Posted: Thu Apr 29, 2004 5:26 pm
I had a little bit of troubles for my big set at DCLX, everybody was waiting at the door to get in for Sat late night; 1 am and there were already about 50 people there; I put in some mid-tempo classic stuff I like - Chick Webb's "There's a Frost on the Moon" (it was cold) and Earl Hines "Me and Columbus" - nothing!sonofvu wrote:Man, being the opener can be tough. I was the first dj on Thursday for the Great Southwest lindy fest. Talk to Kevin Schaper sometime. He has a nickname for me now. It was tough because it was my first major event exposure but also I did not know what to expect from the dancers. As the dancers filed in they got registered and then they headed for the dance floor. I played some 180 bpm old school stuff. Nothing. Then played some late 40's early 50's hi-fi stuff that hovered about 120 bpm. Nothing. That's when I got a beat down by the organizers (they told me to find a happy medium). Vocals did it. Old School and 50's vocals is what worked. Opening is tough. You don't have much time to get to know the audience. It can be done but whenever I open there are always some anxious moments for me.
3rd song was Goody Goody by Ella Fitzgerald, which is my goto starter song now - it worked like a charm. Followed by Splanky, Shout Sister Shout, and Louis Armstrong's Mack the Knife, then I was able to stretch out from there.