The anticipation was high among Drexel students. On April 13, Drexel’s Campus Activities Board (CAB) announced that famous electro house DJ Steve Aoki would be headlining Spring Jam 2016 with Jahn Rome and Rain Man as the opening acts. Besides the amazing artist choice for this year’s concert on May 21, the best part was that admission was free for undergraduate students!
I immediately signed up to reserve a ticket through Ticketleap and was filled with excitement. I’m not too into electronic music and only listen to it when I need to get pumped up, but I was definitely open to seeing a free show by Steve Aoki.
To get people ready for the concert, CAB organized Spring Jam Week, a week of fun-filled events including Battle of the Bands, a silent headphone dance party where Drexel sophomore George Armentani won the chance to open up for Steve, a soccer tournament, a movie screening of “How To Be Single”, a carnival and a tailgate at Wahoo’s. I personally attended the Spring Jam carnival and had so much fun. I enjoyed the nice weather with a snow cone, cotton candy and games.
The day of the concert, Philadelphia was unfortunately plagued with horrible weather. Many of the students hoped for a rainless night, but around 6 p.m. it started down pouring. Some of my friends opted not to go, but I was determined to make it to the show!
When I arrived at Lot F next to Main Building, I grabbed a glow stick and ran towards the crowd. One of the opening acts was finishing up his set as I pushed through the many people who were ready for a great night. My friends and I chanted, “We want Steve! We want Steve!” waving our bright glow sticks in the air and letting the rain fall onto us.
At around 9 p.m., a ten-second countdown appeared on the big screen. When the countdown hit one second, the crowd went absolutely wild. Steve made his way onto the stage and started spinning tracks, including his hit “Boneless”. He also played a new song featuring Wale that I really enjoyed and found myself dancing all out to. Despite the showers, spirits were high that night. Students embraced the rain and in my opinion, it made the show a lot more fun complete with neon lights, great music and an unbeatable atmosphere.
I stayed for about an hour of Steve’s set because my clothes were so soaked that I felt like I was carrying huge weights on my body. Not to mention, I got pushed so hard that I nearly couldn’t breathe, but hey, it was definitely worth it! At the end of the concert, Steve threw a giant sheet cake into the audience and many of my friends reported back to me that they had been “caked” – the classic experience at any Steve Aoki show.
Although this wasn’t the first time that a storm was present during Spring Jam, it offered a great reason to party even harder and dance even crazier. I had tons of fun and look forward to what Drexel will offer next year!