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This past weeks Metrojolt made its way to the House of Blues in Boston and Aargon Ballroom in Chicago to see Steve Aoki and Datsik’s Deadmeat Tour. I had seen Datsik a couple of times in San Francisco and I caught the last 30 minutes of Steve Aoki’s set at EDC last year, which was just enough time for me to see him dump a bucket of water onto the poor saps in the front of the crowd. Needless to say, I was pretty excited to see him again. However, what I ended up seeing wasn’t really a concert. Instead, I found myself among a rowdy crowd of belligerently drunk fans all watching and praising the artists for consuming mass amounts of alcohol on stage and crowd-surfing on giant mattresses. It was awesome. Later, champagne would find its way onto the drunk fans as they screamed and shouted their approval and their love for Steve Aoki’s antics. But, before we get to the entertainment of the rockstar that IS Steve Aoki, first up was Datsik.
Datsik is definitely more into the art of DJing than Steve Aoki. His skill in mixing is admirable and impressive for a mainstream Dubstep DJ. What sets him apart from the other DJs is his variety of music. House, funky Hip-Hop and grimy Dubstep all came together in Datsik’s set to create a fluid, interesting, and exciting show. Songs ranging from Hip-Hop by Dead Prez, Internet Friends by Knife Party, Ante Up by M.O.P, Reptile by Skrillex, Paper Planes by M.I.A and Bass Head by Bassnectar made up a small portion of Datsik’s set, but you get the picture. He started off with Levels by Avicii which made every teenage raver love him just a bit more. The man can mix any genre and he has no trouble changing up the mood for the crowd. In fact, I think he must enjoy changing the mood because the response from the crowd was a drunk roar of approval every single time.
When Datsik got on stage there must have been an influx of people strolling into the House of Blues. I swear every minute that I turned around there would be someone begging another person for some type of drug, whether that was mollie, ecstasy or something else. I guess when you’re up on stage guzzling beer and dumping it on the crowd, people are gonna want some drugs to be on your level.
The great part about Datsik is how his personality shows through in his performances. Not only is he a crazy DJ, he’s also a pretty funny character. When he crowd dived, I remember someone stealing his hat and Datsik wanted his hat back so badly that he stopped playing his set. Usually, I hate it when DJs stop their sets but something about when Datsik did it had me laughing so hard that it didn’t matter. I think my favorite part of his set was when the phone in the song Internet Friends started ringing and he picked up his own phone. He then pretended to talk to someone on the other end saying, “You blocked me on Facebook, and now you are going to die”. People who had never heard Internet Friends went absolutely wild when they noticed the trick he had played on them. Of course, Datsik simply smiled and laughed a bit at his successful ploy, and continued mixing.
About midway through Datsik’s set the rockstar himself, Steve Aoki, came out onto the stage and danced around a bit. Everyone in the crowd acted like they had seen a god as they shouted “Steve Aoki!” at the top of their lungs. Girls went nuts. Then, Steve Aoki left the stage, probably to go to his tour bus and consume more alcohol. It should be no surprise that at that point, the crowd was anxiously awaiting his return.
After standing around for awhile (there are no seats in the House of Blues so you’re standing for a long time) Steve Aoki finally came onto the stage around 10:30. His light show was well equipped with 4 giant LED screens behind him as well as what looked like giant glow sticks covering the entirety of his DJ booth. Each one illuminated the room with crazy visuals that matched the LED screens behind him. If that wasn’t enough, he also had 4 giant letters on the perimeter of his stage which spelled out A-O-K-I and displayed some crazy visuals. Although these letters would sometimes match up with the other LEDs, most of the time they’d show something even cooler, such as displaying clocks during Warp 1.9. It was definitely a sight to see. There were points in the show where the entire room would blackout while purple, blue or red lights would stream through the House of Blues, completely illuminating the crowd in a single color. Once again, it was awesome.
When Steve Aoki first got up on stage, he didn’t even start playing music for the first five minutes. Instead, he decided to look at his phone as he sat on the front of his DJ booth in front of the crowd. Anxiously awaiting Steve Aoki’s first words, the crowd’s roar of applause started to die down and the “Aoki” chant started up once again. Steve Aoki smiled, looked at the crowd and held up his phone. ”I’m gonna tweet this shit out right now” he exclaimed as applause from the crowd erupted. ”I want everyone who follows me to know how fucking amazing you guys are; fucking Boston. You guys ready for some crazy ass shit? I’m gonna play a set of all my music! Are you fucking ready?” Needless to say, the crowd’s response (and my own) was another wild exclamation of approval. Then, Steve Aoki jumped down into his DJ booth and flipped his headphones on as the lights went out.
