Few electronic dance music spectacles come as close to that of Deadmau5. From the iconic LED mouse helmet to his ostentatious stage platform dubbed The Cube, the producer/DJ is as synonymous with the flamboyant pageantry of the genre as one can be. With that said, Deadmau5 manages to differ from many of his contemporaries, by refusing to pander to the instant gratification of euphoric drops and glitzy edits of Top 40 familiarity, instead opting for material that is all his own and artistry that’s garnered a legion of adoring fans. At the same time, Deadmau5 is also a notorious troll, playing with expectations and rustling through a mixed bag of free agency. Simply put, with Deadmau5 you never know what you’re going to get. Returning to Red Rocks on Friday for the first of two consecutive nights Deadmau5 was still a spectacle, but one devoid of any discernible spark.
Despite temperatures lingering in the 20s, fans couldn’t be coaxed out of showing up for the sold-out performance. DIY mouse ears and costumes flooded into the venue as if a human confetti cannon had malfunctioned spewing glittery and translucent costumed people across the amphitheater. A special Dia De Los Muertos rendition of Deadmau5’s iconic headpiece was projected onto the rocks in moving lasers, steadily etching his figure into the rock face. Groups huddled together in close proximity as the first of the last two shows of 2019’s Red Rocks season got underway.
Utilizing minimal lighting and production, opener i_o attempted to warm up the amphitheater, plunging into an array of tech-house stompers. There were brief hot flashes of people dancing through the cold and other moments where fans rallied through the barren performance, but being as cold and as unflattering as the production was, i_o’s attempt was fraught from the jump. The music and the vibe felt far more suited for the closed quarters and steadfast conditions of a traditional club. Ripping the top off his club intentions and facing the inclement temperatures, it was a struggle to connect, and the longer it continued, the worse it got.
When the time came for Deadmau5 to finally take the stage, full production and guns blazing, of course — hope returned that the night could get back on the right path. Watching the third iteration of The Cube become emblazoned with visuals and the LEDs at his back finally light the stage, the crowd lept up and held their breath for Deadmau5 to set things in motion. What could have and should have been an immediate whiplash contrary to the slow build of what came before didn’t pan out that way. Instead, Deadmau5 opted for a slow burn of a techno song, stretching what little the crowd had left into a tune that felt akin to something you’d hear in Stranger Things. But, the retro-futurism didn’t stop there. Tron-like grids and technicolor patterns enveloped the Cube and all the screens behind it, as well as Deadmau5 who was hidden from the crowd for the majority of the performance. While unpredictability is Deadmau5’s forte, no one could have predicted that the show would, at its worst, feel so disconnected.
Every once and a while, The Cube would rotate and reveal the DJ behind it, but far too often did onlookers question whether Deadmau5 was even there in the first place. Messing up and having the sound cut off entirely during “Ghosts ‘n’ Stuff” didn’t help his cause either. The redeeming moments — a rare cameo appearance from Lights performing “Raise Your Weapon” alongside Deadmau5 and the familiar “hits” were pleasant distractions but ultimately couldn’t remedy the unfortunate pacing of the show, which for all intents and purposes sucked the energy from the amphitheater. With the weather being what it was and the need for momentum, Deadmau5’s production, despite its abundance of lights and visuals, ultimately left Red Rocks in the cold.
You literally went to a show featuring electro and techno artists and then complained when they play techno and electro. This is a joke of an article and you should stop writing on things you know nothing about.
Thanks for your comment, Sean.
This was my fifth time seeing him over the past 3 years or so (twice at Red Rocks, twice at Ultra Music Festival and once at Decadence in Denver). I have no complaints about the techno and electro and I’ve never had an issue with it (I know the music Deadmau5 plays), however, my issue was the pacing and the production of the show. The Cube v.3 left so many people around me questioning whether he was playing or not and their inability to connect when it was purely visuals for the gross majority of the show. Likewise and especially having seen his show in 2017 at Red Rocks, and the sheer energy that it carried, I know he can put on a better show. This isn’t an article bashing Deadmau5 its expressing disappointment.
