Steve Aoki: Neon Futures Experience

The crowd enjoying Steve Aoki at Aragon on Feb. 28, 2015

Aoki calls his tour the Neon Futures
Experience, and for a reason. I have never attended any sort of EDM show. I have
generally remained in my rock n roll comfort zone. This show was unlike anything I have ever experienced in my tiny bubble of rock concert experiences. It was incredible! I have generally approached the genre with a very closed mind that most approach it. I thought it was all monotonous and interchangeable. That opinion has definitely changed.

The one thing I enjoyed first was that there was music the second you entered the Aragon Ballroom. Getting there around 8:30, I caught the last track from Reid Stefan. Immediately after completing his set, Dirtyphonics took the stage. They began to set the high energy mood for the night. Caked Up took the stage after them. As someone with little knowledge of the genre, I enjoyed Caked Up's set the most of the opening acts. They sampled tracks from radio hits and had excellent crowd interaction. Headhunterz continued to amp the crowd following Caked Up. Another thing I enjoyed was the lack of set-up between acts. This was a nice refresher from a rock show with all its standing around waiting on the next act. There was a short set-up between Headhunterz and Steve Aoki.

Aoki started his set with positive intensity sampling music from Chicago native’s Fall Out Boy. Steve Aoki concerts are known as being a party. There was no disappointment there. The music was beyond loud. The bass shook the floor of the Aragaon and the bones of every attendee. The show was filled with incredible effects that made it an experience not just a concert. There was confetti, rafts, and cake, of course. He closed his set after an hour and 45 minutes of high energy crowd interaction. It was one of my most enjoyable concert experiences. I would highly recommend checking out his upcoming dates. The concert was also live streamed through Yahoo! Screens and can be replayed here: