I live in a fairly small city, where shows that I'm interested in are generally few and far between. So I can't help but express a bit of jealousy when a live act like Metric plays shows on four consecutive nights at Toronto's Mod Club. Admittedly, I was in Ontario's capital over the weekend and caught the first of Metric's four shows on Friday night. And fortunately, they're making a stop in my London (no, not that London) next Friday. Still, I can only imagine what it'd be like to attend Metric shows on four straight nights, if I had the time, the money, and the means of getting there.

I put some more thought into it though, and wondered if a weekend run like that would live up to my expectations. Are live shows, like movies and books, something better enjoyed in moderation, rather than night after night? Are my infrequent concert outings a blessing in disguise rather than another downside to living where I do? Having never experienced the alternative, I can't really say. But I do know that after leaving the Mod Club at 1:30 am early Saturday morning, my feet and back were feeling the effects of having been standing up, surrounded by hundreds of fellow Metric fans, for the previous four hours. If overexposure to the music wasn't a problem, the physically taxing aspect of attending shows every night might catch up to me quicker than I'd like to think.

Of course, I might be more torn over the issue of whether or not concert-going familiarity really does breed contempt if I was discussing a different band. Let's be honest: I don't think I'd ever get sick of seeing Emily Haines perform.