2.0), via Wikimedia Commons

At the beginning of “Hurt”, a fight broke out in front of the stage. As it was yet to be broken up, Reznor stopped the song and spoke directly to the people saying, “Hey we’re not here for this shit man, hey HEY!! There’s enough bullshit happening out there, we don’t need it happening in the fuck here.” He turned, awaiting the resolution of the problem before continuing the performance after his very Dad-like scolding. 

Wide stage view with the band performing amid thick fog, diagonal light beams cutting across a wall of small lights, and a packed audience filling the foreground.
Nine Inch Nails push the full-band set into a haze of diagonal beams and drifting smoke as the crowd surges at the front.
Audience photo by: Ali Crimson

“Hurt” closed the show, giving us a finale of Reznor’s emotive lyrics and vocals to send us off into the night. There was no encore, and one wasn’t needed.

High-angle view of the arena after the concert, with the NIN logo projected on large hanging curtains as the crowd gathers and begins to clear the floor under hazy yellow light.
Nine Inch Nails leave the arena glowing as the NIN logo lingers on the curtains after the show.
Audience photo by: Katherine Amy Vega

Peeling back the decades

You would think this performance would be one of simple nostalgia, but the music felt as fresh as when I listened to each release by NIN throughout the decades. The professionalism of this show was unmatched, smoothly transitioning between stages like the members had teleportation powers. The industrial music coursed through my veins with a unique awakening, the memorized words flowing from my tongue. The Peel It Back tour is an apt title, as this set list peels back the layers of years, and it is new again.

Concerts, Media, Reviews

REVIEW: Purity Ring & yuniVERSE Lead Phoenix Into a Night Suspended Between Worlds (11-10-25)

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PHOENIX — Purity Ring’s fall 2025 “place of my own” tour came to The Van Buren, with yuniVERSE as the sole opener on her first tour. The beautifully historic, repurposed downtown venue set the stage for an evening the band had described in their July Substack tour announcement as “three-dimensional… expansive but intimate,” and the night delivered as promised.

yuniVERSE

The venue’s stage at first was strange to look at, one half covered in human-sized flowers and the other looking like metal stars or fans. I waited in the rapidly filling room with no idea of what to expect. When the lights faded, people abandoned the bars and the winding merch line spilling into the main room as the attention turned to a new performer on her first tour, yuniVERSE.

Singer kneels at the edge of the stage, singing into a microphone in front of towering pink paper flowers during yuniVERSE's set at The Van Buren in Phoenix, Arizona.
yuniVERSE draws closer to the crowd at The Van Buren in Phoenix, kneeling at the edge of the stage as glowing pink blossoms tower behind.
Photography: Katherine Amy Vega © All Rights Reserved

Even though she only used a portion of the stage, she invited us into the jewel-lit garden of her design, where she shared her intimate confessions through emotive electric pop. yuniVERSE weaves through each song like a layer within a dream, her hair gently blowing as she captivates the audience with her presence and movements. Her performance feels like a journey into her private world as she navigates through love and life. She continued to captivate the room completely, her sensual, charismatic movements paired with the softness of her vocals as she sang behind the mask she wore in unity with Purity Ring’s request for community care.

yuniVERSE performs at The Van Buren in Phoenix, stretched out across a stage monitor with her hair flying and giant paper flowers glowing behind her.
yuniVERSE leans into the mic while sprawled across a stage monitor, hair flying as she delivers an intense, theatrical moment in her set.
Photography:Katherine Amy Vega © All Rights Reserved

yuniVERSE said she wished this tour were longer because she wasn’t ready for it to end yet, and I can imagine I’m not the only one who felt the same. She playfully joked, “I know you’re here for Purity Ring, but together, we’ll keep it a secret that you’re actually here for me, okay?” giving a little laugh before closing out her set and leaving the stage for the headliner, Purity Ring.

Purity Ring

The room settled as the stage shifted from yuniVERSE’s dreamlike garden into the darker, more mysterious world crafted by Purity Ring. Corin Roddick stood alone at first, lighting up sections of the stage with his touch while the star-shaped fans began to spin, projecting red light that looked like sparks spraying across the dark.

Corin Roddick of Purity Ring performs in a mask behind an illuminated console as red fan-like visuals surround him on stage in Phoenix.

Purity Ring producer Corin Roddick performs behind an illuminated console amid vivid red stage visuals at The Van Buren in Phoenix. Photography: Katherine Amy Vega © All Rights Reserved

Megan James appeared a moment later, illuminated by a soft golden glow on her face in the sea of black around her.

