Live: Deadmau5

VERIZON WIRELESS THEATER — 9/16/2011: Sometimes daily life gets in the way of doing very important things that perhaps on their own might not necessarily require a significant amount of time to complete, but when paired with the humdrum requirements of day-to-day prior obligations, tend to grow increasingly overly daunting as time goes on and on.

A rabid case of procrastination, one might argue? Perhaps. Sometimes things just get complicated; that’s what we’re saying. When that happens, there tends to be a delay in the reporting of said very important things by those who have sworn to report them. Were this the Rapture, we might be SOL.

What in the world is this crazy person babbling about, you might wonder? Explanation: the sharing of photographic evidence and written coverage of a certain Deadmau5 concert at the Verizon Wireless Theater, Friday, September 16, 2011, aka, something like three weeks ago. Whoopsie. That said, we hope you’ll forgive our severe lateness to the party and just revel in the sheer joy of reliving the experience, if you were there. If not, we hope this will get you on the email list for access to pre-sales for the next tour.

For those unfamiliar with the habits, happenings, and infectious tuneage of one Mr. Joel Zimmerman, aka Deadmau5 — a man with a proclivity towards music production, a passion for the interwebz, “stuff,” and a never-ending love for his ever-faithful cat Meowingtons — well, to say you’re missing out is an understatement. We’re particularly fond of his over abundant usage of non-dimensional words like “whatever” and “stuff” in his song titles and his blatant disregard for logical mathematic calculations in the naming of his albums. Also, we approve of his undying dedication to his cat. N’ stuff. Sure, we’re biased, but isn’t that what blogging is all about? Whatever. Onwards and downwards to reminisce.

The Verizon was quite honestly the perfect venue to stage Mr. Mau5’s triumphant descent upon H-Town. Even for being “sold out,” there was plenty of room to move, and for the most part, there were no bad spots in the entire joint from which to enjoy the show.

As the first two openers played, Tommy Lee — yes, that “Tommy Lee” — along with his partner DJ Aero and Excision, the Verizon filled close to capacity and the excitement began to build. Needless to say, by the time the lights dimmed preceding Mr. Mau5’s grand entrance and the first hints of “Where Are My Keys” began to radiate from the speakers, the energy was intense.

As the show progressed and the night wore on, it was evident that catching a glimpse of the Mau5-headed artist on a solo tour rather than at a festival was definitely the way to go if one’s goal was to obtain the finest Mau5 experience possible. The stage setup, complete with his token performance cube and with three ancillary mobile cubes suspended from the ceiling, plus a multitude of lights and lasers designed to trip out even the squarest of squares, simply doesn’t seem to be able to be executed quite as immaculately in a festival setting as it is in an endeavor all his own.

As a side note, while his presence might tend to seem more prevalent on the festival circuit, and the opportunity for this glorious setup to be witnessed might be more infrequent than we’d prefer — at least to us Houstonians — it would be laughable to suggest that he would rely even in the slightest on festival exposure to boost his already infamous popularity.

After all, alone he’s managed to sell out six (yes, six) consecutive shows at New York City’s Roseland Ballroom, a feat never before accomplished. To our earlier point, unfamiliarity with Mr. Mau5 is nothing short of a shame. Insert disapproving finger waggle here.

The almost two-hour-long set included some of our all-time favorites: the seemingly lesser-appreciated (purely based on the frequency with which we’ve heard it outside our own speakers, that is) yet brilliant “Arguru,” “Reward is Cheese,” “Some Chords,” “Complications,” “Cthulhu Sleeps,” “Raise Your Weapon,” “FML,” “Ghosts ‘n’ Stuff,” “Animal Rights,” and the amazing, the epic, everyone’s-favorite, “Strobe.”

(Thank goodness he read our review of Ultra Music Festival and took our advice to end his set with “Strobe.” Really, it’s the perfect ending to any truly amazing show. You’re all very welcome.)

Was the show worth the overly stressful and somewhat panicked last-minute acquisition of a press pass and ticket? Yes. Would we suffer the stress to do it all over again? Yes, a thousand times yes. Make no mistake: any and every time we’ve had the pleasure of witnessing the magic that Deadmau5 produces on stage has been a new and fantastic experience. Without doubt, this one won’t be our last. END