Yaeji’s performance at the UC Theatre on October 20th was an experience, and a very peculiar one. A bizarre mixture of people was brought together under the high ceiling of the ornate Berkeley venue to witness the odd spectacle of the young Korean-American electronic house musician. The sold-out event was intoxicating, and it showcased Yaeji’s radical growth from her roots in the underground New York queer DJ scene. Maybe what this show lacked was the intimacy that the small, overcrowded, sweaty and dark rooms of the niche Brooklyn clubs inevitably generate, or maybe what didn’t feel quite right about  her Berkeley show is that it felt weirdly like a concert, and less like a club night; everyone was there for her, just her, ready to dance to the groovy and intoxicating music they all knew.

Multi-instrumentalist, DJ and fellow New Yorker Stud1nt opened the night with an excellent set, as the room slowly filled up. Most stood still and watched, eagerly waiting for what was to come next. Minutes passed, more drinks were bought, and the crowd slowly began to loosen up; the atmosphere progressively changed. All of a sudden, the room did not feel as big anymore, and still feet began to move, warming up for what was to come. As Stud1nt’s set reached an end, one could sense the trepidation: the whole room was in waiting.

Then, Yaeji took to the stage: surrounded by tall, vertical intermittent lights of changing colours, which were  with the rhythms of her songs, she jumped around the stage in short red velvet dress overalls and a white top, her hair in a ponytail. The room became incandescent with energy when she launched into some of her most famous tracks, from “raingurl,” “One More,” “drink i’m sippin on“ to her remix of  Charlie XCX’s “Focus.” She danced on stage, but she could as well have been dancing in the middle of the crowd – she was having the time of her life, and so was everybody else. More than once throughout her set she took the time to thank everyone for being there and for being so welcoming: shyly and with the biggest smile, she would’ve never expected this much love, she exclaimed.

The set went on exactly as one would have expected, nothing more, nothing less: after about an hour of live DJ-ing and singing her own tunes, Yaeji waved the crowd goodbye and closed her set with “Full of It.” Chibi Yaeji posters were handed out to everyone for free at the exit, memorabilia of a good night. Yaeji’s live show was undoubtedly good, and her success is well deserved, but one can’t help but wonder whether her music is made for big venues and large crowds, or if it works best as the soundtrack to her homely “Curry in No Hurry” nights, in small rooms and unique venues filled with fellow members of the same underground music scenes she has emerged from?

Written and Photos by Marta Meazza

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