I thought his show was amazing! I guess you just don’t understand the mind of Joel! To bad. It was lit to say the least!!
We thoroughly enjoyed the show despite the cold temps…why would anyone question whether he was playing? He was the headlining DJ. We also enjoyed meeting him at the pop up downtown on Friday and Saturday and give him kudos for not calling off the show despite the cold. Die hard fans were there and v3 cube was absolutely amazing. In total about 10 of us went to both nights and had an incredible time. My favorite thing about Deadmau5 is he doesn’t rest in his laurels and do what everyone else does. His show is always different, always unusual, and it was great to hear the hits for chilly fans and new fans alike. The openers were just as good…loved Lights and I_O. Sorry you didn’t enjoy it, but we sure as hell did!
Maybe you just didnt listen to any forte message and went straight to the cannons expecting a big blast? Unfortunate.
I was lucky to catch him in San Jose in Oct. I’d have to say I can slightly agree with the disconnect. But I’ve seen him 4 times before and new what to expect being it was all about the cube. The only complaint I had was some of the visuals. It showed the devil and demonic stuff during one of his songs and I’m totally against that. I’d say after that the mood changed for me. Also MSTRKRFT was so good .
Hmm. 20° in November. Ehh. I know his February show in Chicago I’m going to see him at is in an indoor amphitheater, but you gotta expect a little freeziness at this time of year.
It is not necessarily demonic stuff. The song playing for the visuals is called “Avaritia”. It stands for Greed, one of the 7 major sins mentioned in the bible. The visuals show how Greed can torment someone into limbo which leads to the depths of hell. Or if you are talking about “Cthulhu Sleeps”, then it isn’t demonic either. It features the fake manuscript of the story from H.P. Lovecraft which talks about the ancient being of Cthulhu.
If it has a devil, depths of hell then it’s demonic. But it’s my opinion and we don’t have to agree lol.
As someone who put on layers of woolies and danced til I dropped Friday night, I can’t say I agree at all with this takeaway. From where my group was situated at row 17, Deadmau5’s lit-up helmet was clearly visible through the transparent sections of cube through much of the show, and we all marveled at the display. Everyone around me had an absolute blast and loved the pacing of the set! But, everyone’s entitled to their opinion – sorry you didn’t have a better time.
Minor grammatical nitpick: 1st sentence of the article has an extra “as.” “Few EDM spectacles come as close to Deadmau5.” (As close as what?)
It was pretty obvious he was inside the cube after the first couple minutes when they showed a video ON the cube of him INSIDE the cube. The majority of the set he was actually visible (e.g. here and there in the first half, and most of the last half of his set). Considering this review (the deadmau5 part of it) is 1 paragraph detailing the first couple songs of the set and 1 paragraph with misleading comments about the red rocks audience as a whole, it honestly sounds like you got too cold, left early, and looked up what happened online later.
Also, i_o’s set was great.
If you don’t like seeing music at Red Rocks then don’t go, but don’t bash a show because you were unprepared for late fall CO weather and forgot the handwarmers (which you can also buy at the Red Rocks shop inside the building).
Hey Kris, thanks for the comment and the completely unsupported assumption.
Contrary to what you may believe, I stayed throughout the entire concert, watched the house lights come up and followed the crowd out — picking up on conversations as I exited. I’ve also been to several concerts at Red Rocks this year with far worse weather — one with a torrential downpour and one in the middle of a snowstorm, so while the weather was a factor in how I, like many others received the concert it had no effect on my ability to stay through it. I was more than prepared.
In terms of i_o, his set would have fared significantly better if the sound and production matched the music he was putting forth. A small stage with an even smalerl LED screen, no lights and reduced volume in such a massive venue left a lot to be desired, especially the higher you were in the Red Rocks.
I personally was aware he was behind The Cube, but the sheer response from those around me who were frustrated that he was seldom seen spoke volumes, and it was a sentiment that I heard multiple times throughout the night.
