Tips for Gig Virgin?? (First Gig)
Hey guys! I’ve got a first gig coming up soon (21st of Feb) at a hall party venue for a friends 18th. I’m gonna be running a traktor s2 for the gig. The parties gonna be at least 6-8 hours long, so I just wanted to know of any tips for the night I perform?? I’m doing it with a mate BTB, he’s never done a gig before either! But we thought it would be a good idea for us both to have a go. So could I possibly get some advice on this? I want it to go down well (:
Have fun, don’t make it a competition. Talk about playlists on what songs you want to play so you both don’t play the same song 6 times. Talk about time slots how long each of you are going to DJ for so there is no arguing of whose turn it is to DJ. Talk about what gear you are going to use so you know what your set up is going to be, also bring extra cables of different connections so you can be flexible in your set up. Make sure you get all of your stuff back and your friend his stuff. And once again, have fun.
Playing for 6-8 hours? My advice is drink slowly!
screw that drink liberally! jp but just relax… after about your 3rd mix youll be fine…
Sweet, thanks dude (:
Hahahah yes yes, i’ll try ! (;
For real? Thanks man, makes me feel better about it now (:
get to know how to plug your stuff into the equipment at the location.
be there early to set everything up.
be sure, you packed all your equipment! cables, headphone adapter, ..
don´t make it a competition is a very good advice.
be friendly to the staff.
and after a couple of tunes you are in the flow.
have fun, enjoy the party.
Sick (: thanks man
Yup, most guys got it already.
1.Be there early to set up and see what kind of set up is there
2. Make sure you bring backup cables and equipment (normally in my bag i always have 2 RCA, 1 RCA to 1/4, 2 1/4, 1 or 2 XLR, a splitter cable. Always better to have it than something goes wrong and you’re fucked.
3. Have a second source of music ready (be it your phone, Ipad, another old laptop… whatever). Long gigs can take a toll on your laptop or software and I’ve had mine crash before, but if you have something ready (say a mix by a good artist on Soundcloud) to play, if something goes wrong you can keep the music going until you fix it.
4. Have a couple drinks before you start just to loosen up a bit!
5. HAVE FUN!! I remember my first gig I was all nervous, but once you get up there the stage is yours. After your 2nd or 3rd mix you’ll be comfortable, and start interacting with the audience for best results.
Good luck!
Thanks for the great words brotha! and yes! i never thought about a back up mix in case of mishap, thanks for that 
First and foremost have fun and don’t over think too much. Be prepared to take requests but also be prepared to turn down requests if they aren’t gonna work. If they request something you know you are going to play anyway, tell them “yea I’m gonna play that for you” Don’t tell them you are about to play it, they will be inclined to request something else, make it sound like the song is being played for them. If they request something that isn’t going to work, that will kill the floor, tell them you have a lot of requests and you will try to work it in, or just flat out say “I don’t have that”. Unless it is the person’s party you are there for, never let a guest give you an ipod, flashdrive, cd or anything with their music that they want played. Something else that I didn’t see mentioned is know the crowd you are playing for. Remember this, you are there for them, they are not there for you. You guys can be playing the hottest Trance tracks around and be killing it but if the crowd isn’t into Trance and wants Top 40 then you guys will be the 2 knuckleheads that played the shitty music that no one danced to. Don’t think your music taste is better than the crowd and they are idiots for not dancing to your music, the crowd will always win because the dance floor will be empty if they don’t like the music. Hope it all goes well.
awww but pop is fuckeeeeeeen shitttttt lol … I see where you’re coming from tho. You’re basically playing what the audience wants, not what you want to play. Wouldn’t that kill your own vibe tho? Like you won’t be djing with passion if you don’t enjoy the tracks you’re playing? Know what i’m saying? I have gotten requests from the girl who’s hosting the party, some of the tracks I can already tell aren’t gonna work, so i just said i’ll play them, but in reality i’m not going to :‘) or it will ruin the party. Plus she’ll be too drunk to notice anyways hahahah Her and her sister wanted to play like chris brown, sleeping with sirens … ugggh hip hop and metal don’t mix lol so i’ve added some of those tracks to my set, but i’ll be mostly playing House and Melbourne bounce, which i know will make the crowd move (: well at least better than that “screamo” shit will (’:
Mobile DJing is a “service.” You are there to play what the people in the room want to hear. You are there to entertain, not provide a music appreciation lecture.
