Electro house musician and producer Steve Aoki most likely made history at the SVP Stadium, NSCI during an incredibly energetic show at the EVC Launch Party, last Saturday. Mumbai was lucky enough to be ย part of the celebrations as it was also Aokiโs birthday.
This wasnโt just another gig with an international DJ coming over, taking on the console & getting the crowd to party hard. This was Steve Aokiโs birthday! The vibe could be felt as he turned SVP stadium into a huge party pad. Aoki’s intensity was on display all night; he not only used the raft as a prop, but also threw 6 birthday cakes into the crowd, sprayed the first couple rows with champagne and stood on top of his DJ booth tossing bottles of water.
The Setup:
There was a curtain hanging behind the DJ which at first looked pretty amateurish but who knew itโs purpose right till the time Steve Aoki took over. The graphics were simply stunning with these flower shaped LEDs hanging by the ceiling that enhanced the graphical display. Although there were moments right where the display disappeared or there would be a grainy display reminding us of the old times when only TVs would only be functional on a cable connection. Coming to the sound, it couldโve been better. The bass was slightly on the higher side but overall the sound got the crowd going.
The food & beverage counters were outside which we felt was a very smart move. It simply led to less garbage & more floor to dance on. The counters were evenly placed on both sides of the gates to avoid any sort of commotion.ย The bars didnโt have long queues. What was a delight to watch was people rushing to the bar, picking their drink & rushing back to the stadium.
The show:
As the crowd kept pouring in numbers in this huge air conditioned stadium, it was Aditya Wanwari who got the launch party kicking. He played some nice tunes with one of them being a mash up of Rattle by Bingo Players & the โHappy Birthdayโ tune. He set the right mood for Lost Stories & Anish Sood who doing what they do best brought out the energy in the crowd.
The duo started their set with a unique track something that every wrestler fan wouldโve definitely enjoyed. It was Undertakerโs โRest In Peaceโ that was given the โEDMโ touch that marked the start of their set. They made sure that the crowd got into a rage mode by playing tracks like Kick out the epic motherf****r by Dada Life, Never say goodbye by Hardwell & many such energetic tracks. The visuals were something to look at as well with Rishi Kapoor showing his famous dance moves on the screen. If that wasn’t enough, there were also visuals of ย a family riding on a bullock cart on train tracks.
The curtains had a crazy projection of Aoki playing & everyone went mental knowing who it would be just moments before Steve Aoki took stage. When it ย happened, the curtains dropped & suddenly the stage seemed a lot bigger and grand. Everyone was screaming their lungs out as you could see Steve Aoki on the console.
With his entrance, the vibe of the entire stadium was amplified. The rage levels had hit its peak with Aoki playing some mad tunes. He dropped most of his popular and ย massive tracks like Boneless, Warp 1.9, Bring you to life, Ladi dadi & many more. There was not a single moment where it seemed like there was a drag or anything of that sort. Aoki made sure that the crowd was on their feet at every moment.
As the gig went on, people were eagerly waiting for his signature move. Yes, the cake toss! The crowd had flooded the front section with banners saying โCake meโ. Steve, humble by nature made sure their wishes came true. Soon the 1st cake was out! The crowd went bonkers seeing the cake, Aoki made sure that the cake was tossed at the moment of the drop.
And so it happened! As soon as the first cake was dropped the crowd went nuts! Rumors had it that 8 cakes were gonna be catapulted! That information wasn’t completely incorrect as Aoki threw 6 cakes at the crowd!
It wasn’t just the cakes but also the messages that Aoki had like ‘Mumbai! I am honored to celebrate my birthday with you guys.’ or ‘ Hello Mumbai! I got a brand new track for you tonight! He released his new track with Afrojack which is called ‘Afroki’.
And while everyone was busy dancing & having a blast the confetti popped up out of nowhere & that did leave a puzzled expression on everyone’s face. Mumbai definitely didn’t want the party to end & so Aoki got back on stage to play one last track!
Aoki’s energetic music combined with his on stage madness was one of the reasons Mumbai experienced one of the best parties.
(Images Courtesy : EVC)