the floor's tolerance for odd stuff. (failure)

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Yakov
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the floor's tolerance for odd stuff. (failure)

#1 Post by Yakov » Tue Dec 14, 2004 10:31 am

I played a couple of funky/hiphop tunes (Humpty Dance & Baby's Got Sauce) last Friday at midnight after the band finished and a lot of people got up and left. I wasn't expecting everyone to necessarily love it but I didn't think that they'd instantly vacate. Nothing like that has happened to me before.

After playing these tunes, as planned, I went back to straight-up swing and blues, but I think maybe the timing (right at the beginning of the set) caused folks to misunderstand my intent. Probably I should have waited till later, after establishing how the set was going to feel.

I don't want to completely avoid playing off-the-wall material, because I think it does have a place, but I think maybe I should use different material (shorter songs, with a more swingish beat) and approach it in a different way (wait till later)

I was a bit off my game anyway because I was working in a really really shitty sound system situation -- there was a dopey kid in the sound booth (college situation) who had control of the volume and EQ but instead he was surfing the internet with the window closed. Therefore everything sounded like crap and I had no way to fix it.

anyway.
yakov.

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#2 Post by JesseMiner » Tue Dec 14, 2004 10:48 am

The scenario you describe sounds less like the floor being intolerant of odd stuff and more like you setting the mood of "the dance is over, and some random non-swing has been put on to signify that and to send you home." That is the natural assumption to be made when hearing those types of songs directly after a band has finished their last set. Once you had established that the dance was not over and that you were going to continue DJing a set of music for the dancers, those songs might have gone over better further in your set .

Jesse

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Mr Awesomer
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Re: the floor's tolerance for odd stuff. (failure)

#3 Post by Mr Awesomer » Tue Dec 14, 2004 11:19 am

Yakov wrote:because I think it does have a place

Yeah, it's called "The Roxbury."
Reuben Brown
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#4 Post by LindyChef » Tue Dec 14, 2004 11:41 am

I think Jesse pegged your situation, Yakov.

When I first saw the title of your thread, the thing that I was thinking about was DJs that play "challenging" music. Too often when I see a DJ playing "challenging" music, it's more about the DJ playing the music for themselves or having a desire to f*ck with the floor ...

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Ryan
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#5 Post by Ryan » Tue Dec 14, 2004 12:14 pm

Quite frankly I don't think it matters if it was played after the band or a half hour later. Playing stuff like that at a swing dance almost always signifies the end of the night. And if you're going to play stuff like that, especially back to back, that's when it SHOULD be played.

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#6 Post by Yakov » Tue Dec 14, 2004 12:41 pm

yall are right. next time i'll save the goofy crap for later

what's the roxbury? should i ask?

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#7 Post by Mr Awesomer » Tue Dec 14, 2004 12:45 pm

Reuben Brown
Southern California

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#8 Post by Toon Town Dave » Tue Dec 14, 2004 2:13 pm

Yakov, in your particular situation with the band, I agree with Jesse.

I would add that music outside the most broad definition of swing music can be appropriate. It would of course be a function of how tolerant the audience is to that style of music. Also, the selection of must still fit the usual best practices of flow, dancability (not necessarily swing dance) and such.

I've successfully pulled off hip-hop, funky sorts of stuff mid evening and had it work out well. I would generally use it as a kind of intermission. A lot of people around here are into westie and other dances so milage may vary.

To encourage people to leave at the end of the evening, I'll dig out the least danceable track or two from what I have on hand.

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#9 Post by JesseMiner » Tue Dec 14, 2004 2:38 pm

Toon Town Dave wrote:To encourage people to leave at the end of the evening, I'll dig out the least danceable track or two from what I have on hand.
Here is what works best for me when ending a regular night here (giving me the chance to throw in some non-swing I'd like to play and see people have fun with):

1. Announce the last (swing) song
2. Play the last swing song
3. Thank everyone for coming out and say "good-bye"
4. Play a few non-swing, yet dancer-friendly, tracks (funk, soul, hip-hop, r'n'b, slow blues, whatever I'm in the mood for that night) while the lights in the house are brought up - at this point some people start to pack up and leave, while many others keep on dancing
5. Stop playing music completely - this is the cue that gets most of the remaining crowd out the door
6. Make final announcement to get the stragglers out of the building

Jesse

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#10 Post by Toon Town Dave » Tue Dec 14, 2004 3:09 pm

7. Cattle prods. :)

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#11 Post by mousethief » Wed Dec 15, 2004 7:47 am

Concur with Jesse. Playing non-swing music after the band wraps up is usually the "please-leave-I-want-to-go-home" music.

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#12 Post by julius » Wed Dec 15, 2004 2:14 pm

I have the most AWESOME songs ever for indicating that it is now in fact time for people to go home. Someday I hope to close a venue by playing them.

Look up "The Finnish Men's Shouting Choir" and/or "a cappella Metallica". The former is a bunch of Finns who shout songs and the latter (whose group name I can't remember) is a group that beatboxes famous and semi-famous songs but does not actually sing the lyrics, just screeches the melody.

The former is relatively amusing and actually entertaining, the latter is relatively amusing and quite awful.

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#13 Post by Yakov » Wed Dec 15, 2004 3:18 pm

:shock:

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#14 Post by Roy » Wed Dec 15, 2004 5:04 pm

2 songs in a row like that at a swing event at any time of the evening would probably drive me from the room also. Usually I can handle one but by the 2nd one I need a drink and head to the nearest bar. If it's early in the night I usually go back after an hour or so, hoping the DJ is done. But I do like Digital Underground so I may have stayed through that one.

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#15 Post by Yakov » Wed Dec 15, 2004 8:38 pm

ok! i declare we can stop. i want to stop thinking back to that mistake. :cry: :?

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