MUMBAI: When Canadian DJ Deadmau5 performed for Sunburn Arena on 14 March at the Mahalaxmi Race Course in Mumbai, it was just what you would expect. Flashing lights, pounding music and a lot of very intoxicated EDM fans. What they were high on, however, was anyone's guess.
Opening the evening's event was Dutch DJ R3hab who did a great job at getting the crowd in the mood for Deadmau5. His two hour set was energetic, adrenalin pumping and sent the audience into a frenzy of hand waving and dancing.
As customary with Sunburn, the staging and lighting were exceptional, particularly the strobes and lasers. Even the sound was great and ensured non EDM fans would also, at the least, tap their feet to the blaring music. The only glitch in the evening perhaps, was the transition from R3hab to Deadmau5. The console change to precisely the centre of the stage took a good ten minutes. And while that may not seem like a lot, filling in the quiet with recorded music did cool the crowd down a little.
But once the stage was ready for Deadmau5, he made up for lost time and got the crowd jumping right from the first minute. Dressed in a traditional Indian kurta, he received a very warm (and rather noisy) welcome for his first ever gig in India, and started his set while some very impressive visuals featured on the backdrop. As expected, the Canadian played his remix of Punjabi singer- Daler Mehndi's very popular 'Tunnak tunak tun', which had a lot of the audience not just dancing, but singing along as well.
There is no doubting that Deadmau5's first time playing in India was a fantastic, and he even suggested coming back to do more shows. R3hab and Deadmau5 will continue their Sunburn Arena tour of India in Benguluru on 15 March and in Delhi on 16 March.