I’ve been asked to DJ at an afterhours event and this will be my first “big” gig. I have a 90 minute opening slot from 12-1:30am. Is there an etiquette with the song selection during this time slot? My set will include mostly tech house, minimal and techno. I know the normal thing to do in a normal club with a headline DJ is to set the mood and not “go crazy”, but does this rule still apply with an afterhours party? Do I need to keep my set to a medium level or can I get the party jumping as if I was the only one playing that night? Any tips or advice anyone can give me would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!!
IMO you’d want to play more pumping stuff than you would at a club warmup slot. But not headline stuff. When I arrive at an afterhours party I still like for the DJ to set the mood.
But yeah, see what the crowd and the organizers and other performers are like above all else.
This is very confusing to me - If you have been to Berghain, I guess you’ve only been there on saturday night and not sunday/monday morning… Proper Berghain Techno is heavy as fuck.
I imagine that going out of your way to ask the promoters about this kind of thing will come across as much more considerate and professional than getting carried away during an opening slot.
Yeah, like Lanz said; You could probably just ask whoever is in charge. I personally would lean towards not “going crazy” but if the crowd is really loving what you’re doing, then go right ahead and go “almost crazy” haha. High-Energy is a good thing. If you do find you have the club at a very high energy, try using your last two songs or so do tone things down. That way the next DJ can build it back up again. People need a break at some point, so don’t be afraid to hit the best part of your set at the 70 min. mark and then slowly tone things down.
Yes I will be opening for this party. It’s considered an “after hours” event so it will probably go until 5-6am, maybe later. I guess my main question is… is it too early to play “techno” at this point in the night. I have a lot of minimal, tech house and house music, but I feel like my selection for techno would really kick things off. I’m going to find out what other DJ’s will be playing after me too. Just wanted to see if anyone else has been in the same situation before. I also plan on asking the promoter so I’m clear. Thanks for all your input.
If I were to guess, I’d say that since it’s afterhours, there’s no need to wait too long before diving into some bassier groovy stuff. But I would opt for atmospheric and moody rather than high-octane.