Lastly, Red Rocks as a venue had less to do with the review then Deadmau5’s ability to take control of the situation and play to it. I’ve seen no shortage of Red Rocks shows over the years, and unfortunately, this one failed to deliver. Attempting to mock my ability to review the show doesn’t change that.
Oh my gosh yall ungreatful he put on a killer show even given the cold ass weather ur bitching about his cube that hes always there and present in thats his thing he shows himself when he wants if u REALLY know anything about joel u wud know that spontaneity is his thing hes a perfectionist if anything sucked it wud have been the crowd not artist.and im also on his app an i know a few ppl who went to the show and had a blast and nothing to complain about so to the person who wrote this article u can fucking suck it an shudnt write about artists knocking their music n bitching about that music being played wtf is that even? Uneducated is what it is.ur dumb n so is this article.toodles.
You can disagree with this writer’s opinion (and I do too) but I don’t think you can call him uneducated when your spelling and grammar is comparable to a damn toddler’s!!!
You’re a fudging joke, man
Night 2: the weather was balmy, openers full of energy, and Deadmau5 was on fire!
I left Red Rocks feeling completely satisfied after Saturday’s show.
We all have off nights… glad I caught him when he was on.
lol night 2 was amazing. I find it hard to believe night 1 was as bad as you describe though.
Seriously quit your day job. This is how deadmau5 performs and he puts on probably the greatest electronic show there is or ever will be. You clearly know nothing about EDM and no one wants to read your misinformed opinion.
This reads like someone’s first time at Red Rocks and just Colorado in general during our cold season lol.
Well, it doesn’t look like this article had the intended impact. Also, the writing and grammar are atrocious.
Wow! Could this article be anymore pretentious and hypercritical?! I thought it was an exceptional show on Saturday night. He held the crowd in the palm of his hand the entire night and didn’t ever disappoint. For anyone who hasn’t seen him live and has ever thought about it, please do not let this article discourage you from going. You will not be disappointed!!! Deadmau5 is THE BEST DJ IN THE WORLD!!!!!
With any review there’s potential for bias. I was at night one and heres the details I think are missing from this review. First, deadmau5 aka Joel was humble graceful and loveable through and through. LIGHTS!! The name can be confusing… her name is lights! She was incredible!! Is my new favorite! I love sofi also!! I_0!! I felt like I was in the presence of a legend like nina Kravitz or maya Jane Cole’s or s.p.y. ! He is a true DJ!! I_0! He’s getting some criticism and the man deserves an essential mix. Ok and finally…. deadmau5… there is no mention of the total magic that occasionally happens at live performances… for a few moments in time I witnessed my partner jump off of his feet. the epic proportions of the video displays combined with the visual effect of cube v3, the stage lighting, and sound all culminated in something much greater than itself the likes of which I have rarely encountered on par with the landing of an alien spaceship. Mau5trap is no joke and it’s only getting bigger. I wish them the best!
I agree with basically every other comment here. I was fortunate enough to to catch him the first night of his LA show, had a meet & greet with him that night & met him again a couple days later at his pop up shop. He put on a great show, & it was obvious that he was in fact performing live. Maybe you should write about artists who’s genre you appreciate more? Idk. It seems like you’re alone in your perspective of the red rocks show & certainly alone in your views of his performance on this tour. I just couldn’t believe what I was reading in your article. Seemed very far from the truth, especially after seeing so many glowing posts/comments from his fans that attended the red rocks shows.
I signed up JUST to leave a comment on THIS article. This is a very Biased Article. THIS ARTICLE SHOULD BE TAKEN DOWN. This makes 303 Magazine look unprofessional. Everyone loved the show and here is this one person trying to speak for the rest of the crowd.. Unacceptable. All I heard was WONDERFUL things about this show. You have no idea what it takes for visual led mapping and how spectacular a FULL PRODUCTION IS. The article writer understands nothing. New writer please and thank you.
