How do you guys go about adding showmanship to your sets? I don’t mean the throwing cakes at the crowd type of showmanship, but rather showing the patrons what your doing and getting them hyped about it. When bands perform, the audience is interested to some degree in their performance, that doesn’t seem to be the case with most djs. Some don’t put on a performance at all (which is fine), but I’ve also seen some very talented DJs do some very crazy stuff behind the decks. Even though these guys often are good crowd rockers, the individuals attending usually have no visual of what the dj is doing (unlike someone playing the guitar or the drums, you typically can’t see the dj’s equipment and movements).
Here are some examples of famous djs effectively displaying showmanship:
I saw craze about a year ago and there were screens showing what he was doing on the decks, which I found to be really cool. I saw the same with a bigger, less skilled/technical dj and it made him look fairly bad as he really wasn’t doing anything.
Another good display of showmanship imo is bass kleph. In his live maschine performances, he displays the drum pad to the crowd while drumming out beats (there are a few of recordings of them on youtube, definitely worth checking out)
My friends and I are considering investing in some projectors and cameras, but I’m really interested in hearing what type of stuff others are doing.
Simple things like grabbing the mic and hyping up the crowd, rocking out along with them, lifting up the turntable while the record is playing, tilting the mixer so the crowd can see the crissfader while i scratch.
I’m from the oldschool way of thinking. Its not about the DJ, its about you and your friends going out and having a good time, dancing to music you enjoy. Not having the DJ be the center of attention. Let your hands do the showmanship through that sweet music.
Mic is good if you know how, cue scratching a well known song instead of cutting up the kick drum before your dropping it into the blend or all together (if you cutting is your style of mixing) adds a little more recognizable “flare”, if I think people care or notice sometimes I will start scratching with my back turned completely and my arms behind me …but not much of a show man so I rarely want to do it
i definitely respect that with the way things are going though, there a lot of super star djs, and quite frankly very few of them really have any skill with respect to performing live. An ipod could do their job and they basically give the impression to fans that djing is nothing more than hitting play in my opinion its important that djs showcase skill; i think that it helps the art grow and allows good djs to receive the props that i think they deserve.
I think a lot of us are from an era (at least with respect to electronic DJ’s, and I can’t believe I’m saying that because I’m not even that old) where song selection, phrase and key matching were what set you apart. Maybe an ipod can do the phrase and key matching, but building energy with proper track selection it cannot.
I can respect guys who mash buttons, but I think you’re forgetting that once upon a time DJ’s showcasing their skill wasn’t just how well you can use all 6 effects slots of Traktor, cue jumping, and having it all come together tidily because you did it in Flux mode. It was about finding the best tracks at the time, and mixing/blending them seamlessly and as someone mentioned before, not being the center of attention, but allowing the audience to enjoy the music, not the routine. There has definitely been a branch off, and I’m okay with that, but I think it’s unfair to say that the impression is that they are doing nothing more than hitting play.
Again I can respect those who are properly able to utilize the technology at hand today, but I absolutely do not think that equates to those being the best and most talented DJ’s period. Just a talented group of a different kind of DJ.
I think I gave you the wrong impression friend, I still think track selection is the most important aspect of djing. For the most part, the guys who are super technical also have really good track selection because they’ve been at it for years if not decades. When I mentioned the ipod djs, I meant the guys who are playing the same 12 songs (which happen to be this weeks top 100) every set with very basic mixing . There are lots of guys who play amazing sets but don’t do any crazy technical stuff (jamie jones being one of my favourites in terms of being the kind of dj who just has raw track selection).
I suppose we have different opinions whether the dj being the centre of attention is a good thing or not but regardless, I appreciate your thoughtful input!
Although sometimes I wonder why I get such a good response from crowds when other Djs on the night are far better then I am! And then my mate pointed out to me that I am ‘entertaining’ to watch whereas the other Djs who I think are better, in my mates words ‘seem to forget the crowd are there’
He went on to say that I just dance around behind the decks like a mad man and ppl like to see that the Dj is having a good time like someone posted here before!
Depends on the setting - I know most people round here go out to get wasted and don’t really care what the dj is doing.
If you think people would be interested in seeing what you’re doing then hire some gear first and see how it goes mate - if there’s a few of you then maybe one could do a full on vj set and mix the stream in with that.
I always dance like a maniac behind the decks as well. A year or two ago at an open air party, I actually managed to dance a little pit into the dusty ground behind the decks. Didn’t even notice it at first, but was quite annoyed by it, after a friend had pointed it out to me
Ya. People love when you show enthusiasm. That has always been my problem, but my last gig when epicly well. The crowd was happy, I was happy. Super fun
To be clear, I’m not against a DJ being the center of attention, if the folks in attendance are there with the intention of seeing the performance in conjunction with the music. I would just be bummed if when I go to see Sasha in a couple of weeks, he was jumping around the booth like a maniac instead of focusing on laying those sweet ass tracks and epic remixes on me
this^ and when the crowd is going off to the MUSIC and they scream on a break, without you instigating a thing, it feels real and a lot more satisfying.
But helping em along is not a bad thing. They want to enjoy the peformance. If you look busy and don’t make eye contact with anyone in the front…its not a good thing either.
i grab my midi fighter with like a 20 ft usb cable and go the edge of the stage and mash on buttons, maybe even let the crowd press a few buttons, (i have it mapped so that they cant destroy the mix). I might grab the mic and sing along to a song with the crowd, little stuff like that.
Purely an observation, but the top 40 “mainstream” DJs that get hated on are the reason the DJ moved from a position of music provider to rockstar status.
in my opinion its important that djs showcase skill; i think that it helps the art grow and allows good djs to receive the props that i think they deserve.