Episode 38: Reading Your Crowd

You've landed a gig. You bought the newest, hottest tracks. You've practiced a set list and gone over it so many times, you could land every mix in your sleep. The night of, it's finally your turn, you plug in, press play, and then the worst thing happens...PEOPLE ARE LEAVING THE DANCE FLOOR! What do you do? Can you deviate from your predetermined set list, and bring those people back? Can you read your crowd to prevent a mass exodus from the dance floor, to begin with? In Episode 38, David, @Tony-DeSaro, and @TripTurlington talk shop around the art of reading a crowd. We talk a lot about the relationship and synergy between DJ and his/her crowd. Obviously, there's some caveats to this, so the context may not be totally relevant for every type of DJ. For example, a DMC contestant is not going to change the routine they've practiced for months during their performance on competition day. A wedding DJ may have to work off of a very strict play list. So, keep in mind, a lot of the context to this episode, lies in the "performance" aspect of a DJ in a club/rave/concert/festival scenario. The guys let loose with some of their experiences and actual tactics to crowd reading and dance floor manipulation that they actively use every gig they play. So, for anyone who's been curious how some DJs "just wing it" without a set list: Pay attention, because there's some useful tips you can snag and implement in to your own skill set, here. What are some of YOUR experiences with reading a crowd? Have you ever had a show go horribly south, that allowed you to learn from it? Do you have a method or technique to reading your crowd that you didn't hear mentioned? Hit us up, WE'D LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU! Also, make sure you leave us some honest feedback! https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-passionate-dj-podcast/id874338547?mt=2 And, for those of you who didn't know, @TripTurlington is also a producer with @Base-Industry-Records, as well as a DJ. Check out his latest remix of @Nicmor's "Resistance", available NOW at Beatport, Juno, iTunes, Amazon, and other digital music outlets! https://pro.beatport.com/release/resistance-remixes/1709062