When the lights came back on, so did his tribute to Steve Jobbs. Screams could be heard at every part of the House of Blues as the melodic riff filled everyone’s ears. White lights shone over the crowd while the riff built up to the pounding bass that everyone loved. Finally when the drop hit, yellow beams of light streamed through the crowd as the catchy-as-hell track began to become imprinted in everyone’s head. It would later become known as THAT track that started off a crazy night with Steve Aoki.
Steve Aoki is a rockstar and a crowd pleaser. He doesn’t mix nearly as much as Datsik does (or any DJ for that matter), in fact Aoki only focuses on transitions between songs. Otherwise, he simply lets the song play out and leaves the DJ booth to emcee the entire show. He yells into a microphone, jumps up and down on stage, and chugs beer and champagne in front of the crowd. The point is, Steve Aoki doesn’t need to mix because the show is already crazy enough. His fans don’t mind it at all. It’s almost as if the moment you walk into a Steve Aoki concert, you have to accept that it’s not going to be a normal concert. Instead, Steve is going to guzzle champagne in front of you, spray some champagne on the crowd, and do as many crazy antics as he can in the time allotted. Some of these include taking out two (not just one but two) giant cakes and caking somebody next to the stage as well as getting a giant mattress and sending it off along the crowd. He then proceeded to jump from the 2nd story floor onto the mattress and for those that don’t know the House of Blues, that’s a BIG fall. Later, he would stop his set and have his photographer take a group picture of the concert, which I thought was unnecessary but just added to the character that IS Steve Aoki.
He ended his set beautifully at 11:45 with Pursuit of Happiness and dumped a giant bucket of crushed ice onto the front of the audience. The crowd shouted for him to come back and do an encore, and, like an energetic kid he ran out again from backstage. Not more than two minutes had passed but no one was complaining. Finally, Steve Aoki played Cudi the Kid featuring Kid Cudi and Travis Barker and made his exit by throwing a free t shirt into the crowd.
Too top everything off, at the Chicago show, Steve married a couple. What DJ can brag that?
Bottom line, he’s a nut but he’s also an awesome performer. Like I said before, Steve Aoki is a crowd pleaser. He knows his fans well and he knows what they want, which just happens to involve him getting fucked up and caking people. I fully suggest that you go to see Steve Aoki and Datsik on their Deadmeat Tour since you won’t see anything like it.
After the show, he signed my friends boobs.
In what might be the most high energy, bass heavy turn of events, Dim Mak record label founder Steve Aoki and none other than Datsik have teamed up to go on an American tour. The Dead Meat tour, in support his upcoming album, Wonderland, will be Steve Aoki’s largest tour ever.
Steve Aoki has spent over the last decade developing his record label, Dim Mak. I had the opportunity to discuss his upcoming album release, Wonderland, which drops just eight days from now on the 17th, in our interview. I’m looking forward to hearing the album live. Steve Aoki absolutely destroyed at his sold out San Francisco show at the Warfield. As an added bonus, a number of the other of my favorite Dim Mak artists will be opening on the tour. The names include Alvin Risk, Mustard Pimp, Autoerotique, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike and Terravita, who will perform throughout the trek on alternating dates. To see who is playing when and where, click here.
Datsik was an interesting and amazing choice to partner with Steve Aoki for a tour. I can only imagine how the audience will react and enjoy the combined energy of Aoki and bass of Datsik. I’ve seen Datsik a number of times, and his destructive sound never fails to obliterate eardrums. Tracks like Firepower kill regardless of who plays them, check the energy when Rusko drops the track on Starscape (with the man himself standing close behind).
With all these excellent artists, where could you go wrong? Make sure to catch one of the many stops of the Dead Meat tour.
When I first heard about the Mouth Taped Shut show in Chicago, I was surprised that tickets were going for free. All it took was a simple RSVP online. The lines were minimal to none and people were still picking up their tickets at the box office even after the show had already begun. I suppose the fact that it was 19 degrees outside made everyone move just a little bit faster. The shows were to promote the new soundtrack Mouth Taped Shut, for the upcoming film The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.
There was a pretty substantial crowd when we arrived. The Congress Theater can hold an audience of about four thousand and although the venue was not nearly full, a pretty hefty amount of people had come. Not bad at all, considering tickets were free. James Murphy from LCD Soundsystem played a great set. The crowd was loving every second. I never thought I’d describe something like this, but it was chill and poppin’. There I said it. He played around with catchy and melodic tunes with just the right amount of bass. He spun a lot of mid-tempo, vocal-heavy House tracks. It was interesting how low-key James Murphy was. There were lights during his performance, but none of them ever landed on him. There was no spotlight on James Murphy. It was humble of him to have his face in the dark with only subtle lighting overhead. It made the audience really focus on the music and on the feel of the environment. That was a unique display from a DJ. The show was also enjoyable because the crowd wasn’t extremely packed. There was space to move around, dance, and not get shoved around by grumpy people who just wanted to see the DJ. He kept the atmosphere cool with the occasional vocals, a sweet drum solo, and a psychedelic disco feel.
