Steve Aoki Thrills in Lubbock, Texas: Review

The biggest names in dance music will find themselves behind the decks almost anywhere in the world, but it’s still something of an anomaly when an artist lauded and established enough to be considered a top ten DJ globally rocks up to West Texas. Veteran star Steve Aoki did exactly that a few days ago, heading to the region’s hub in Lubbock and showing a decidedly country area what a world-class electronic musician is capable of.

Ripping through a setlist containing original tracks that would make even his fellow pros jealous, Aoki gave it all he had during a whirlwind of a show. His own classics like “Boneless” mingled with remixes of older standards like Alice DJ’s “Better Off Alone” and more recent dance favorites like John Summit’s “Where You Are”. The intrepid DJ threw in edits from a wide range of genres, including Eslabon Armado & Peso Pluma’s “Ella Baila Sola” (no doubt done with the region’s large Latino population in mind) and a sensationally silly reworking of the SpongeBob SquarePants theme song that had absolutely no right to be as thumping and danceable as it was. The local crowd was very well catered to, with Aoki putting the cherry on top to his masterful pacing and deep repertoire by throwing on a jersey for the local college football team, Texas Tech, and cheekily telling everyone he was going to DM local hero Patrick Mahomes with a picture of the show.

It doesn’t matter whether he’s playing a gorgeous seaside superclub in Barcelona (as he was, just a week ago) or the more humble settings of Cook’s Garage in Lubbock- Steve Aoki brings an infectious enthusiasm and effervescence that immediately gets the party going every time he steps out onto the stage. With the way he tirelessly runs about, wide smile shining all the time, you get the sense that he’s having the time of his life every night- maybe that’s why he’s imparted that same undeniable joy on to so many people in so many different places.

Image credit: Shorefire Media

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