Deadmau5 Colorado Tour Stop

Deadmau5 lights up Red Rocks Amphitheatre with electric vibe

Emma Sanders, Copy Editor

Over the years, Red Rocks has been the spot of many iconic musicians, from The Beatles, to The Grateful Dead. However, in the past five years, Red Rocks has become an increasingly prominent location in the Electronic Dance Music world. Red Rocks has transitioned into the EDM craze, featuring contemporary EDM artists such as Daft Punk, Kygo, Avicii, and Steve Aoki.

On October 19 and 20, 2017, EDM superstar Joel Zimmerman, known by his stage name Deadmau5, performed at Red Rocks, in Morrison, CO, as a part of his international tour. Thursday Oct. 19, and Friday Oct. 20 were Zimmerman’s only stops in the United States during this tour, and in the following weeks, he will be touring his birthplace of Canada.

Zimmerman’s concert at Red Rocks was opened by two DJs, BlackGummy, an LA based artist, and Electrocado, an electronic music group composed of artist Ryanosaurus. The Thursday night concert began at 7:30 pm, while the Friday night concert began at eight. The opening was two hours in length, with the entire concert ending a little after 11.

During the concert, Zimmerman played songs that have yet to be released, as well as some Deadmau5 favorites, including “Ghosts ‘n’ Stuff,” “The Veldt,” and “Let Go.”

On stage, Zimmerman was elevated about 20 feet above the first row, in a DJ box with three dimensional technological images which differed throughout the show; the movements of the image matching the beat of the song. The images displayed on the DJ box included 1980s aerobic exercises, jungle animals, Ancient Greek art, and the most lifelike, a Rubik’s cube. One of the more daring digital displays of this concert included an oscillating array of controversial hand signs on the screen.

The Deadmau5 label is distinguished by the technological neon mouse head that Zimmerman wears during his concerts, and which graces his album covers. During this concert, Zimmerman alternated his mouse headwear during the performance three times, beginning with a simple mouse head, then switching to something more vibrant, and completing the remainder of the performance with an electric, brilliant mouse head.

Deadmau5 lit up Red Rocks with his incredible performance, and the atmosphere that the audience created was a crazy, wonderful experience. The bass echoed through the rows of people at Red Rocks, with the lights of Denver just visible above the amphitheater. The crowd exploded when Deadmau5 began to perform, and did not stop until the sun came up.

Emma Sanders
Lights of Denver visible above Red Rocks Amphitheater. Photo edit courtesy of Dillon Huselton
Emma Sanders
Deadmau5 performs at Red Rocks