art of the warm up DJ

[wrong chris]

really cool article. i think a lot of the advice could apply to live shows with bands as well, in regards to maintaining a nice energy throughout the night.

A couple of years ago Jurassic 5 was touring and I caught their set and their opening act was Mike Relm. Mike was kind of a surprise guest, he wasn't listed on the bill so when they announced him before he hit the stage I was SO EXCITED. I gave er hard for Mike's entire set as his shows are very energetic... But then once Jurassic 5 hit the stage it felt like something was missing and I couldn't put my finger on what it was. They did a really great show but it felt like the crowd had already popped the cork before J5 even hit the stage, I remember feelin exhausted towards the end of the set and it really took some of the magic out of what would have otherwise been a truly epic night.

It wasn't until later that it dawned on me that Mike's set was just way to peak-time of an opening act for even a legendary group like J5 .

[djalexlaine]

srsly? a headliner gets paid big bucks to put on a cd?

classic example: peter hook plays a prerecorded mix by that was mixed by pete tong (i think) that was included as a free mix cd in like djmag...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m01g4XnC_qU

[Lantau]

That video is almost unbelievable... almost lol

That article was pretty interesting, with some excellent advice; having cleared a fair few dancefloors in my brief playing-out phase many moons ago, paying extra-special attention to the crowd during an opener seems crucial