Sebastian Ingrosso upped the hype. He pumped up the crowd with surge of electro-House, like remixes of Martin Solveig’s Hello, David Puentez’s Let’s Go, and Bassjacker’s Mush Mush. It seemed as if almost as soon as he stepped on the stage, the dance floor became crowded with people. He did not fail to amaze. His build ups were very strong and he had an impressive set up of four CDJs positioned before him. His set was so wild that photographers were not allowed to stand in the photo pit because Ingrosso was shooting out bursts of CO2 gas. The gas shot out for almost all of his amazing bass-filled and crazy drops. He definitely went along with some of the most popular electronic songs of the year, including Levels by Avicii, Cinema by Skrillex, and then some Pretty Lights and even Etta James’s smoky soft blues vocals. With a set list that even had Dubstep songs, he skillfully improvised and remastered them with synth filled House drops.
It wasn’t until we were getting ready to leave that we came upon a stand of Mouth Taped Shut shirts and posters. Instead of being sold, they were being given away really, but for donations of any kind. Donations for what? Alas, the real connection between Stieg Larsson’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and HARD’s Mouth Taped Shut shows had been discovered. It’s not only to campaign for the soundtrack. The novel’s character, Lisbeth Salander, is known to have been subjected to notoriously heinous crimes throughout her life in Sweden. Lisbeth is the battered victim of a traumatic childhood and countless sexual assaults. Mouth Taped Shut may have been free, but the donations that were taken at the event were to support battered women and children who suffered from the abuses of domestic violence and more. The words, Mouth Taped Shut, literally represent all of those who cannot speak up for themselves. This event wasn’t just about seeing top-notch DJs and listening to great electronic music, it was about becoming a voice, becoming aware, and becoming a supporting role in the defense of these women and children.
Check out the Mouth Taped Shut blog.
Please take some time to visit Women’s Law to learn more about what abuse is and how to help make it stop. Also, please help by donating. Below are only a few of countless places where you can lend a hand.
I’m excited to announce HARD’s Mouth Taped Shut shows that are beginning here in Chicago at the Congress Theater this Friday, December 9th at 8pm. This show starts here in Chicago, but it’s being brought to all the big cities like New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and even London. The headliners also differ, here in Chicago, we’ll be blessed with the masterful talent of Sebastian Ingrosso, but New York will be graced with the duo skills of The Bloody Beetroots.
Who would have known that all it would take for me to attend was to RSVP online and pick up a free ticket. Well, that’s exactly what happened. Unfortunately, tickets are no longer available for the December 10th New York show. Good thing I’m in Chicago! And although there’s little about the event online, it seems to have a connection to the upcoming remake of the film The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Maybe it’s because Lisbeth Salander is one tough chick and the show is going to be an intense experience. Maybe it’s because the book is based in Sweden and Sebastian Ingrosso is one-third of Swedish House Mafia. Who knows?
What I do know is that Sebastian Ingrosso is an incredible DJ and producer. Although as a solo DJ artist he’s ranked 26th by DJMag, he’s most known for his involvement with Swedish House Mafia, ranked 10th. He began as just a curious teenager practicing in his father’s studio until he released his first official remix through Mega Records in 1999. Since then, he’s honed his own powerfully melodic and harmonious sound and has helped bring about new artists such as Max Vangeli and Alesso.
According to Ingrosso,
Dance music is growing and growing and it already took over America. Dance music is definitely taking over as an influence in hip hop and R&B. Like I’ve been saying for a while now, trance and melodies are coming back and they’re also combining. I think people are tired of big breakdowns and then it comes back to nothing… Everybody loves a great kick-drum and a killer bass-line but people also want to hear pianos stabs! Plus, vocals are definitely coming back! But not cheesy vocals – they have to be real.
Hopefully this is what we can expect tomorrow here in Chicago at the Congress Theater!
Check out the opening acts James Murphy (LCD Soundsystem), Proxy, and Eye at their sites.
If you’re still looking to go, RSVP now and pick up your ticket today at the Congress Theater before 8pm tonight!
Photographs by Benjamin Kimo Twichell
This past weekend Deadmau5′s Meowingtons Hax Tour hit Chicago. This two night event at the Aragon Ballroom featured Deadmau5 and his fellow label artists Tommy Lee & Aero, SOFI, Feed Me, and Excision on the first night and Midnight Conspiracy, Feed Me, and Excision on the second night.
