On January 15, dace-pop trio YACHT took the stage in front of an uncharacteristically enthusiastic crowd of Monday-nighters at The Great Scott in Boston, MA. The show began with an ominous tome from a synthesizer and a short recorded monologue before lead singer Claire L. Evans shot across the stage and smashed any early expectations of a quiet evening to pieces.
However, before YACHT got down with everybody, local R&B man Ed Balloon and his band got the small bar up to speed with a buoyant and athletic performance. Before his final number, Ed taught the audience some crowd harmonies, “she’ll be poppin’ it, poppin’ it,” that got most everyone moving and singing along.
YACHT’s opening number of the evening, “Night Crawler,” was a distinctive and undulating track that seemed to also be a crowd favorite. The track had danceability, but it had clear punk roots, especially sung in Claire’s sassy and dramatic vocals. With the second track, “Trap Karaoke,” Claire took a step down from the stage to join the crowd on their level and even offered the microphone to some of the hardcore fans who were singing along with every word.
The rest of YACHT’s performance bounded up and down with strong synth leads, consistent four to the floor beats and a powerful vocal performance from Claire. Jona Becholt, the groups founder, spent most of his time behind the synthesizer and trigger pads with Rob Kieswetter, but he made the occasional dive to the front with a microphone in hand to back up Claire. At times the songs blended together, but overall, there was a a consistent ebb and flow to the performance.
What the music lacked in variability, Claire made up for with her wild performance, theatrics with the band, and her powerful comments including calls of, “Femininity is a a prison and we all know it!” and “The apocalypse is coming, it’s not a question of if at this point, it’s only a question of when!” to which the crowd shouted back their approval. The show proved to be a point of true levity for the fans to begin their weeks with.
Comments are closed.