You can DJ as “art”…and that’s fine…it can be better than fine if you can get an audience and a paycheck out of it. If you can find a venue that wants the product you are providing, then go for it. Or maybe you just play for yourself in your bedroom. There is nothing wrong with that.
After the paycheck clears, my vibe is fine. 
It doesn’t matter if each song is my favorite, played in order. My passion does just fine by entertaining the crowd. When the room is having fun, I am having fun. There is a TON of music that is not my favorite, but might be someone else’s jam. Who am I to judge? 
Too true man! Thanks for the wise words 
Its not about your vibe, its not about what you want, its about what the crowd is into. If the host of the party requests a song, I would play it. Im not saying to stop a jumping set in the middle but at some point I would play it and get on the mic and say “this next song is a special request from our host” that takes all the heat off of you if it bombs and lets everyone know that it wasn’t your choice but this is what the host wanted. You said you know they aren’t gonna work…Work for who? Maybe not work for you, but a word of advice, usually when a girl requests certain songs its because her and her friends love that song and will rush the floor when you play it. One of the very first gigs I ever did was a school dance. I was playing the hottest club tracks, the stuff that packs dance floors, the stuff that MOVED the crowd in the club, BUT this floor was empty, no one was dancing, just standing and sitting there. As soon as I put on the song that was like #2 in the top 40, they rushed the dance floor, lesson learned. You have to be prepared and be able to keep everyone happy.
That’s a passive-aggressive cop out.
“Everyone” knows that DJs take requests, you can even announce that you are taking requests. But do NOT “blame” someone for a song. If you play it, you need to own it.
Just so you know, the moment I hear a DJ blame someone else for a song, I think they are compensating for private parts that would not fill a 1/4" headphone jack. 
Exactly. It’s not about you. It’s about the crowd. The DJ has an ENORMOUS amount of influence over the mood and energy of the crowd…but there are limits. As the DJ you must be prepared to meet the crowd where they are.
Oh, and if the ladies are happy, everyone will be happy. If the ladies are unhappy, the place will be empty.
Omg the exact thing happened to me and my mate lastnight -- but the difference was that people weren’t even standing round inside! they were all standing by the door outside of the hall smoking and shit. 
So this is how my first gig went down … We started playing at 7, just as a warm up before the party guests arrived. There was ment to be at least 50-100 people that we were going to play to… It ended up being like only 30, like hardly anyone showed up. So yeah back to the story 
lol we started at 7, we were throwing out all types of genres of music. Trap, house, bigroom, a couple of top 40 here and there, but also most of the guests tracks. But only like a couple of people would walk over to the dance floor and actually dance… the rest were outside! It was now 10pm and we were still going hard out at this point. But for most of the time we were playing, we were basically playing to no one? pretty much a ghost crowd tbh 
! so me and my mate decided to drop some hardstyle for the last 30-60 minutes hahahaha just because fuck it? well know one was gonna listen to it anyways -- … So we played from about 7 to 11ish and basically packed up and left lol then people started hooking up there phones with an aux cable and played their own music after that. The only bad thing was that we did that gig for nothing! so it was pretty much a waste of time… but oh well at least we tried to entertain the crowd. I think the main problem might of been the music we were playing(like you said) and also the sole lack of people there at the party. So do you reckon next gig we just play top 40 for 8 hours straight? … God, what a living nightmare 
If you’re a mobile DJ, you have to play what the crowd wants. If you’re a superstar DJ and established yourself in a certain genre, then you can play whatever you want.