So many offended people… Didn’t go to the show but I understand what this guy is talking about. Connecting to a crowd isn’t always as simple as having a big production coupled with playing the hits. Some people are more easily entertained by others and will defend their opinions like there’s no tomorrow.
This was a terrible article man. You should probably start off with “In my opinion.”
Seems like you would have been better off going to Beta for some ‘euphoric drops and glitzy edits of Top 40 familiarity’ ☺️
Wow, I don’t think your expectations speak for most.
Was at both shows and didn’t hear a negative word about either from anyone.
I guess there’s one in every crowd.
I agree this was not the best Deadmau5 show I’ve been too. I still enjoyed it but felt exactly what you say with the dis-connectivity and does know else think that bass was really not good? Sound and lights were amazing but I was 3rd row and never felt the deep low frequencies and drops that Deadmau5 brings. With his dislike to bassheads, dubstep and CO, I felt like he intentionally put on the best worst show he could, and was laughing about on his way home. 2015 Decadence and 2017 Red Rocks were two of the best shows I’ve seen and 2018 Global was a joke because he was just wasted at another festival. And this is just my opinion being a die hard Deadmau5 fan for over 10 years so i could just be over critical.
sorry for my poor grammar
This guy has no idea who Deadmau5 is and his music. Rave music and shows in particular. Joel is a legend and Saturday’s red rocks show was INCREDIBLE! Knowing the evolution of Joel’s stage is fun to see what he built for this time around. Also, Kori if you’re going to be a Mau5 hater don’t seek out opportunities to Mau5 loving companies.
Kory why are you even responding to these comments lol it’s just gonna be full of deadmau5 fanbois anyway.
If you think that seeing the artist is the important part of a show…. you have DRASTICALLY missed what deadmau5 is trying to do.
The show was absolutely phenomenal. I was afraid that the momentum that had been building up from deadmau5’s social media would leave me dissatisfied. However, it was quite the opposite. Though it was a rocky start where i_o had a bit to desire, deadmau5 delivered. The visuals were a stunning 60 fps and the lights strobed amazingly as the cube would rotate and reveal deadmau5. The interesting thing about this cube is that the visuals were the center piece and deadmau5 was behind it. And even though there were freezing temperatures, the constant dancing and jumping from the fans proved that we did in fact connect with the music. His music has evolved and he has a new cube to showcase, so I understand if your taste for the show has cemented to his earlier works. I say it was a great new experiment that celebrated the day of the dead-mau5 and I, for one, loved it and will cherish it as my first concert with my girlfriend.
What a worthless “review” by an overly verbose, contentious, and hypercritical whiny author who demonstrates zero understanding of the show and who deadmau5 is.
I’ve been to see every iteration of the cube, and 3 cube v3 shows at this point, 2 of which by myself because I enjoy feeling out the crowd and meeting people. Not ONCE had anyone expressed any doubt “whether he was actually there or not”. It’s hard to, considering the cube rotated around fairly often and started to early on in the show, the fact that the cube is opaque enough to allow people to see his illuminated mau5head through the visuals, and the fact that the visuals included live streams of Joel behind the cube. Instead of whining about a disconnect, how about some appreciation for the creativity and innovation demonstrated here? No fool could possibly question his presence.
I understand, you’re trying to illustrate a point of disconnect in the show. Except this is deadmau5. Is this your first time seeing Joel? Don’t answer that, it’s a rhetorical question. Are you aware that he has two songs called monophobia and polyphobia, and what the meaning of those words are? Are you aware of one of the main reasons the mau5 head was even employed as a part of live shows? You can claim to have seen him as many times as you want, but that doesn’t mean you actually UNDERSTAND him. The only disconnect here seems to be you being limited in understanding of who deadmau5 is. Deadmau5 has NEVER been a “hey look at me, I enjoy popularity” artist. Quite the opposite. And if you’re complaining yourself or on behalf of questionable other because you didn’t see him enough, enough to have it be the main and one of only a few points in your article, you completely lost the plot. The show isn’t about him, it’s about the passion to put on a unique show unlike anything you’ve seen, the passion to create and innovate a $500k dollar cube and its associated technical feats for fans, the passion in the visuals and music, and ultimately the emotion behind them, which astonishingly, none of these of which you made any mention of in this so-called “review”.
