Steve declares War (and peace) in Seattle

 (cause we know that diamond is so for the robots as opposed to Kanye based on Steve's setlist)

Of course I've had an interest in watching Steve Aoki DJ as it seems like a lot of people do. That's exactly what puts Steve in such a unique position. How many people go to watch a DJ? Don't they go to dance?
Equally inspired by Meg's unapologetic love of Aoki during my week spent in Vancouver B.C. and Panda Toes' recent assessment of his skills on the decks, I set out via Greyhound to Seattle on a Friday to take in Stevie live and in person at the War Room.

I arrived just around midnight to a crowd decked out in shoelace headbands, fur coats (yuck! I had to dodge the people wearing them like I was in a warzone. Ain't no way that's gonna touch me), a plastic crown, skinny jeans and suspenders. And someone was doing the running man. Un-ironically. That vision sums up where in the arch of hipsterdom a good majority of the people there were at... pretty well actually. And I'm not saying they're were ahead of the curve in that. The opposite. Run for cover, it's the Yuppies! Scarier than hipsters? That aside, there was a girl who looked like Kid Sister there. She was entirely too cute.

When I arrived there was no crowd-surfing, no screaming interaction between Steve and the attendees, no anything - just Steve fully engaged in the Serato set-up in front of him. WTF?! That wasn't the scene for very long though...

Soon Steve was drunk enough to start swinging from chords, standing on his set-up, falling over, jumping up and down and swinging his locks around with wild abandon to whatever it was he was playing at each given moment.

He played enough Daft Punk to make you think you were either at a Daft Punk concert or that you were catching a Flosstradamous set.

It was all rather hilarious. I had way more fun watching him spiral than I did when I was dancing to "Ready to Uff." The thing is, he's got some skills. I'm not going to skip through and omit how much shit (mostly from Gawker) he gets for being the DJ he is and the hipster backlash that gets pinned on him as if he's the mascot of the sect. How obnoxious can one be starting their career under the name Kid Millionaire when you are indeed the son of a millionaire; in Steve's case son of Benihana founder Rocky Aoki? hahaha But it was a tongue-in-cheek obnoxiousness...

I think the reason he gets the resistance is he is indeed a superstar DJ, but many other DJs of the globe-trotting caliber are less in your face - selling on their skills more than on personality. And a lot of Steve's success isn't hinged on having paid his dues in crummy clubs. I think that and the whole lifestyle tag may be what rubs people the wrong way.

But come on, how can you not automatically celebrate someone who uses what he has to release Pony Up!  Seriously!?! I will forever be thankful for his label Dim Mak's releases, from Pony Up! to Bloc Party's first American release(s) to the Mystery Jets and oh so much more.

And he's pretty rad at mixing songs too. A skill he displayed on and off because the power to his decks and laptop kept going on and off, again and again, messing with his flow, but in no way halting the party.

He doesn't come across as a caricature of some party DJ, but just as someone who wants to have a lot of fun and is doing so.
More power to him.
If he can and has the opportunity to do all that he does, then why not?

Steve 'space

Green Velvet is so sick. I discovered him through a mix CD during a trip to San Francisco back in 2003 that he appeared on. While the love affair has seen it's dormant periods, right now is a time of crushing excitement namely cause Joee Irwin's brand spanking new newsletter just linked "LaLaLaLaLa (Nside My Mind)," a tune that's completely gotten inside of my mind.
I love that when speaking to Edwin of Foals this past Saturday, he said he loved techno. My reply? "Green Velvet loves techno too!" hahahaha Love me his lyrics in "Shake and Pop"...
Aoki's true touch to the track kicks in at about 2:30

Shake and Pop (w/ Kid Sister's Guest Drop) Green Velvet Steve Aoki Edit MP3

More of my photos from the War Room on fffffflickrrrrr

Related/unrelated: I am so digging Mark the Cobrasnake lately. So digging him after watching this video interview on Jezebel.

Also from the Gawker stable: Aoki family shizz

Why must Michael Cera be just so damn cute... but only 19!? Boo!