yoav and tori

last night my wife and i went to see tori amos perform. the tickets had been expensive, but she is a huge fan, so i didn't mind. i have come to appreciate tori in my own way, so i was eager to go as well. what i was wholly unaware of was the opening act - yoav. it had been so long since i had been to see live music performed that i had almost forgotten about opening acts. he walked on stage and took his place, front and center behind a large array of pedals. he had only an acoustic guitar. he didn't say anything. he tapped one of the pedals and started banging a beat out on the body of his acoustic. he stopped, but the beat kept going, looping - he had sampled himself and was laying a track to sing on top of. i couldn't believe it, and looked to see if my wife was appreciating this. she, of course, was. he laid a few more sounds down. one track was a rhythm, supplemental to the original beat. another was a bodiless wail sung into the opening of his guitar, for atmosphere. finally, yoav began singing. he did not disappoint.

yoav's lyrics are a hopeful yet melancholic complement to his driving, etheric music. at times it reminded me of the very best of club music, a pounding challenge to get up and dance, to move. and it all came out of a guitar.

after playing two or three songs without comment he stopped to introduce himself. yoav was born an israeli, grew up in south africa, and has lived in london amongst many other places. his accent is beautiful, but difficult to understand at times, so i think that i can say that no one in the entire theatre understood what his name was until they saw it on the ep that twenty percent rushed out to buy at intermission.

i was among the twenty percent, as i was smitten. i had sort of taken my time getting down to buy it, and by the time i did the line was absurd. whatever, i thought, i'm only missing boring intermission musical fare. as i was standing in line, yoav came out. he seemed to be looking for someone or something, and i kept staring hardcore at him, as he is beautiful in a very rough way. i felt a kinship with him, but was powerless to speak. i was still shut up in myself that night.

i felt, in particular, that he embodied the sort of soul that i have been called to throughout my life. the sort of person who defies social norms and customs in favor of higher flavor and existence. a richness of character is present in these folk, and i have only met a few my age. i had ceased to consider myself a part of this, though, and felt only shame at looking at him. shame for not having done something so wonderful with myself. i am realizing that i am still quite young.

seeing this man perform, and then his presence in the lobby was yet another milestone in my unfolding. today, i took one giant leap further.