The Park put its "no tennis shoe" rule on hold Thursday night. The club's dress code normally requires shoes to be "polishable," but hundreds of Sacramentans came together in all kinds of footwear to celebrate the life of Adam Goldstein, aka DJ AM.

AM, a celebrity DJ, died August 28 of an apparent Oxycontin overdose. He also was known for his love of Nike sneakers. In addition to owning more than 700 pair, he was designing a signature shoe for Nike at the time of his death.

At about 10 p.m., a crowd filled the lounge/club to dance to tunes played by DJ AM's friends.

As part of the "Get Loud 4 DJ AM" celebration, a slideshow depicted him with celebrity friends such as actress Mandy Moore, DJ Steve Aoki and drummer Travis Barker, with whom he formed the duo TRVS-DJAM. About a year ago, Barker and AM were the only survivors of a plane crash that killed four others. They both suffered severe burns in the accident.

TRVS-DJAM performed at The Park in 2007 and AM returned to perform in 2008. AM was scheduled to perform there for a third time Thursday to celebrate The Park's four-year anniversary.

Instead, AM's friends performed, including Sacramento DJ Gave Xavier, who opened for DJ Scene, a popular Las Vegas DJ who has performed with 50 Cent, Nas, Afrika Bambaataa and many other hip hop artists.

DJ Scene played a set accompanied by Sacramento drummer Justin Barnes that was an homage to the instrumentation popularized by TRVS-DJAM. Brian Bassett, music and managing manager for The Park, and Sacramento promoter Nick Willrich, both friends of AM, emceed the free event.

"People asked if we would do a moment of silence," Bassett told the crowd, "but that's not what AM would've wanted. So let's toast to a guy who put Sacramento at this level [of DJ talent]."

"He was a pioneer, a revolutionary, with mash-up skills," said Rob Draper, 29. The University of California at Davis pre-law student first heard of AM two years ago when he attended TRVS-DJAM's performance at The Park.

"He's a person who can make a person who doesn't dance, dance," said Carla Sanchez, 28. She also saw TRVS-DJAM's 2007 performance at The Park. "It was awesome."
Sanchez drove from Vacaville on Thursday to see the tribute. She said she hoped AM's family would be touched by the celebrations of his life happening everywhere.

"It reminds us of New Year's, [hearing music] you're not used to [hearing]" said Sanchez's friend, Christel Prince, 23. "They're trying to re-enact what could have been, but respect his work."

"It's not DJ AM, but it's better than nothing," said Draper. "It definitely brings closure for [AM's fans] from Sacramento."