Deadmau5 recently finished an epic four show run at the Palladium in Hollywood and even though the shows had been sold out for months, our team was able to roll through for three of the shows. This gave us a special opportunity to write a three-part recap as we had three different bloggers attend and we hope that this unique perspective really gives you a true look of what went down as The Meowington’s Hax tour rolled through LA. All of the videos were shot during Sunday nights performance.
Friday Night – 8/26 – Laura:
Friday night’s deadmau5 show was unbelievable. He literally took my breath away, this is one DJ that really knows how to put on a show. His new set didn’t seem so new at first but by the time things got going it was easy to notice the changes that were made. He really knows how to make the crowed beg for the beat to drop by starting off kinda mellow and slowly building up to a point where you just want to dance like crazy. Sophi from his songs “Sophi Needs a Ladder” and “One Trick Pony” made a special appearance which made seeing deadmau5 live that much better.
Sophi really added something extra to my experience at the show she has an awesome voice and she was wearing a really cool sparkly outfit and I’m not gonna lie I kinda wish I was her! But my favorite part of the show was probably when his set turned into red, orange and yellow circles and bits and pieces that seemed to be working together. To me it looked like a mau5 factory and it went with the music perfectly in a face melting sort of way that made everyone go nuts. By the end of the show I felt satisfied with his performance which was different from the last time I saw him at EDC last summer. Deadmau5 has redeemed himself as a great live performer in my book and I have a new respect for him. It was an awesome show I wish I could have gone all 4 nights!
Saturday Night – 8/27 – Nancy:
Best day of the week to see deadmau5? 5aturday, duh! I arrived at deadmau5’s show on Day 3 of his LA stop with average expectations for the opening DJs and very high expectations for deadmau5. Which is probably why I was pleasantly surprised by the openers Jason Bentley, Zedd, and Tommy Lee & DJ Aero and feeling just “good” about deadmau5’s set. Don’t get me wrong I am a huge fan of the mau5, his music, and the cube, but with the announcement of a new bigger and better stage I was expecting absolutely mind-blowing.
To me, the high points of deadmau5’s set were the beginning with his new song “Where My Keys” starting before the curtain even dropped, the dubstep songs with Sofi singing live (sort of) – “One Trick Pony” and “Sofi Needs a Ladder,” and of course the closure with “Strobe.” Even higher points were “Ghosts n’ Stuff,” mixed with “Moar Ghosts n’ Stuff,” “Raise your weapon” and “Professional Griefers” (when his set went all out in its bright machine-y wonder). These get kudos for being truly one-of-a-kind live acts that got very close to mind-blowing.
No low points but at a couple of parts I found myself waiting a little bit too long for drops (the I-just-wanna-dance girl in me wanted to come out!) which made the show lose momentum at times. Overall, deadmau5 gets a 9/10 for just existing. Meaning, because I was in awe of simply being in the same room as him and feeling lucky to be witnessing his music/show live, I never lost the starstruck mindset I had going in. His crafted music and stage is undeniably respectable. So as a fan who was seeing him for the 2nd time, I thoroughly enjoyed the night: the openers, the show complete with lively animations, and seeing the queued fan-made mau5 heads outside waiting to be signed (so many!), but I wouldn’t pay to see him again any time soon. Once is a must. Second, eh… That is, until he gets a new stage or album!
Sunday Night – 8/28 – Ben:
After already seeing deadmau5 twice earlier this year, I had some big expectations for the new stage and live show. I already knew that the music would be fun as Joel seems to always find a way to play with the crowed as he transitions from track to track but I wasn’t sure about all of the hype that he got from his performance at Lollapalooza. Even though there was plenty of video showing off the new stage, I had to see it myself. After seeing it I’m going to have to say it was cool but I expected a lot more..Regardless, the show had to go on and it did just that.
I got there in time to see Tommy Lee and for some odd reason I was kind of excited… I’m not really sure if he was actually doing anything but he looked pretty good on stage for a guy his age. I think it’s brilliant that he has moved into EDM but I question what kind of DJ and production skill he’s really rocking with. His set with DJ Areo was kind of all over the place and I really just wanted deadmau5 to get going. Once he did the crowd went crazy. As you can see from my videos (shot with an iPhone 4), deadmau5 came out with heavy artillery and I actually really enjoyed the new dub step elements that he has added to his set. His electro-digi Mau5 head was brilliant and with the exception of some drunk guys running into me over and over again and Sophi’s “singing” or lip syncing over a very loud vocal track, I had a really good time. It was cool to see his final show of this run because you could tell that he wanted to go out with a serious bang. I believe he accomplished this and now LA should be satisfied till he comes back in October. I can only hope that he tweaks his set yet again so we have something new to see and talk about on the blog but when it comes down to it, you’re going to always have fun at a deadmau5 show as long as the sound is plugged in!
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