Who doesn’t love Steve Aoki? He produces rad music, stages dives and crowd-surfs, looks like a Japanese Jesus and cakes people in the face (which, rest assured, is not a sexual euphemism). Literally, he throws cake at your face. He’s kind with his fans and he knows how to interact with the crowd and get them riled up, a crucial talent to have for a successful DJ. Bottom line is that every show with Mr. Aoki becomes a giant party – he has the talent of turning any night of the week into a memorable rager. It’s simple mathematics really:
X night of the week + Steve Aoki = rager
Ah yes. Addition. But let’s say that you want something more in addition to that (sorry). How about this?:
Thursday Night + Halloween + Post-Red-Sox-Won-The-World-Series-At-Home-Syndrome + Dirtyphonics x Borgore x Waka Flocka + Steve Aoki = ?!
And you sit there, mouth agape, wondering what all that might equal to. Well, it equals this:
By now I should insert a warning: If you’re reading this page and you suffer from any type of jealousy disorder avert your eyes and click the little “x” at the top-right or left of your browser. We really don’t want a relapse. Or maybe we do. Bottom line is you should be jealous, because Steve Aoki and his Aokify America Tour Crew gave Boston one of the most memorable Halloween shows ever, one that will be hard to top in the years to come.
Kicking off the night were Dirtyphonics, a dubstep group hailing from Paris, France. Signed to Dim Mak Records (Steve Aoki’s label), they are no strangers to electronic music, having collaborated with huge artists such as Benny Benassi, NERO, and Skrillex. With multiple releases on some of the most prestigious dance-music labels out there such as Mau5trap and Ultra Records under their belts, Dirtyphonics knows what it takes to rock a crowd, which they surely did through their nice, continuous flow of bass music and gritty electro grime.
The end of the Frenchmen’s set welcomed Mr. BowBow, or Waka Flocka as he is more commonly known, on stage. At this point everyone in the crowd pushed towards the front, screaming so loud that they drowned out his lyrical-genius flow of “FLOCKA!” over and over again. Despite his somewhat intimidating appearance, Mr. BowBow is actually a pretty down to earth guy, and he interacted with his fans more-so than any other artist of the night. He stood up to the gate and took upwards of a million selfies with various fans, high-fiving them and then moving into the crowd. Its always nice to see a high-profile artist giving back to their fans, and for the duration of Waka Flocka’s set, the majority of the crowd had the opportunity to rage with him, taking pictures and jumping with the ex-Bricksquad phenom. Everybody bounced to songs such as Hard in the Paint and No Hands, a collaboration with Roscoe Dash which got everybody moving. He even announced a twerk competition on stage, which of course drew more screams from all the ladies, and for a good ten minutes all of House of Blues was gifted with the sight of scantily-clad girls shaking their rump-um-pum-pums on stage. It was nice to see Waka Flocka advocating the enjoyment of music with a healthy gluteal workout, a treat for the eyes and the ears.
Next up was Borgore, an Israeli dubstep and electro producer who has a knack for delivering absolutely nasty sets, which rest assured, is a valid reputation. Having releases on Spinnin’ and Dim Mak Records, Borgore has collaborated with and remixed artists such as Cedric Gervais, Passion Pit, LMFAO, and Metallica. His fusion-sound of rock and heavy metal with electro is a recipe for massive hits, many of which he released upon the crowd Halloween night. He absolutely killed his time slot, rocking the sound system with tracks such as Dillon Francis’ Rebirth of Bootleg Fireworks, and Incredible, a collaboration with DJ Carnage. During his set he had two very lovely pole dancers on stage with him, and every so often the crowd’s eyes would drift to the sides of the stage and be mesmerized by their seductive, fluid movements against the hard-hitting beats. Borgore brought Waka Flocka back on stage with him, much to the enjoyment and roar of approval from the crowd, as together they performed Wild Out, a recent collaboration with Flocka and Paige released on Dim Mak Records. Borgore threw down a ridiculous set, and by the time the lights dimmed and he left the stage, the whole crowd buzzed as they knew who was next.
It’s difficult to describe the reaction of the crowd when Steve Aoki’s head popped on stage, simply because it was so surreal. There is literally no combination of words to describe it. The entire venue shook with applause, whistles, and cheers as the Dim Mak boss cued up his first track of what was promising to be a fantastic headlining set. The visuals for his DJ booth were amazing, and at the top of the stage his last name was spelled out in giant LED letters that lit up and flashed in sync with the beat. Accompanied by two Kryomen, plenty of cake and an arsenal of monster tracks, the 8th-ranked best DJ in the world lit up House of Blues with an energy unlike never before. Each track smashed more than the previous hit, and soon enough the GA floor became a mosh pit of jumping, swaying bodies.
Aoki played hit after hit, some highlights including the George Acosta remix of “Behind You” by Garmiani, “No Beef”, Steve’s collaboration with Afrojack, a mashup of the Tommy Trash remix of “Ladi Dadi” with “Reload” by Tommy Trash and Sebastian Ingrosso, and Boneless, a recent collaboration with Tujamo and Chris Lake that had everyone jumping. In between songs Mr. Aoki would descend from his DJ booth with a cake in hand, pointing to various people in the crowd to get caked. At this point in time, it is important to mention that getting caked by Steve Aoki at a show is an honor, kind of like getting Knighted by the Queen of England. Everybody was raising their hands in the hopes the the Dim Mak boss would notice them and pull them on stage to pummel their face with the tasty baked good, and for the few lucky ones that did receive such a treat, I’m sure it will be a perfect bed-time story to tell to their kids.
Steve’s show literally had it all: cakes, twerking, crowd surfing on giant rubber boats, foam being shot into the crowd, and even a signature stage dive from Aoki from the second-floor balcony onto a giant mattress. Everyone sang along to his recent collaboration with Linkin Park called “A Light That Never Comes” as well as his classic dance-anthem remix of “Pursuit of Happiness” by Kid Cudi, a track used for the soundtrack of the popular party movie Project X. Steve’s show was absolutely insane, an example of what every Halloween party should look like.
If you were unfortunately unable to make it to see Steve performance, it is strongly recommended that you go to one of his future shows. They are unforgettable. Whatever you do, make an effort to see him live, he’s that good. And in the sad case that you don’t have the cash for a ticket, well, be creative. Go stalk him (apparently he lives somewhere in LA). Trust me, it’ll be worth it.