Megan James of Purity Ring sings into a microphone while wrapped in a voluminous dark coat and white mask, scattered red LED streaks cutting across her in the otherwise dark stage at The Van Buren in Phoenix.
Purity Ring vocalist Megan James performs wrapped in a sculptural dark coat as red light streaks slice through the darkness.
Photography: Katherine Amy Vega © All Rights Reserved

With each song, the room shifted through new worlds and galaxies.

Purity Ring producer Corin Roddick silhouetted at his console as blue galaxy-like visuals and sparkling light particles swirl across the stage.
Purity Ring producer Corin Roddick is silhouetted at his console as swirling blue visuals and scattered points of light turn the stage into its own small galaxy.
Photography: Katherine Amy Vega © All Rights Reserved

During “Many Lives,” the lights flickered and danced like floating embers. “Obedear” pulled us into caverns and stars, with what looked like fireflies curling upward like smoke. “Soshy” arrived with bright, breathy vocals and pounding bass, blue lights sparkling before shifting into sharp red flashes deeper into the song.

Megan James of Purity Ring sits cross-legged onstage, masked and dressed in black, singing into a handheld mic as cool blue and white light streaks fall in the background.
Purity Ring vocalist Megan James performs seated and masked, framed by cascading blue and white light patterns that spill across the backdrop. Photography: Katherine Amy Vega © All Rights Reserved

James took a moment to thank the people in the crowd who wore the masks the band provided for everyone’s health. She appreciated the contribution to community care and valued taking care of each other. As she gushed while thanking yuniVERSE, she admitted she was rambling before continuing the set. It was clear the two acts genuinely appreciated their time together. This became even more apparent after noticing Roddick’s contributions to at least three of yuniVERSE’s tracks (“FALL 4 U,” “18 nite texts,” and “wasted”).

ALT: Megan James of Purity Ring, masked and dressed in black, leans sideways into the mic as vivid red light patterns radiate behind her, with Corin Roddick faintly visible at the console below.
Purity Ring vocalist Megan James leans into the mic in front of spinning fan visuals while Corin Roddick works at the console below, both immersed in neon red light.
Photography: Katherine Amy Vega © All Rights Reserved

Our journey resumed as holographic leaves of blue, green, and red light appeared and danced around the stage, swirling toward the crowd as the room stayed completely locked in the performance.

Purity Ring perform in silhouette as bright holographic leaf shapes burst from a giant blue seascape screen, drifting toward the crowd in the foreground.
Purity Ring perform in silhouette while shimmering leaf-shaped projections explode from a seascape backdrop and drift toward the crowd. Photography: Katherine Amy Vega © All Rights Reserved

As the surreal landscape of each song immersed everyone further into the themes, the night kept expanding into something otherworldly.

Megan James of Purity Ring sings into the microphone with her arm extended as streaks of golden light spin around her against a vivid orange backdrop.
Purity Ring vocalist Megan James sings with her arm outstretched while spinning bands of golden light radiate behind her. Photography: Katherine Amy Vega © All Rights Reserved

The final song, “Begin Again,” brought everything together. Galaxy patterns pulsed behind the band, and the twinkling vocals reached out with swirls of light bursting like magic. The fans met the band’s energy as they sang along during the quiet pauses. As we traveled back to reality with this song, and as the band thanked Phoenix to end the night, cheers of fanfare erupted and filled the room with adoration as we exited the enchanted world of Purity Ring.

Photo Galleries

Photographer: Katherine Amy Vega

View Extended Galleries for Each Artist:

Purity Ring

yuniVERSE

Purity Ring & yuniVERSE – The Van Buren 11-10-25

Photography © Katherine Amy Vega, Kataklizmic Design
All Rights Reserved.

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Missing Concerts? So Are We!

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Missing Concerts? So Are We!

Covid has cancelled all of the tours that our concert photographers were set to shoot. Any support you can offer to help offset our loss of income stream during this unprecedented time is truly appreciated by our talent staff of photographers and journalists. Consider contributing to our Patreon account so that we “Get Back To Where We Once Belonged!”

(Pictured: One of our team photographers- Mark Greenawalt – who has been able to have dreams come true over and over with the opportunity to shoot all of his favorite classic rock artists for Burning Hot Events – including the legendary Sir Paul McCartney!)