***Who really mixes anymore? DJ’ing is becoming a farce!!

[Viirus::..]

To me his set was pre-recorded and he was acting like he was mixing. This happened also when I went to see Tiesto a while back. Again where I was standing I could see what he was doing and never saw him once change a CD for hours, but he kept flipping through his CD binder as if he was looking for one.

LOL cd's!!!
This is nothing new. It's been going on for a long, long time. I've played alongside the best of them and seen things, trust me. 12+ years ago Vinyl sets cut with matched tempo. No pitch used at all. (Vinyl) Headliners popping in a pre recorded set on cd and acting like they were mixing.

[groovemixer]

I'm in Toronto too and go to a lot of clubs downtown, the main places I go to are for House/Tech-House etc. The resident DJ's are mostly always on CDJ's and the headliners have been using Traktor, Ableton or whatever, there was even a night a guy was using 3 LEMURS and a bunch of other stuff! (Forget the name and didn't go but saw pictures...) Basically whatever the format, these events are guaranteed to be some of the best musical experiences you can have, I go to hear the artists unreleased tracks, or that one track I've been listening to for the past month and it just starts being mixed in (synced or unsyned) and the whole crowed can feel that moment and is all in the same vibe and everyone's going crazy, or just to hear some good music on an insane sound system... I pay attention to transitions and what the DJ's are doing, some are straightforward CDJ mixes, others do layer upon layer with Ableton or Traktor and it's all just part of the experience/process. Also for the most part those who use Ableton use it for what it's capable of and do some crazing live edits or they are producers as well and are playing their own stuff Live so there is still some effort being put into the process regardless of the method, some DJ's are paying more attention to certain aspects of the mix and others, different aspects... That's how I see it and haven't been disappointed so far, there are some great parties in Toronto...

Please fill me in on these House/Trance clubs in T.O. been out of the scene for a long time and would like to see some real mixing! LOL

[groovemixer]

i've gotta admit that i'm incredibly surprised out how many people in this thread appear to care so very little for the performance side to dj'ing, especially seeing as this is...a dj'ing forum... which has its roots in mappings and controllers designed to allow dj's to be more expressive and experimental with their performances.

phrasing, programming and reading the floor are par for the course. They are, in my opinion, the bare minimum expectation for any dj worth their salt..

I'm quite amazed to find that my expectations are so out of line with others on here o_o;

good one!

[mr.magma]

I'd check out the Guvernment, Footwork, This is London and Cobra (Thursday's only) for some proper international headliners/big local acts in House/Tech-House, Trance is mainly at the Guverment. But those I'd highly recommend, then for Dubstep/Electro/etc. there's Wrongbar, The Mod Club, The Social, The Drake Hotel, and a bunch of other places on Queen Street, College Street, Richmond Street... Then there's after-hours at The Comfort Zone on College-Spadina. That should keep you busy for some time!

[mr.magma]

The huge event I mentioned that's the same day as Tiesto is on April 21st at the Guvernment...

[Nosferatu]

hahaha... I was spinning at the Guvernment when it was known as RPM... that's right before mainstream controller DJing... before DVS.

If you think DJing has changed now that some DJs are preparing their sets in Ableton...imagine how an old school DJs sees it! I suppose it's all relative.

I understand Groovemixer's point... I really do...but this is just how it works... call it pseudo progression. Tiesto gets knocked around quite a bit, but who would've guessed that a DJ could command such crowds... Tiesto, Cox, Hawtin... they're drawing Pop concert sized crowds to their gigs!

The "performance side" of DJing is just that... The performance side.. which implies there's another side... and there is, just straight up DJing. How long can I handle watching someone do the hot potato knob twitch... (adjusting EQ's as if the knob was made of molten lava..I'm so sick of watching DJs transform knob turning into some over dramatic move. sometimes I compare performance DJing to turntablist body tricks.

[wrong chris]

How long can I handle watching someone do the hot potato knob twitch... (adjusting EQ's as if the knob was made of molten lava.

hahaha. "hot potato knob twitch" .... i never heard that before, but it is just like that. too funny

[SirReal]

sometimes I compare performance DJing to turntablist body tricks.

^^^^^This^^^^^

[lethal_pizzle]

The truly memorable moments in my clubbing lifetime have not come from good track selection and phrasing alone.

Mine have. Or at least the song selection is what I've taken home with me in my head. Mind you, most of the good times I've had in clubs and festivals I can't see the DJ very well anyway and I don't go out searching for a good view. Just a good place to dance.

So yeah, diff'rent strokes for diff'rent folks I guess.

[fullenglishpint]

The truly memorable moments in my clubbing lifetime have not come from good track selection and phrasing alone.

What, you mean you took some kind of

HAPPY PILLS?????