Live Review: Deadmau5 at The Hollywood Bowl

On April 27, Deadmau5 and friends celebrated the past 25 years of creating iconic art at the Hollywood Bowl, the experience they created was easily one of Hollywood’s best dance parties. Throughout the night, guests could be seen sporting Deadmau5 merch, glow stick mouse ear-shaped headbands, and even a few Deadmau5 mask replicas. To kick off the night, MEUTE performed a lively 45-minute long set. The German marching band did a fantastic job of getting everyone in the zone for the coming experience. As guests settled into their seats, Muete’s beautiful synchronization between each instrument encouraged the crowd to enter a trance-like state. Despite the daylight illuminating the atmosphere, wild lighting arrangements with red and white strobe lights complemented MEUTE’s signature red uniforms.

At around 7:45 pm, Deadmau5 graced the stage with no mask and a DJ booth. Behind him, montages of his younger self and Steve Duda played on the jumbo screens. While he started off his set with “Bored of Canada,” these videos reminded the audience of their beginning, giving a sense of how far they’ve come. Soon after, Steve Duda joined Deadmau5 on stage to perform “Last Life” as BSOD. For the first 15-minutes of their collaborative set, the general atmosphere was mystical and relaxed, a perfect transition from the openers. At 8 p.m., two other artists joined them on stage to form WTF?, jamming out with each other for the next few songs. At this point, the energy starts to get heavier and more intense. The tracks have stronger, thumping down beats, and the sound shifts to more analogue techno. After the mini collab session, Deadmau5 performs a few songs solo, taking a few moments to connect with the audience. He expressed surprise that they’ve been able to make this into a 25 year journey, deeply thanking everyone for their support. He also joked with the crowd by saying, “Thank God for MIDI tracks!”

At 8:30 p.m., Meute returned to the stage to perform “Slip” with Deadmau5. The crowd loved this song — the energy was high and everyone was on their feet. Halfway through the piece, they mellowed out the tune, giving the floor to the baritone sax player to kill it on his solo. At the finale of this piece, someone sporting a red and blue Deadmau5 mask is revealed on a DJ cube. Again, there is another energy shift as he plays “I Remember” which has a pop techno vibe. A few moments later, the music transitions to the darker gothic side as it is revealed that the man behind the mask was Steve Duda — Deadmau5 had returned with his Pinhead mask. The timing of this set synchronized perfectly with the time of day. The sun was now fully set and the next songs included more digital retro tracks like “Ghosts ‘n’ Stuff.”

At 9 p.m., Deadmau5 brought out the first of four guests for the night, SOFI, performing “Sofi Needs a Ladder.” Later in the night, he also brought out Lights, Kiesza, and Hayla to perform pieces like “Bridged by a Lightwave” and “Kx5.” Each of the guests invigorated the show as their lovely vocals elevated Deadmau5’s instrumentals. To match with each performer, the visuals on the screens carried a theme, breathing life into the music with concepts including outer space and dancing Deadmau5 figures.

Near the end of the show, an orchestral interlude merging classical and electronic music signaled another energy shift. It was such a peaceful mashup that led into Deadmau5 encouraging the crowd to use their flashlights, lighting up the sky with him. The moment was very special and served to remind the audience of how far they’ve come together.

To wrap up the night, some new and unreleased tracks were revealed. In recent works, Deadmau5 has creatively branched into the hip hop realm. It was easy to tell that the crowd was very receptive to it, as many danced along to the tracks. So congrats to Deadmau5 for keeping his people dancing — surely they’re ready for another 25 years.

Setlist

1. Bored Of Canada
2. Creep
3. Last Life (BSOD cover) (with Steve Duda)
4. BSOD (BSOD cover) (with Steve Duda)
5. Lollercoaster (Outright Hilarious Mix) (BSOD cover) (with Steve Duda)
6. Afterburner (BSOD cover) (with Steve Duda)
7. Milton (BSOD cover) (with Steve Duda)
8. Faxing Berlin
9. Complications
10. Sometimes Things Get, Whatever
11. Slip (with MEUTE)
12. I Remember (Cube reveal)
13. Moar Ghosts ‘n’ Stuff
14. Ghosts ‘n’ Stuff
15. I Said (Michael Woods Mix)
16. Sofi Needs a Ladder (with SOFI)
17. Take Care of the Proper Paperwork
18. Some Chords
19. Raise Your Weapon (Noisia Remix)
20. FML
21. A City in Florida
22. Bad Selection
23. Professional Griefers
24. The Veldt
25. The Veldt (Tommy Trash Remix)
26. Phantoms Can’t Hang
27. Imaginary Friends (OV)
28. Imaginary Friends
29. Avaritia
30. Snowcone
31. Monophobia
32. Pomegranate
33. Bridged by a Lightwave
34. Hypnocurrency
35. When the Summer Dies (with Lights)
36. Drama Free (with Lights)
37. Escape
38. (Kx5 feat. Hayla cover) (with Hayla)
39. Quetzalcoatl
40. Strobe (OV)
41. Strobe