The Bren Events Center was the place to be last Friday night. On October 21, 2016 anteaters lined up outside of the Bren in hopes of getting floor admission to UCI’s biggest concert of the year, Shocktoberfest. Past performers include artists such as Sage the Gemini, Ty Dolla Sign, A$AP Rocky and Kendrick Lamar. This year’s sold out show included unforgettable performances by Rae Sremmurd, Vic Mensa and Ekali. If you didn’t attend the show, here are five things you missed!
Photo by Bobby Luu
1. UCI basketball players competed in a 3-point shooting contest
In light of basketball season quickly approaching, UCI’s men and women basketball teams were introduced to kick off the night with Midnight Magic. Team members went head to head in a battle of the classes 3-point shooting contest. You can catch more b-ball action when the official season begins this November. UCI undergrads get free admission to the games with a student ID (Yay free stuff!).
2. Ekali created a fusion of EDM and Hip Hop (accompanied by an awesome light show)
Canadian instrumentalist, Ekali opened up the show with an energetic set of songs for EDM and Hip Hop lovers alike. Sampling songs like Kendrick Lamar’s m.A.A.d city and Disclosure’s You & Me, Ekali created an elevating atmosphere complete with colorful lasers and light beams.
3. Vic Mensa performed Kanye West’s “Wolves”
The Chicago native, Vic Mensa, changed up the scene with a much darker performance full of passion you could feel in your chest (or maybe that was just the really loud bass coming from the speakers). After performing a few of his best songs, Vic Mensa filled the arena with the familiar sound of wolves howling, backing up Kanye West’s distinguishable vocals. The artist sang his verse from “Wolves,” an emotional track featured on The Life of Pablo.
4. Rae Sremmurd simultaneously performed and took selfies on stage
The headliner of the night brought up the energy of the arena, making sure everyone in the audience was hyped up. Rae Sremmurd (a hip-hop duo, and NOT one person fyi) pumped up the crowd with popular songs such as “Come Get Her,” “No Type” and “Throw Sum Mo.” The two brothers interacted with the crowd, catching phones being thrown at them for the sake of a good Snapchat story. Several lucky people in the crowd were able to get a lit selfie from the performers for all of their followers to enjoy. Pictures were taken, pineapples were thrown, and guests were told they couldn’t get “too ratchet” to Rae Sremmurd’s exuberant performance.
5. A cute Snapchat geofilter was provided for your amazing snap story
If you weren’t able to get the Sremm brothers to take a selfie on your phone, you were still provided with a geotag filter to show all of your friends how much fun you had at Shocktoberfest 2016. For those of you that missed out on the experience, there’s always next year!
Photo by Bobby Luu