Shocktoberfest 2012

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Sweat dripped, ears pounded and chests pumped as three world-renowned rappers took the stage. As one of the most anticipated nights for many UC Irvine students finally arrived, it was hard for some to keep their enthusiasm at a sane level.

After patiently waiting for over several hours, Anteaters made their way through the Bren Events Center doors in anticipation for the uproarious night ahead.

DJs kicked up the music that had the crowd, on and off the floor, chanting the lyrics and dancing with friends. The sea of bodies moved together in the motions — letting go and moving to the bass. It was like a scene taken out of a movie and it felt surreal to many students.

First, introduction of Midnight Magic threw the crowd into a frenzy. Dom Kennedy then started the night with a couple songs, later throwing in a freestyle for one lucky girl who was brought on stage from the crowd.

Reactions from the audience implied that Dom Kennedy wasn’t the star of the night. The songs, overall, were raps that weren’t noticeably distinguishable from one another. And when the performer brought his fellow rappers on stage, the crowd wasn’t too impressed.

After a DJ break, Kendrick Lamar made his entrance, and played almost four songs before making the crowd beg him to play his new hit, “Swimming Pool.” He closed with a couple songs and also dedicated a song for a girl in the crowd.

Although Kendrick fans were set on hearing him in person, many were just waiting for the song “Swimming Pools.” The rapper only stayed on the stage and tried to amp up his performance by having the audience yell the songs they wanted to hear — only to be disappointed that the first song he chose to play upon “audience request” wasn’t their requested “Swimming Pools.”

Finally, the moment UCI students had been waiting for arrived: Tyga jumped on stage through a cloud of smoke, wearing a leather jacket, red hat and matching red shoes. He made a couple of “costume changes” during the concert — taking off his jacket to show his Virgin Mary tank top and later going shirtless.

Tyga played a variety of songs, some new and some old. He gave us a sneak peak of one of the songs off of his new album, played a couple songs off of the album “Well Done 3,” and of course his number one hits: “Rack City”, “Make It Nasty” and “Faded,” along with mixes of other rap artist’s number ones: “Ratchets,” “Bedrock” and “The Motto.”

At the end of the concert, Tyga rounded up 20 lucky UCI girls onto the stage and sang the closing song “Sexy Ladies” together with them, thanking the crowd for “coming out tonight.” And with that, Tyga exited the stage almost as quickly as he came.

The most-energetic performance of the night award would be handed to Tyga. Interactions with the crowd, and his song selections, ended up being the biggest hits. As they say “saving best for last,” Tyga was the talk of the evening. Throwing his sweat towel and joking with the crowd about someone leaving a fancy pair of panties on stage — it was Tyga’s show.

However, the night was still young. What better way to top off the night than with the Aftershock Dance with continuous mixes thrown out by Electronic Dance Union.

Overall, ASUCI did a great job organizing the event and it was a great way to start the year with Anteater spirit. It was yet again one unforgettable night in UCI history. It only makes one wonder who they will bring out next year.