Electronic music producer Jai Wolf is wrapping up the last leg of his Blue Babu Tour, which included one night in the San Francisco Bay Area. Hundreds piled into the Berkeley Greek Theater on Saturday, September 23rd to catch the show, which also featured openers Manila Killa, Evan Giia, and KASBO.
As the sun set behind the stage, Manila Killa warmed up the crowd, including a new song toward the end of his set. Next, Evan Giia took the stage with an ecstatic energy. One of the songs she performed was “For Aisha,” which was written for her sister-in-law and is an upbeat, hopeful track with catchy Bollywood-style motifs. Her carefreeness was contagious, especially during “Don’t Let Me Let Go,” when she danced around the stage without abandon. The last opener was KASBO, who played some of his greatest hits including, “Places We Don’t Know” and “Over You,” as well as a remix from fellow DJ Fred Again. Before ending his set, he played an unreleased song to the excitement of his fans. This new track exuded a happy, magical effervescence, even more so with the visual of a glowing tree lighting up the screen behind him.
Maybe it was the fact that we were on a college campus, but there was a different energy to this show, one that felt somehow more electrifying. Even the performers remarked upon this, with Evan Giia mentioning that the Bay Area crowd had “better vibes” compared to the previous show they had played in LA. Partway through his set, KASBO yelled “We’re only halfway through, but this is already my favorite show of the tour!”
When Jai Wolf took the stage, the crowd erupted in cheers. Beyond being outright fun, his performance as a DJ is crisp, consistent, and near perfect down to the smallest details. From the synchronization of the lights and lasers to the carefully chosen visuals, there’s always something to marvel at during Jai’s live shows. With hardly any breaks during his entire set, he maintained a constant level of energy and connection with his audience. He stood atop a round podium where a marquee of lyrics would sometimes scroll across, making it hard not to sing along. During some songs, such as “Lose My Mind” and “Want It All,” the music video was displayed on the screen behind him as the accompanying visual. These performances in particular highlighted Jai’s strength in storytelling, the vividness of his lyrics coming to life in a beautiful, visually-compelling narrative. He has mentioned in an interview with YourEDM that, for his latest music, he “really wanted to focus on lyrics and songwriting […] It’s been cathartic putting my feelings to paper.” When seeing Jai Wolf in concert, the emotions he instills in his music come across clearer than ever.
Jai’s set included music from way back in his self-dubbed “Soundcloud days” with the song “Feels” to all four of the tracks from his latest album Don’t Look Down, which was released this past March. Fans experienced the full spectrum of his discography in this show, from the indie-dance anthems to the electronic pop ballads. And of course, he came back for an encore by ending it with the song that he first blew up with in 2015, “Indian Summer.”
Click on the photo below to view our photos from the show:
