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Written by Bruce Matlock Thursday, 27 October 2011 22:30
A show that so overwhelms the senses that it's hard to concentrate on any one of them.
The Midland Theater, Kansas City
Can we all just admit that Deadmau5 has really only blown up like he has in the past few years due to the absence of our favorite French House gods, Daft Punk? Okay, maybe that isn’t fair, but our craving of killer light shows and loud beats has certainly given the man behind the Mau5 head (Joel Zimmerman) quite a living, and no one on the road right now is doing those two things better.
Zimmerman puts incredible amounts of focus on making his music as dynamically large as possible. The crowd is often moved, in just moments, from dancing their asses off into a near trance-like state. Sometimes both of these happen on the same track, namely “Cthulhu Sleeps” or set closer “Strobe,” each of which carry the listener on long journeys that so overwhelm the senses it's hard to concentrate on any one of them. The cheese-headed maestro also chose a genre that often has the smallest dynamic range to open the show: dubstep.
With producer Excision and newer names in the field Feed Me and Le Castle Vania kicking things off, the show would not be without the sound of the trendy genre. Given his past critique of the genre, this may seem odd; however, he has also shown a fondness for artists that fit into his idea of the sound, and none of his choices for openers would disappoint. Zimmerman would later kick out a dubstep track of his own, the very popular “Raise Your Weapon.”
After that intense breakdown, many in the crowd seemed to expect a break, though none was to be had. The stage would soon be filled with the rock-star presence of oft-Mau5 contributor Sofi, who came out for her two tracks off of the 2010 Deadmau5 release 4X4=12, “Sofi Needs a Ladder” and “One Trick Pony.”
Only appearing twice outside of his famous headgear, Zimmerman took to wearing what was essentially a sheet for “Ghosts ‘n’ Stuff,” and then again at the end of the show as he graciously tossed a few heart hand-symbols and numerous glowsticks that hand made their way on stage back into the crowd.
Though the night was filled with endless references to his cat and videogames galore, no one in the house was cooler on this night than Zimmerman. As an earless head peeked back up over the Rubik’s cube-shaped riser, a “Continue?” graphic popped onto all the screens, giving the crowd 60 seconds to cheer on their electronic idol, prodding on the obligatory encore. Though it may have seemed excessive to those (mostly) sober in the crowd at 2 a.m. on a Monday night, the majority raved to their hearts' desire. | Bruce Matlock
Setlist:
Bad Selection
Maths
Reward Is Cheese
To Play Us Out
Some Chords
Complications
Cthulhu Sleeps
Arguru
Asdfghjkl
HR 8938 Cephei
Jaded
Slip
Aural Psynapse
Raise Your Weapon
Sofi Needs a Ladder
One Trick Pony
FML
Professional Griefers
Ghosts 'n' Stuff
Limit Break
Animal Rights
Get in the Cart, Pig
Strobe
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