Toronto – It’s been two years since Yacht put on an epic performance at the Wrongbar. Sold out and buzzing with energy, the Portland duo put on a fantastic show featuring above all else, a prayer circle to expell the crowd of all evils. Yacht’s return to Toronto on Monday just happen to coincide with this little event called the federal election and produced a decidedly smaller crowd at Lee’s Palace, but that did not deter the group from putting on a stellar show. They were in town to preview their new record, Shangri-La off DFA Records
Dressed once again in contrasting black and white outfits, Jona Bechtolt and Claire Evans rocked the stage on Monday night with a mixture of new material with songs off their hit album See Mystery Lights. Barefooted and dressed in a white dress, the wiry Claire was a mesmerizing force on stage – she danced, she sang, she climbed things and during parts of the song The Afterlife, went into the crowd and started tapping people on the head. As my friend put it “if I was in a band, I would be like her … just. do whatever I want on stage!” I was quite surprise with Jona’s decision to remain in the background for most if the set, content with playing synthesizer, guitar and providing the vocals when needed. Last time I saw them there seemed to be a lot more vocal interplay between the pair.
The new tracks blended nicely with the older material, which follows the classic formula of dance worthy beats and upbeat lyrics that eventually lead to singalongs. The disco-esque new single Dystopia (The Earth Is on Fire) got a great reaction and as usual the single Psychic City got the crowd singing. It’s impossible to not want to dance a bit when they are on stage. The energy and positive energy they radiate is infectious and the people who were at Lees ate it up. Let’s hope there’s a few more people here next time they roll into town.
Yacht – Dystopia by theQuietus