Yacht Bring Avant-Garde Show to CMJ

Can you get an indie audience to dance in bowling shoes? Based on Yacht's performance Thursday night during the CMJ Music Marathon, the answer is a resounding yes. The electro duo was the featured performers at DFA Records' showcase at New York's Brooklyn Bowl. With supporting DJ sets by Special Disco Version (James Murphy and Patrick Mahoney of LCD Soundsystem), Still Going and Holy Ghost, the CMJ event drew a block-long line outside its doors and helped raise funds for KEXP radio.

Yacht introduced themselves as the stepchildren of DFA and immediately filled the industrial alley with their brand of avant-pop. The pair romped across the stage in front of large black-and-white video projections and Jona Bechtolt and Claire Evans stylishly matched their surroundings in a white tuxedo and a body-skimming black dress, respectively. Yacht resembled an art project gone rogue with their bold antics and during the course of the night, the musicians led a series of playful chants (from "I believe in love" to "I will not repeat after others.")

The showcase was highly interactive, with Bechtolt hopping off the stage to rouse the already hyped-up crowd. The highlight of the set came when Evans crowd-surfed while singing into her white microphone. Once the extension cord reached its limit, however, the audience promptly carried her back to the podium where she finished off the raucous set.