Wednesday, February 2, 2011

DEADMAU5 - Paramount Theatre

If you take the two 0's out of 2010, you get the current age of myself.
October 15, 2010; my 21st year descended. Which is quite prominently the golden era for all. Finally you are legal! And finally, you're an adult?.....oh wait, they changed that to 25 didn't they?
Leeway before evolving.

For my birthday, I didn't want to just sit around staring at an ice cream cake like the last 4 years. No, this time I wanted to do something bigger and better.

The week prior, I traveled to San Diego with my best friend to have a final extension of summer before it left us for the next 6 months. I suppose I considered it an event leading up to the day of 21manship.

Once we got back to the NW, I had a couple days to rest before the actual birthday week began...and unexpectedly(not really) the boy in question surprised me with dinner at the Space Needle on the 15th, and.. tickets to the sold out Deadmau5 show live at the Paramount Theatre in downtown Seattle Oct. 13th!
Finally I would get to see the mouse in the flesh again.


The first time I witnessed Joel Zimmerman was at Coachella in April '10. I had fallen into Mau5 fandom from the moment he opened with Some Chords...he was like an evil Mickey Mouse, lifting his hands to this melodic, intoxicating sound. I remember standing there holding my breath....I was drowning! It was brilliant. It was death by mouse through ears!
I made a pact with myself to see him again one day, and experience full-on what I didn't get enough of at Coachella.

Now at last, my chance had come. I gave mad props to Bren for obtaining those tickets. What a good question he is.

Well, as with most occasions, I made us slightly late when we left on the eve of the 13th, due to my hunger for pizza. You really can't blame me, there's a pizza place in Bainbridge with the BEST thin-crust pepperoni on the Puget Sound!
We missed our ferry by mere seconds. I thought Brendon was going to murder either me or the cashier, he was so disappointed. I felt awful.
I tried to cheer him up with a pizza slice, but it didn't seem to work. He had been vastly excited to see the mouse all summer. I tried to reassure him that we indeed would make it! There was no way that Deadmau5 would go on right at the exact time scheduled.
But as we boarded the ferry and endured the long salty voyage, our hopes that we would make it there on time were diminishing.


All was not lost, however. As we bombed into Seattle with eager hearts, found a parking garage and began walking, we started to realize that we may just make it!


The Paramount was quite a walk from where we parked. When we finally arrived, we stormed in with our tickets and immediately asked a large mouse-headed chap if we had missed anything. There were tons of Mau5 fans flooding the lobby. ......Why were they all out here and not in the concert hall?

Well. Apparently we had missed NOTHING.
There were a couple other artists performing that night, including Die Antwoord and Skrillex. Because of their slots, Joel had yet to go on stage! We about wept with joy. What could have easily been a disaster ended up working out perfectly. Pizza was a good choice after all.
Now the only thing left to do was mingle and wait.

If anyone has seen Deadmau5 live, you will know why I admire him so. If one listens to his albums without knowing what he sounds like in the raw, then there's no way to understand or distinguish the difference between the two. I can imagine his music being lengthy and obnoxious if listened to only by mp3, however great it is at parties or clubs.
But hearing his material live, while literally watching him work his computers to technology-climax, you will understand fully what I refer to when I say "DJ" he simply is not. He is in a league all his own....far too intense to be called a disc-jockey.

He appeared on the Paramount's stage quite rapidly. We leapt into the concert hall with pining hearts. His visuals were outstanding for the theatre. His mouse-headed shadow loomed above everyone across the elegant ceiling.

This time, instead of being trapped behind thousands of people, I was right up in front with a bird's eye view of his platform. It was truly TRULY a better, more intimate setting than that of Coachella's. The Mau5 was alive and well and manifesting his technologies for Seattle's people. I don't think I've sweated so much in my life! I bathed in the bass.






The show must have lasted a good hour or more. Despite wanting the greatness to continue, I was relieved when it finally ended, as I was in dire need of liquid. Probably lost all my bodily fluids from perspiration ha.

I don't think I've ever seen the question SO amused before. Ever since our excursion, Bren has been ranting and raving about the mouse, and counting down the days until we encounter him again.

Until next time, Joel. You're one of the best in my book. However deep into the mainstream you find yourself, I'll continue to support.
No use cutting off the love for an artist just because they appear on the vma's or gain popularity. To me, that's a success for something unique! At least some true talent gets into bloodstream of the fake-mtv age. Kids these days need more pure music in their lives, regardless of the genre.