Photos by Sterling Munksgard // Written by Mike Frash //
Steve Aoki with Borgore, Waka Flocka Flame, Keys N Krates, Kryoman //
Bill Graham Civic Auditorium – San Francisco
November 16, 2013 //
Steve Aoki did his best to prove the internet wrong last Saturday in SF by mashing together old favorites with new jams for a hyperactive, sold-out performance on his “Aokify America Tour.” But that’s not to say his Bay Area stop wasn’t layered in sweet and sticky spectacle, too.
In the world of EDM these days, Aoki and cake have become somewhat synonymous as you can see from the crowd signs in our photos below. The genre-bending, Grammy-nominated DJ, who began his music career while in college at UC Santa Barbara, has made a habit out of tossing a huge cake in the face of whoever he thinks deserves it the most.
His cake-lore spread further this past summer at VELD Music Fest when Aoki caked a dude being held up in his wheelchair 80 feet away from the stage. Bullseye! Aoki also brought along his massive neon-lit robots and inflatable rafts for ragers to go on faux whitewater adventures above the crowd.
Israeli multi-hyphenate Borgore, a DJ, producer, singer-songwriter and rapper, preceded Aoki with stage aesthetics that revolved around strippers, poles, pasties and champagne that kept the young crowd in a hyper-sexualized state of mind. Waka Flocka Flame, meanwhile, curated the crazy early on with a high-energy set that forced the Kandi kids and cake heads to pump and jump early.