deadmau5 performs for packed crowd despite GLOWfest cancelation

deadmau5 threw his cigarette on the floor of the Bluebird Nightclub’s back room and stomped on it, putting it out. He took another swig of Red Bull.

“Why the fuck would you have an outside show in October?” deadmau5 asked rhetorically.

A few smokers stepped inside a side door, and a roar of voices followed them from the alley — “Let us in, let us in.”

GLOWfest had been canceled, about 5,400 ticket holders were furious, Twitter was blowing up and more than 1,500 people were lined up around Walnut and Sixth streets in the freezing rain.

“We had a situation where 800 are happy and 4.5 thousand are pissed,” GLOWfest Publicist and IU junior Kate Swanson said.

GLOWfest was a contracted “rain or shine” event. However, with nearly a million dollars of stage equipment at risk, deadmau5 pulled the plug, leaving a mere two hours to come up with a plan B. GLOWfest was out, and a new event was in formation.

“We had these four artists in this small town, and we had to come up with something quick,” Swanson said. “We considered a lot, but it had to be fast. The Bluebird was open, so that’s what we did.”

Swanson said the plan was to wait until about 8 p.m. to publicly announce the new event so people weren’t waiting for hours in the rain.

However, just before 7 p.m. deadmau5 tweeted he was headed to Bloomington’s Bluebird, mistakenly welcoming “ALL AGES,” which had been the age restrictions for GLOWfest.

This meant followers were misinformed about the age of entrance. Though some waited for nearly two hours, the Bluebird doorman rejected them despite the bargaining attempts of under-21 ticket holders.

Bluebird worker Molly Carroll said she got the text at about 8 p.m. saying the club needed everyone to come in immediately. Doors were set to open at 9 p.m., and they planned to instantly reach maximum capacity.

“People were stressed,” Carroll said. “Everything was taken out of the freezers, and we cut as much fruit as we could, and then the doors opened.”

A security guard was placed at Carroll’s side while people crowded the Bluebird tubs for beer. But when opener Le Castle Vania took stage, there were bigger issues for security to handle.

“People were hanging from the rafters, crowd surfing and those who had a few too many were having to be carried out,” Carroll said.

It was hard to tell the difference between rain-soaked, sweat-soaked and spilled-drink-alcohol-soaked as the crowd was so closely tangled. Fans’ wetness was a mix of all three, brought together by the sounds of neo-trance dubstep. Le Castle Vania’s remix of La Roux’s “In for the Kill” was met with screams of approval, taking the atmosphere to an even higher level.

“(Le Castle Vania) just hit the deck,” said a deadmau5 tweet soon after the opener took stage. “Insanity ensues.”

Seniors Katherine Bihrle and Samantha Skjodt were among 10 people dancing on a bench to the side of the stage when it flipped, throwing them to the floor in a twisted heap of bodies, neon, spandex and glow sticks.

“I had no idea what was happening until we hit the floor,” Skjodt said. “People were just looking around confused, but we were even more confused.”

Bihrle said no one was hurt, and everyone simply got back up and started dancing again.

“No one was still,” Bihrle said. “It was one of the smallest venues he’s been at for, like, seven years, but that just made everything so personal.”

Feed Me took the stage, creating a different tone as they welcomed the crowd in an English accent to a taste of house and what some call “intelligent dance” music. Toward the end of Feed Me’s performance, Joel Thomas Zimmerman walked on to continue the house set before revealing his identity to the crowd by placing his infamous mouse-shaped mask on his head.

People went crazy.

“The cube and mask are his trademark,” Bihrle said. “So we definitely got a different experience, but I think that’s so cool.”

deadmau5’s “Raise Your Weapon,” among other fan favorites, escalated the commotion. Toward the end of the set, one girl had to be caught by security as she hopped on stage and ran across.

“The show was so close to the audience,” Skjodt said. “He had to have felt the energy of the crowd, and I know it was something he hasn’t felt in awhile.”

After the show, deadmau5 tweeted to Bloomington that he “needs more shows like that in his life” and that it was the “BEST CROWD OF ALL TIME,” making up for what he coined “Blowfest.”

The status update had nearly 3,000 “likes” on Facebook, and though he promised his return, there was still controversy among his Bloomington fan base.

Senior MacGregor Leo said after what he heard and saw from deadmau5’s Twitter feed and GLOWfest volunteers, the DJ will have to earn his attendance back.

“IU is a huge audience and a Big Ten school, so he better hype us up next time around if he wants us there,” Leo said. “The crowd last night outdid his energy for sure. But he’s one of the best DJs right now, so show us some love, and I’ll be there.”

Leo also gave props to the Bluebird, which played host to a great show despite the time constraints and the venue’s capabilities. And as for GLOWfest’s reputation?

“I’ll be there,” Leo said. “It’ll be Little 5. People will be raging, the weather will be warm and we’ll have some crazy fun to some great
electronic music.”