The fact you’re hung up on “zomg couldn’t see him” and “y the opener not moar producktionz” rather than focusing on the setlist and progression of emotion is proof of your lack of understanding. That’s your first fault. The next would be having your expectations be the same from show to show. His shows can be drastically different from each other in a slew of ways. That’s the beauty of them. Will it be techno and Testpilot inspired today? Classic? Electro and hard? High energy or relaxed? Dark and provoking? Progressively and full of journey? Are you not aware that openers don’t generally have great production anyway? And that venues and acoustics vary wildly from place to place, so perhaps the volume wasn’t quite where you wanted it to be but that would be limited to a venue-specific complaint rather than a show-wide complaint?
This isn’t a review by any stretch, it’s a shallow and personal complaint piece, and does not reflect the same opinion of, honestly, not a single person of the hundreds of opinions I’ve seen of this show. It doesn’t reflect the opinion of a genuine deadmau5 fan, either. Maybe sit the next one out and find that “spark” seeing more formulaic and generic crap.
Writing the only bad review to get attention I see? Go beat dirt and fist bump to a Martin Garrix show somewhere.
Thanks for the comment Daniel,
I’d honestly prefer to enjoy Deadmau5 but that’s not what happened and here we are. All these comments tell me is that Deadmau5 fans have come to accept their idol unconditionally rather than confront the possibility that great artists can, in fact, fall short. I’d like to ask, what kind of attention do you think I wanted? I know Deadmau5 can put on an amazing show and I know that he is a legend in the electronic music community, but does that automatically warrant praise?
This was not his best performance by any stretch of the imagination. Yes, the lights and graphics did their job, but coming to see Deadmau5 it felt like a cop-out — hiding behind expensive production and failing to deliver the music and atmosphere to match does not make a great performance in my book.
There’s probably plenty more to say and plenty more arguments to have, but I’m sticking to the words I wrote. Deadmau5 is a great artist who unfortunately put on a mediocre show, and that’s that.
I’m by no means a die hard Deadmau5 fan, though I do enjoy his shows from time to time and think he makes amazing music. First off I want to say that I strongly disagree with this article, as do the 7 people I attended the show with. In fact I didn’t overhear a single negative comment regarding the show from anyone around me who all seemed to be dancing their butts off the entire time. Perhaps it was an unexpected experience for you? It was certainly different than his previous shows I’ve been to but I personally really enjoyed how eclectic his song selection was. Now on to my REAL beef with your review. Have you ever heard of TECHNO? How dare you refer to I_I’d music as tech house, you should be ashamed. What you heard was called techno and perhaps that’s why you didn’t enjoy his performance (which by the way was my favorite music of the night). Perhaps top 40 edm is more your jam? If not, please try to educate yourself before writing your next review.
To address your comment, I have enjoyed Deadmau5 before and I have acknowledged his impact and the quality of his music. I wasn’t expecting a certain type of sound, I was however expecting a certain type of engagement and flow. My entire qualm with the show came down to pacing, creating an atmosphere, and grabbing the attention of the fans, which I believe is essential especially when it comes to electronic music. Unfortunately, the entire thing felt like a misfire, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t get into it, and neither could the people I was around, to the point where several people said they downright hated it. To that degree, it was very unexpected.
Now on to your REAL beef — semantics, semantics, semantics. Genre labels are so arbitrary, but a necessary evil when describing music. I will apologize if the categorization of his music offended you. I will say that I actually enjoyed i_o’s music, but I felt it was far better suited for a club environment and I mention that in the review. I think he got shafted with the reduced volume, lighting and production that it wasn’t enjoyable performance-wise, no matter how good his tracks were.
