With weekend two of Ultra kicking off tomorrow we thought we would share our experience with the closers from weekend one. Swedish House Mafia and Deadmau5 are both scheduled to perform in the closing slot a second time around but Armin is not — although he’ll still be taking the stage, albeit a different one at a different time. Read on to find out whether you should close with one of these big names or if exploring will be your best bet.

Swedish House Mafia:

For some reason, I’ve never had the chance to see these three Swedes behind the booth. Timing issues and random occurrences have always found a way to prevent it. As a fan since “Leave the World Behind” and this being their second to last show, I didn’t have much choice but to close Friday by experiencing the hype. Although the overlap with Fatboy Slim was disappointing, missing his set was a necessary evil.

For those who’ve been keen on One Last Tour’s trail, there were probably few surprises, but as someone who’s never understood the common lack of variation from set to set complaint this wasn’t a concern. In terms of stage presence and production, the trio stands on an elevated tier. Do Justin Bieber or Kanye West alter their set plans on an arena tour? Not much.

Hearing favorites like “Wakanda” and “Greyhound” erupting from the mountainous Main Stage while standing next to 50,000 animated SHMaholics, was an exciting way to see them go out. It was a spectacle, a concert, and a rave all in one sitting. With one more performance to go, you can count on hearing ‘We came, we raved, we loved,’ a final time. Don’t miss it.

Deadmau5:

Between his past tiffs with Ultra and a dry season of tour dates, Deadmau5 was a surprising billing announcement. Naturally, mau5’s return to the main stage was highly anticipated but it managed to live up to expectations. Predicated by a bevvy of his swooning originals and fun visuals, Joel’s set had more than one treat for fans. While he was getting into his groove, an adoring audience bore witness to a half-naked Zedd galavanting around the stage. Seeing the tiny German make good on the Twitter dare, made the set worth it in itself but likely won’t be replicated for weekend two.

Armin Van Buuren:

As a DJ, Armin tries to stray from too much set preparation instead, opting to sense the crowd’s desires and indulge them — especially in a festival atmosphere. Consequently, his set remained diverse, at least ofr his standards, appeasing fans both the old and new persuasions.

Premiering his new single with the first track, Armin asked the crowd, “Are you ready to go crazy tonight?” The response was obvious. He stuck to a main stage feel, soaring between trance and big room house. From 140 bpms to festival tracks like “We Are Here To Make Some Noise,” the crowd had plenty of moments to sway and plenty of moments to jump. Accompanied by pyro Armin gave weekend one attendees a proper send off.

Tags: Armin Van Buuren, deadmau5, miami music week, Swedish House Mafia, ultra

Categories: Music