NEW YORK, NY—For the Meowingtons Hax Tour, electro producer Deadmau5 set a new record for NYC venue Roseland Ballroom. Unofficially, I think you could also say he gathered a record number of people wearing glow-in-the-dark mouse ears under one roof, he now holds the venue’s record for consecutive shows, with six. And every night was sold out, as he packed the place with a mass of fans ready to dance and enjoy the production.
Walking into the venue you had to navigate through a sea of teens decked out in neon clothing to get a prime spot amid all those there to dance the night away on the floor. With the floor being so jammed packed, I made my way upstairs, to witness what reminded me of a high school science fair project. On stage, you’ll find Deadmau5 wearing his trademark mouse head, which fans on their own recreate and wear out to the shows.
It felt as though, Deadmau5’s goal for the evening was to somehow make everyone feel as if they were in a small dance club, no matter where they were in this large venue. With the visuals projected on numerous screens alongside lights galore, you couldn’t move without feeling you were right next to the turntables. Whether you knew the music or not, the visual show was captivating in itself. From shapes and lazer lights forming geometrical patterns to an evil, monocle-wearing cat chasing the cartoon Deadmau5 about in old school Super Mario Bros. land, my eyes couldn’t stop moving.
I had missed the openers for the night, but still got to see one of the others artists there, SOFI, who is off of the Mau5trap label, provide vocals for Deadmau5. Mid-set, the silver leotard clad SOFI came out to perform her two singles, “Sofi Needs A Ladder” and “One Trick Pony.” She completely took over the stage with her vocals and kickass attitude. Deadmau5 himself even took a break from the DJ booth and came down to dance a bit alongside SOFI—you haven’t seen anything until you’ve seen someone in a mouse head try to break dance.
Towards the end, I picked up on probably his top single, “Ghosts n Stuff,” which I denied could be the last of the evening. It wasn’t, thankfully, and there was a small break before Deadmau5 came back out to finish out his marathon run at Roseland. A few tracks later and fans were saying goodbye. With a mere two-hour set (short for electronica), the party spilled into the streets, with a parked cop car outside buzzing the siren and flashing its lights to the delight of exiting fans.
