Last Night: YACHT at the Independent

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Yacht
May 28, 2010
The Independent

Better than: The final fight scene in Road House.

As The Independent buzzes with pre-show energy, I wonder if the rumors about Yacht are true. Will there be PowerPoint? Audience Q&A sessions? How about guided meditation? Did Jona Bechtolt, former member of The Blow, really turn his relatively underdeveloped solo project into a fully realized, multi-dimensional experience? (The answer to all these questions is "yes", but I don't know it yet.)

I overhear fans reliving memories of Yacht's early shows and wondering how tonight's performance might take form. This curiosity makes sense for those who have fresh memories of Yacht pre-Claire L. Evans. Evans performed on Yacht's 2007 release, I Believe In You, Your Magic Is Real, but didn't officially partner with Bechtolt until the recent, See Mystery Lights album. After Evans joined, critics praised the band's unique vision and sound, built on electronica jams, live drums, and post-punk guitar sounds, with a healthy dose of synthy beats.

Evans and Bechtolt in front of the merch table pre-show.

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I notice Bechtolt and Evans at the merch table talking to fans. With two cups of liquid courage in me, I introduce myself. Bechtolt is disarmingly warm and friendly. He introduces himself in return and I ask for a photo. "Groovy!" Evans says, and without a word to each other, the pair sync into identical poses, staring directly at me like two beautiful and intimidating, androgynous creatures.

When YACHT takes the stage, I realize everything I've heard about the band is true. Each detail of their visual presentation is thoughtful and dynamic. Bechtolt wears a white suit. Evans wears all black. He is light, she is dark. They are ying and yang; good and evil; black and white. Members of the opening band, Bobby Birdman, wear tuxedos and round out the band on guitar and drums. There is synchronized crowd-waving, PowerPoint, and audience Q&A, and the electric-pop duo is commanding and charismatic the entire time. They have us under their influence and they know it. Halfway through the set, Bechtolt jumps down from the stage and makes his way through the crowd to the middle. He announces we're going to begin a "guided meditation". Hey, why not? We all get down on one knee (Bechtolt included) repeating the words he's shouting to us through the mic.

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"The world may end in my lifetime. / But my energy will continue. / I will not waste my money. / And I sure as fuck will not waste my motherfucking time! / I will love. / I shan't attack."

The stickiness of The Independent's floor is seeping through the fabric of my tights, and a stranger has literally placed her ass on my resting knee to keep her own balance, but in this moment I don't care. The whole thing is too weird and incredible, and I'm screaming the words happily like everyone around me.

The remainder of the show keeps this same unbelievably wild energy. We jump and sing along in as YACHT tears into their hits, "Summer Song" and "The Afterlife"; the culmination being "Psychic City", a perfect party song that inspires the entire audience to jump up and down in unison. Other notable highlights occur during the encore. Bechtolt treats us to an acoustic cover of Burn and Rob, by folk artist Paleface. Burn and Rob is the story of a man who buys a rock n' roll album and then proceeds to lose his mind in a downward spiral of death and destruction. The audience howls in approval. For their last song, "Waste of Time," Evans' politely demands from the us, "let's collectively lose our shit right now." We happily agree. As the show closes, Bechtolt reflects on YACHT's history at The Independent. "This night has been fucking awesome, a night of redemption," he says. "The first night we played here...was fucking terrible." I doubt it, but either way, YACHT certainly knows how to put on a show now.

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Critic's Notebook

Random fact: When asked during the show what his spirit animal is, Bechtolt replied, "a domestic housecat." A different person asked Evans what her favorite color is and she said, "black, because it contains all other colors."

One more time: YACHT plays for free tonight at Amoeba.