How do you read a crowd (For Dummies)

[dj matt blaze]

I'll never forget, I was doing a prom, I wanna say somewhere around 96 or 97, and the dance floor was packed. The banquet manager comes over and says they are about to serve the food, can I get everyone seated. So at weddings, that was always my cue to throw on the sing along type songs like piano man or sweet caroline but this was a prom so I wanted it to have a little better flavor so I throw on Snoops version of Lodi Dodi, needless to say, the dance floor filled, even more than it was before. Now half the banquet managers are full of shit and ask you to seat people 20 min before the food comes out and you're the idiot they are all looking at because the music is designed for people not to dance but not on this night, within :30 sec of the song starting the servers come out with the food and this guy threw me the dirtiest look and I let it play for like another min or 2 before fading it out to, you guesed it, Piano Man.

So depending on the event will depend on what you do as the DJ. You are in control and I would always use the beginning of the night to play different sets of music to read what the crowd was into and adjust accordingly. You will have nights when the dance floor will be packed no matter what you play and other nights when no matter what you play, no one dances, use every gig, everything that happens as a learning experience.

[subweight]

Proper reading of crowds takes a long time to master. You just need lot's of practice!

[Cosmo Cub]

Lots of great advice in here. From DJ'ing lots of weddings, I have learned that sometimes people just wanna talk and socialize. Which isn't a bad thing, and it's not your fault. All we can do is keep the vibe of the party fun, by playing great music. Try making a "Party Favorites" folder on your playlist, and go to those when you wanna put on a sure fire party starter. And never look frustrated or bummed out. More people are watching you than you might think.