The show that dons the name of deadmau5′s cat, Professor Meowington, debuted here in Chicago at Lollapalooza this past summer, part of which can be seen at Vimeo. SPIN.com also rated Deadmau5′s performance the #1 set at the festival, raving that:
The level of spectacle that the Canadian electronic musician/producer commands is not just beyond any other electronic act, it’s beyond any other act period; even the Muses and Coldplays of the world seem like community theater by comparison.
This became a statement that revealed to be quite true.
Upon entering the Aragon Ballroom, we were briskly frisked with a single pat and scan. Up ahead to the left was a Playstation game and dance area that people could entertain themselves with, if they took a break from the performance. The stage area was intimate compared to other Chicago theaters like The Congress. The Aragon Ballroom was appropriately named after a Spanish province because entering the main area was like suddenly coming upon a secret courtyard of a Moorish-style Spanish village. There was intricate detailing, encircling balconies, grand staircases, and a night sky painted on the ceiling. The only issue was the wood and tile flooring. That kind of smooth surface plus many a spilled drink was a recipe for disaster. I had to slide across the floor to get from place to place and I almost ate it in the process. But otherwise, this majestic venue that held Obama’s 50th birthday celebration this year was now hosting one of the world’s greatest DJs.
Everywhere I looked I saw a diverse crowd of fans, easily spotted by their Deadmau5-like helmets and glow-in-the-dark ears. From what I could tell, the show seemed to have drawn a diverse age range. Unfortunately, even though we didn’t show up very late according to the event time, we seemed to have missed Tommy Lee & Aero and Feed Me.
So for us, Excision was up first. His stage set up was modest, with two LED screens and an elevated table in the middle. The LED visuals were pretty sweet, but the lighting was lacking; probably to accentuate what was yet to come. Excision played a hard-hitting, bass heavy set that was popular among the crowd. People were head banging to notable tracks like Promises by Nero. The wub wubs were so aggressive and intense it even drove the man next to me to smother his face in a woman’s chest. And while Excision had the crowd digging the music, the transitions were abrupt and tracks ended suddenly out of nowhere. Even in his well-appreciated tribute to Dr. Dre with Xxplosive, he chopped it up a bit and mixed it with a too fast and too heavy DNB line. The same continued with Dr. P’s Tetris and Camo and Krooked’s Make the Call. But honestly, who really cares if in the end everyone has their hands in the air and is having a good time?
I did not expect what came next. The man otherwise known as Joel Zimmerman, is a world renowned electronic DJ and producer. He has topped international charts and been nominated for a Grammy. All this was on my mind as the curtains were drawn shut and lights were shooting in every direction behind them. The suspense was building. Then, the curtains fell to reveal the giant infamous cube accompanied by two smaller cube shapes at its side, one hanging from above, and a LED screen that covered the entire length of the stage in the background. Saying Deadmau5′s set was incredibly impressive is an understatement. The cube showed a vast array of images and designs. We saw rotating Rubik’s cubes, cubes of cheese with little Deadmau5 heads popping out of the holes, the word ‘FUCK’ pulsing, weird witchcraft symbols, and a gross, fleshy octopus head. The lighting was in sync perfectly with the music and the sound system was withstanding every note. You could feel the full range of ideally EQed frequencies throughout the entire theater.
The lighting and sound amplified the effects of Deadmau5’s music. People blew up when Some Chords started playing. When it dropped, the eyes on Deadmau5’s hat lit up and everyone went nuts. Samples of Elton John’s Tiny Dancer and Daft Punk’s Better, Faster, Stronger were interesting additions in his set.
A lot of Deadmau5’s tracks were roughly stitched together, but I was too distracted by the cubes being lifted up and down beside him and the bright flashing lights. Deadmau5’s set was a bit abrasive and repetitive, being a 90 minute set of all of his own tracks, but songs like Raise Your Weapon provided a nice change of pace. The addition of the German-born vocalist SOFI on SOFI Needs a Ladder and One Trick Pony also really brought up the ostensibly low energy. Deadmau5 even came down from the cube, took off his mask, and joined SOFI on stage.
The best part for me was the last song of the encore. Deadmau5’s Strobe is one of the first songs that came into my ITunes. Strobe would play alongside the sounds of rain (found here) as it put me into deep sleeps. The sounds of Strobe and combined with that of falling rain were made for each other. The calming, meditative ringing quality is uplifting as it echoes throughout your body, while the sound of rain brings you back down to earth. I highly recommend adding rain to your music!
Overall, I wouldn’t say it was purrfect, but it was definitely an impressive performance.
All of these tracks from the tour and more can be found on the Meowingtons Hax Tour Trax compilation on Beatport.
