Scratch Your EDM Itch: STEVE AOKI - Santa Barbara in The Hub at UCSB

This last Thursday of the month of March 2011 marked a day of great adventure, highs and lows with a climax ultimately better than the fruits of the flesh could bear!

UCSB Alumni and now international DJ wonder with growing popularity around the world, Steve Aoki graced his alma mater and my current undergraduate institution with his presence!

Having gotten up fairly early before my ten o'clock class to stand in line outside our Associated Students ticket office, my day started off with dashed hopes after surviving a mob on the ticket office only to leave empty handed with now way in to the show.

Having already made other plans for my evening, with only minutes to spare before the show began, a good friend of mine called me up asking if I at all needed a ticket! Eureka I exclaimed! This was better news than striking gold! And I graciously with much appreciation accepted my pal's extra ticket!

Already with the company of a lovely lady my night's festivities were now in full motion!

Getting to the venue was a comfortable breeze with Aoki's beats being arranged to be blasted in UCSB's University Center's "Hub". Arriving there the opening DJ was just then concluding his set and the transition for Mr. Aoki was about to begin!

From that point on not one track was found to be at all disappointing and Steve Aoki put on one of the best shows I have seen in the past 5 years! With heavy electro, fast paced and hard bass packing tracks one could not at all help but move their feet and pump their arms to all that energy! Not just even settling for electronic tunes, Aoki got creative with smashes of hard rock and some tunes by the Carpenters! More mystifying was how he remixed a track from the "Lion King" Soundtrack full of Swahili into his set! And if that was not creative or showman enough Aoki dived into the audience crowd surfing at least 5 times as per my counting!

Full of energy and life the man radiates the aura of not only Electronic Dance Music but his very Alma Mater and legendary party spirit that is culture at UCSB. With constant shout outs to us Gaucho students and Isla Vista residents, Aoki further connected with all of us through the fraternal bond that there is amongst true blue and gold bleeding UCSB students!

Not only was the night full of zip, zap and zing, the night was also full of sentimentality as Steve Aoki spent a good near hour after the show socializing and visiting with UCSB students! He talked about classes, some of his favorite professors and took outreach the whole nine yards! It was at this time that I learned he himself was a Women's Studies and Sociology Major. It was also at this time that I managed a photo and an autograph!

Thank you Steve Aoki for the wonderful show and down to earth genuine character that you carried yourself with!