Steve Aoki is one of the top DJ’s in the electronic music scene, and this was a full-circle moment for me photographing his concert! He was one of the first live EDM shows I went to when I first entered the scene ten years ago. I can still remember it like it was yesterday. The show was at Wet Republic in Las Vegas, where he’s a resident DJ, and that pool party was incredible! This time around, I got to see and photograph Steve on my home turf of New York City at Terminal 5. The venue is located in Hell’s Kitchen near the West Side Highway.
Attending a Steve Aoki concert is always a guaranteed good time. Known for “caking” his audience where he throws a literal cake into the crowd with amazing accuracy, his two sold-out shows at Terminal 5 are a testament to his ability for creating upbeat music that makes you want to jump and dance. For some reason, I anticipated the crowd to be of the younger generation like Gen-Z, but I was happy to see a range of ages, especially older, which reminded me of the EDM scene in Europe where it’s more of a lifestyle. I shouldn’t have been surprised considering how long Steve’s been in the game making music. I myself grew up with his music after all!
In 2022, I attended AdWeek’s Creator Visionary Awards and watched Steve Aoki win Creator Visionary of the Year award. His message to everyone in the room when he accepted his award was “do weird sh*t, f*ck sh*t up, and live outside the lines” which translated to always be your full authentic self, and is something I take to heart as both a photographer and content creator.
This message also transcended to his openers, especially Timmy Trumpet. This was the first time I was introduced to Timmy Trumpet, and he is a true entertainer who fits perfectly to hype up the audience before Steve came on. In 2022, they collaborated together to revamp DJ Aligator’s song “The Whistle” as a hardstyle banger. Timmy kept dancing on the DJ booth and the outer stage, which made my life as a photographer much easier since there was a massive TV in front of the booth for the graphics coinciding with the music.
In EDM, laser and graphic shows are an integral part of the experience, and Timmy’s graphics were extremely visually engaging. He also kept playing the trumpet, like his namesake, and even threw money at the crowd!
Steve Aoki’s other openers were Callie Reiff and Juuku who both got the crowd going as the night started.
According to his Instagram, the Terminal 5 shows are the last of Steve’s HiROQUEST Genesis Tour, but he has a handful of shows coming up around the US and internationally in addition to his DJ residency at Omnia, Hakkasan, and Wet Republic in Las Vegas.
