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Finally, Deadmau5 came to the south coast. The old Opera House, now the o2 Academy in Bournemouth played host to one of the most explosive names on the scene right now. Other acts such as Dizzee Rascal and Calvin Harris have played there recently, but none have been this anticipated. Deadmau5 might have been around for time already, but in recent months, his name has been on everyone’s lips and the eagerly waiting crowd were jammed in as soon as the doors opened.
The classic venue created the amazing atmosphere for the Toronto born Joel Zimmerman and his heavy electronica beats. Although, when we arrived, the atmosphere was unexpectedly chilled out. The warm up DJ’s provided us with a collection of well known tracks from Rusko to a remix of Pendulum’s ‘Tarantula’. The crowd, who were already on the floor, were already starting to work up a sweat, as they finished off their final track of the night and disappeared off stage.
Looking at watches, 3 minutes until Deadmau5 came on stage; long enough to get into the centre of the already heaving crowd, clapping and shouting, these ravers were ready for the hour and a half long set.
Just as we got to our spot, the opening scenes were playing. A giant mouse head slowly being robotically built. This was enough to get the crowd pumped; people around us were ready to explode – then it was completed – and Deadmau5 took centre stage, the famous mouse head towered over us as he smashed straight into the first track of his new album ‘Lack of a Better Name’ the amazing ‘FML’.
Deadmau5 has an unmistakable Tech House style sound. His beats echoed through the air. There weren’t many crushes, instead the entire floor jumping together to the thud of the bass.
The set created waves of tempo; there were times when the crowd were invited to dance, but when a track dropped, it was almost as though the energy in the room multiplied by a million. Older tracks such as ‘Complicated’, gave the crowd a well earned rest and a chance to gain back energy for the bigger tracks which were coming up.
‘Hi Friend’ went down like a storm, nobody could resist the lyrics and crashing rhythm. The feel good atmosphere lingered through to the penultimate track - ‘Ghosts n Stuff’. The room lit up, arms were thrown into the air and voices echoed towards the stage. Rob Swire’s vocals were filling the room; there wasn’t a still body in the building.
The electricity was high as Deadmau5 disappeared off stage after abruptly halting a track before its drop. Echo’s of: “We want more” came from all areas and the room stayed dark. We all knew he would return, and when he did, the speaker blew back into ‘Hi Friend’ which despite being repeated; was a crowd pleaser.
The end of the gig came after a comical sign off from Deadmau5. The mouse head still firmly in place – danced around like a character from a cartoon to an unknown track. Everyone loved it, cheers were coming from all directions, everyone could clearly last longer.
A Deadmau5 beat drops like no other around right now. This tour will be talked about for months, a night full or electricity but respectful mayhem. Bodies were sweaty, ears were ringing and the vibes were explosive, we are all already waiting for his next move.
Review by Jess Macdonald
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