Blink and you’ll miss it. That’s the comment you may have overheard when a man wearing a metallic red suit and a bag over his head mounted his bicycle in front of The Rockwell on Saturday afternoon.
That man was Andrew Yakoobian, better known as Uncle Yak, a Somerville-based magician attempting his blindfolded bicycle ride. “I don’t know if anyone’s ever attempted it,” Uncle Yak said.
The magician said his ride was to promote both “Uncle Yak and his Magic Comeback,” new appearances he will make after “fifteen years of regular life,” as part of next month’s Boston Fringe Festival.
“An experiment in collective belief, performance art, eco-friendly transportation, and cardiovascular exercise,” he called it in a release. It was more endearing than skillful, and more comedic than magical, with the “performance” lasting mere seconds for most bystanders as Uncle Yak rode past them.
He began his adventure in front of The Rockwell, the 150-seat theater in Davis Square made a wobbly left on Grove Street, another precarious turn onto Highland Avenue, before completing his daring 0.3-mile loop back in front of the theatre.
He perhaps miraculously avoided the pedestrians that crossed his path, and the ambulance that cut him off just before the start of his performance. Or perhaps it was something else. “We’re a little suspicious of the blindfold,” said a few onlookers enjoying happy hour at The Burren, the Irish pub next to The Rockwell.
A couple of the Burren enthusiasts were visiting Somerville for the first time, and it’s safe to say they got to experience the city’s affinity for the quirky arts.
“Somerville is particularly friendly to independent arts,” said Brian Agosta, a representative for Uncle Yak and a local performer himself, about why Davis Square lends itself to performances like Uncle Yak’s bike ride adventure.
Uncle Yak had more pragmatic reasons for the location: “Compared to other areas to ride a bike blindfolded, I think it’s fairly safe, and it’s a circle. I would not do this in Harvard Square.”
Uncle Yak will be one of the eccentric magic acts at The Rockwell during the Boston Fringe Festival, Monday May 11 to Sunday May 17. In total, the festival will feature 40 “uncurated” acts of “free expression,” said Deby Xiadani, co-founder of the Fringe Festival and The Rockwell’s artistic director.
The festival gives a space to artists on the fringe and fits in with Davis Square’s “artist-forward” culture, Xiadani said. If you missed Uncle Yak’s ride, you can purchase a $15 ticket for each show or a festival pass for $75, the proceeds of which go entirely to the exhibiting artists.
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