I feel people have taken this review and its criticisms out of context or have projected this review to fault techno music or taint Deadmau5’s legacy and that’s simply not the case.
I agree with the author of this article. Night one was the third time I’ve seen Deadmau5 and the second time at Red Rocks. I thought both prior performances were amazing, but this time at least personally I didn’t feel like he did himself justice. Aside from Raise Your Weapon and Strobe the show felt like the same endless and repetitive techno beat lacking Deadmau5’s usual flair.
Yo I went to the show on night 2 and holy shit!!! I’m not a big Deadmau5 fan in fact I’m not into progressive house that much either. But the production sound quality track selection and overall performance was just about as good as anything I’ve ever seen! And I’ve been going to raves festivals shows for 15 years! For a show featuring a single artist with opening support from two others. This literally was top notch! Let me remind you this is a non biased opinion. Joel demolished Red Rocks on the second night! I was thoroughly impressed! So your whole article about him coming up short was based off of one night which unfortunately sounds like there were some stumbles and mistakes. Probably why he crushed it on the second night. But I do think you were being a little too critical and focused too much on the aspect of seeing Deadmau5 and the track selection. You have to admit that the show was aesthetically pleasing to say the least! It was a visual spectacle that exceeded my expectations.
I unfortunately wasn’t able to attend the show, but knew many people that went, some that have been to 5+ shows, as well as the many people posting on social media about the show, and this is the first negative comment I have heard. Everything I have read about his previous shows on this tour have all been positive.
I am curious as to how you didn’t see this as engaging to the fans, when it seems like most (obviously there are always haters) of everyone loved it. From the videos I have seen, you see everyone cheering and dancing, not just standing around and moping. The picture you paint to people who didn’t go is that this was the worst show you could have seen at red rocks.
I am not sure if you were having a bad day, and I understand everyone has their own opinion, but yours seems to be so far out in left field on this. What were you watching that no one else was?
For me, it was a disappointment, not the worst show at Red Rocks per se, but not the best either. Objectively speaking, having read into The Cube upgrades and having a fairly good grasp of what Deadmau5 has brought to previous performances, I didn’t think the newest iteration lived up to the hype, and at its worst, I think it was a distraction from the unfortunate pacing of the show. I think Deadmau5 relied too heavily on the projections rather than the music itself which should have been at the forefront. It almost felt Wizard of Oz-like, where things “seemed” exciting, but ultimately it came off like smoke and mirrors when the music and the persona of Deadmau5 seemed completely separate from the spectacle unfolding on stage.
As for the crowd, and as I roamed around, there were some people dancing, yes, but overall it just felt like people were standing in place watching the projections do the bulk of the heavy lifting. As hard as I tried to get into it, it just didn’t connect.
“A small stage with an even smalerl LED screen, no lights and reduced volume in such a massive venue left a lot to be desired…”
What the hell are you expecting from the opener? Why would they sound team give you anything close to what deadmau5 gets? When excision brought his paradox system to red rocks, you better believe that thing was only halfway up until ex got on stage. I love how you relate the shows you saw at Ultra to your expectations at Red Rocks, when they are two completely different venues and even music destinations.
Where is your piece about Saturday tho?
I bet Callie Reef is a pretty pleased you didnt diss her set, but getter would love some positive attention since he murdered his set, and then deadmau5 came on and absolutely trashed the place. You cannot have expectations when it comes to artists that made their name doing shit different than everyone else and expect them to conform to the regs when they tour. Hence getter and his blow up last year. I was stoked to see and hear him back at it.
Be better at what you do man.
I’ve been to several shows at Red Rocks and over 100 in just the past 2 years. I think Odesza plays the best show at Red Rocks and deadmau5 was a VERY close second on my list. I was far back and could see that Deadmau5 was behind the cube virtually the entire time. I thought it was cool that he only showed himself sometimes. It gave a mysterious vibe to the show. I agree that your entitled to your opinion but I disagree, the show was great.