The first opener, Haiku Hands, was a fantastic surprise! Usually, opening bands are OK and are never as good as the main event, but in the case of Haiku Hands, I was glad I made an effort to see the opening act. They opened their set with an unapologetic song, “Not About You,” spinning the throng of ravers into a frenzy. Followed by other fun tracks like “Man Bitch” and “Squat,” the Australian trio jumped and jived with the audience to the all-consuming electric beat. Their driving rhythms and rambunctious live performance had me dancing and shouting lyrics at the onset. The girls Beatrice Lewis, Claire Nakazawa, and MieNakazawa rapped unforgiving lyrics and executed choreographed moves without missing a beat or a breath. They end the set with a new single, “Super Villain,” throwing confetti and disappearing after as fast as they appeared- leaving behind a sweaty and dance-out audience.
Next up was LP Giobbi, who is a self-proclaimed “synth warrior goddess” hailing from Los Angeles, California. Her real name is Leah Chisholm- she founded FEMMEHOUSE, which is an educational platform dedicated to empowering women in music. She is also head of Animal Talk (Sofi Tukker’s record label/artist collective). Her music is supposed to be “Rock N Roll with a Disco Soul born draped in sequins cloaked in fog at a seance in the mountains of Oregon.” To be honest, I didn’t hear all that much rock and roll. I am not too familiar with a lot of electronic/DJ music, but it just sounded like well-produced club music. She’s a trained jazz pianist from UC Berkeley, and whenever she played the piano, you could hear her skill. Even though she didn’t pump up the mob as much as Haiku Hands, LP Giobbi was smiling and dancing through the whole set with the crowd.
With the crowd wild and smoking who knows what, the New York-based duo, Sofi Tukker, comes out on stage. The first song was “Energia,” sung entirely in Portuguese and the same crazy energy carried throughout the whole show. The stage was set up like a neon jungle with screens attached to a “tree” that functioned as a drum machine.
Sophie Hawley-Weld and Tucker Halpern created the perfect concert experience with inspiring “energia,” fun crowd interaction, and very danceable tunes. Unreleased tracks like “Fish,” “Sacrifice,” and “Emergency” flowed seamlessly with their past material, and the ravers were screaming with happiness- I can say that everyone is looking forward to Sofi Tukker’s next album.
Another unreleased song “Dancing on the People” (separate from their EP Dancing on the People) flawlessly describes the environment of their concert along with other club atmospheres. The lyrics went something like “people, people dancing on the people people/ smoking CBC, CO2 dancing  on the people people.” It’s all about people becoming one with the music and dancing on top of each other- not knowing where they begin and where someone else ends. If you’re looking for a night out “dancing on the people,” Sofi Tukker is a definite must. My mother loves the duo, and she’s the reason I went, so my mom sent me to my first rave.
