deadmau5 debuts new mousetrap-inspired stage at Governors Ball NYCDeadmau5 Governors Ball 2015 Dancing Astronaut Andrew Spada 44

deadmau5 debuts new mousetrap-inspired stage at Governors Ball NYC

deadmau5 debuts new mousetrap-inspired stage at Governors Ball NYC

After years of development, behind-the-scenes sneak peeks, and a whole heap of hype, deadmau5 finally unveiled his brand new stage design at Governors Ball NYC. The last time mau5 brought the big guns to the Big Apple was back in 2011 when he broke records with 6 sold out performances at the now defunct Roseland Ballroom. This time around the iconic Cube that originated with Meowington Hax 2k11 was replaced by an iron-wrought, Thunderdome-inspired mousetrap with Joel planted firmly in the center — donning a brand new mau5head for his grand debut.

Photos by Andrew Spada

Some Technical Difficulties

After spending the first ten minutes deep within his own iron-wrought prison, the mousetrap began to open revealing Joel manning his battle station at the center of the stage. And that’s just when the power cut out. For the next ten minutes the performance would start and stop, shorting out at least five separate times while Joel and his team scrambled on stage to solve the problem.

Blood for the Bloodgoat

The latest deadmau5 release — a slightly tweaked version of Grabbitz’s vocal edit of “Silent Picture” — now called”Blood for the Bloodgoat” received its first main stage play through at Governors Ball to close out the performance. And it sounds even more incredible on a festival-worthy sound system.

Pressing play with Left Shark

It wouldn’t be a proper deadmau5 show without a bit of trolling and this time around he took aim at the “press play” culture and Katy Perry. In the closing minutes of his performance a dancing hotdog and Left Shark appeared on stage with a cooler full of beers and an inflatable palm tree. Joel climbed down out of the booth to join the mascots on the couch at the center of the stage. They spent the next 10 minutes smoking cigarettes, sipping beers and taking seflies — all the while the music and lights continued to play as if to say “Yes, this is a pre-recorded set and who really cares.”

Living up to expectations

For any long time deadmau5 fan, The Cube stage is hard to top. Revolutionary for its time, Joel’s first fully immersive stage experience put him in a tier of his own and to this day is regarded as one of the best live electronic experiences of all time. Did the new stage live up to our lofty expectations?  The simple answer is “yes.” Despite its early technical difficulties, the new mau5trap stage, with its Mad Max aesthetics and blinding strobes, matched bleak minimalism with hyper-vibrant visuals and an industrial facade that left a serious impression on everyone in the audience.

A hype-satisfying debut for the stage he plans to take around the globe, deadmau5’s return to touring was well worth the wait.

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