YACHT & Guests @ Lee's Palace - CONCERT EVENT REVIEW

Lee’s Palace on Bloor Street West has a dark and dingy interior that is quite the opposite of its graffiti-art inspired veneer. Dance Cave, the indie/alternative club is the place to go on most Saturday while its live music area has hosted more eclectic acts in North America. This area is poorly lit with sparse redness lending it a touch of the forbidden. 

Upon entering the venue last night, I was struck by the sweat soaked air inside as a handful watched Jeff Brodsky aka Jeffrey Jerusalem go through his lo-fi bedroom disco repertoire. This is what happens when nerds make music, I brooded (silently relieved that stereotypical notions of craftsmanship and performance had long been erased). Brodsky would return later that night to take up drumming duties for the main attraction, Yacht. Brodsky’s oeuvre includes the mandatory samplers and drum machines but is supplemented by a whirling dervish of percussion, falsetto and Napolean Dynamite-like dance moves aided by his flashing tambourine. It was a quirky show that at least deserved a bigger audience.

I was silently waiting for Brooklyn duo Light Asylum’s performance primarily because of the Depeche Mode-like track, “Dark Allies”. They did not disappoint. Shannon Funchess’ voice is unique, dark and powerful at once soaring to extra planetary heights and permeating every sinew as she simultaneously beats on electric drums. Bruno Coviello’s 1980s New Wave inspired synth melodies perfectly complement Funchess’ vocals and while the Depeche Mode comparison are not entirely unwarranted, they do have the potential to fill the void left by the break up of their Brooklyn counterparts, LCD Soundsystem. By the end of Light Asylum’s act, the crowd had increased significantly and the dance floor/miniature wooden mosh pit was buzzing with energy (credit to this should go to a dancing youth who never stopped gyrating from start to finish). 

When Portland’s Yacht took to the stage, I was instantly struck  by the front woman, Claire L. Evans and their newest member, a bonafide female Buddy Holly, Katy Davidson (ex- Dear Nora member and now of the Key Losers). 

Electronic auteur and certified Pitchfork.com genius, Jona Bechtolt’s multi-instrumentalist capabilities were on full display as while the rest of the band also shared synthesizer duties. 

However, the real star of last night’s electronic celebration was Evans. Decked in all white she strutted the stage like a shaman, perched herself on speakers, prowled cat-like around on top of the side and delivered evangelical forces mock-faith healings to ecstatic audience members. This was showmanship at its most potent and spiritual!

Check out the bands here: 

Jeffrey Jerusalem

Light Asylum

Yacht