On Feb. 8, the crowd at Campus Activities Board’s (CAB) annual spring concert was doing it right as they worked up a sweat and danced the night away. Swig Gym was converted into the complete dance party venue with massive green and golden lanterns, a large video screen and countlessbackdrops and lights.
DJ Devarock, the stage name of USF sophomore Royce Anies, brought the gathering to life as he pumped up the audience with his mix of popular EDM (electronic dance music) and hip-hop tracks.
“Opening for Krewella was absolutely insane,” DJ Devarock said. “I had a wonderful time opening for them. I felt a little bit nervous at first but calmed down about 20 minutes into the set.”
Following DJ Devarock’s set, the quintet St. Lucia hit the stage with their indie-synth pop music. The band opened with a gradual build up of guitar and drum instrumentals in the song “Night Comes Again.” To coincide with their ‘island’ sounds that extend beyond their tropical album cover art, lights illuminated the band with greens, blues, yellows and purple.
The euphoric performance featured groovy instrumentals and melodious vocals. “We Got It Wrong” took you on a rollercoaster of moods that resembled the ups and downs of a relationship, whereas “Elevate” brought high energy and made the crowd jump.
USF’s hip-hop dance club, VarCity SF, performed at the side stage while the main stage was prepared for Krewella.
“Co-founding VarCity SF my second semester at USF and helping bring the Performance Team to where it is now and performing at the CAB concert is truly amazing,” Edwin Sanchez, senior said.
After three opening acts, Krewella finally came on stage with an electric opening to the hit single “Live for the Night.” The audience surged to life in song and movement. Sisters Jahan & Yasmine Yousaf of Krewella held quite the vantage point of the sweaty dance party, and joined in as they head-bashed to it all from the stage. At one point, Jahan grabbed a bottle of water and poured it over her head in an attempt to cool off before resuming her bouncing.
There was no such thing as standing still in the crowd—even the floor was pulsating with the music’s rhythm and sound as the crowed moved closer and closer to the stage.
The concert ended with Krewella’s “Alive,” and the audience called for an encore. After a few minutes, students began leaving Swig Gym. To their surprise, Krewella returned to perform “Come and Get It.” The show finally ended with the group standing on top of the rail below the stage, taking countless numbers of selfies with the audience and praising the crowd. Later that evening, they tweeted “San Francisco, man what a crowd. Thank you for making it so much to perform. Felt like Six Flags tonight XO.”
