Chris Kirihara
Friday night saw the return of Minneapolis’ favorite cake-throwing DJ and EDM icon, Steve Aoki. Proudly donning his Armory t-shirt, given only to artists who sell out the venue, Aoki played a 2-hour set for local bass-heads and crypto bros.
Last night, the crowd was a mixed bag, containing exactly who you would and wouldn’t expect at a late-night EDM show. Your typical attendee enjoyed opening acts from Matt Steffania and Sullivan King, while the others seemed to peel out before cakes were thrown and the lights had drawn.
Generally, your openers stand to warm the crowd up, but Sullivan King may have stolen the spotlight for many.
Metal/dubstep fusion has done great things to expand the barriers of both genres, and it seems The Armory plans to continue these acts along the horizon (BMTH returns in October).
It’s worth noting that Sullivan King jerseys did seem to outnumber Aoki merchandise that night. Either that or one set of fans simply stood out over the other.
Midnight finally arrived and Steve Aoki hit the decks right on time. The crowd’s attitude shifted as his iconic silhouette took over the stage.
Actions speak louder than words, and while the crowd was loud, the floor was also clearly shaking under the pressure of 8000 soles in motion.
His first hour went as one would expect; the man’s musical archive is massive and spans many genres, and The Armory would echo most of his biggest hits.
A few surprises came along that pleased some, while others didn’t seem to react quite as much. Yung Gravy, Liam Payne (of One Direction), and Logan Paul (Jake Paul’s brother) were among other VeeCon guests this weekend and made appearances on stage. The former two gave brief performances which were well-received by concertgoers.
With 15 minutes until close, Aoki’s ensemble of friends and VeeCon family took the stage to dress the lucky few in cake and frosting.
The best of friends lifted their counterparts on their shoulders as everyone collectively pushed forward. The front-row audience members must have been waiting for this moment for hours.
VeeCon attendees may have walked away from the night holding an NFT, but fans of Dim Mak had cake and ate it too.
If you’re curious, tickets for the show were fungible, but the memories made were not.
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