What do you do in your spare time on stage?
So you’ve just started a track and you know that all you have to do to mix into your next track is hit sync and then press play in about three minutes time. What do you do with those three minutes, if you know you don’t have to beatmatch/cue search the next song, to avoid just standing there smiling awkwardly as the crowd dances?
There is no such thing for me anymore.
I used to have that when playing CD’s.
I used to either…sample…or mash…or dance like a fool!
Nowadays, i have almost NO spare time.
I am constantly mashing…jamming FX…layering etc.
I am still kinda new to Digital…so will find my process etc soon.
But it works great now already.
Its like i am adjusting or adding or doing something ALL the time.
I love being busy when jamming!
I do crazy stuff like stuff cocktail umbrellas into my weiner and wave it about with a crazed look in my eyes … when i have a spare few seconds, which i don’t.
I too tend not to stop and step back off the controls and just focus on the task in hand once i drop out of one track i load the next one and start working samples in with fx gradually, break down then drop in the next one especially when i mix at home it is starting to become a bad habit but it does produce an interesting mix very Occasionally haha
If I’m taking a breather from jamming out and just letting a song progress for a bit and have my next track ready to go. I drink, look at girls, bob my head and drink some more! 
Well for me as I don’t normally practise my mixing that much, buy new tunes then slap a mix together the main thing i do first is, find the first breakdown, make sure the beats are in perfect harmony for about a minute, listening in headphones and try to EQ as best as possible, sometimes add fx sometimes not, then I wait for said breakdown of the track playing out, bring in next track and merge the two for 30 secs maybe longer, bring in the filter depending which one I am using along with fx, so in general I don’t normally sit back and do nothing 
also depends on what style of mixing I am doing be it Deep it’s more laid back if it’s tech I use fx and filters more and work on breakdowns and buildups, and try to run tracks along with each other for longer periods.
Come on now people, there has to be points depending on the atmosphere/ time of night/ music being played where you just say the heck with it and let a song play out and drop the next track near the end of the original track. I usually do this early in the night, when I say grab a drink at the bar or talk to some buddies.
I sometimes try and break…and light a ciggie…but the music pulls me back in…
I hear something i like…and then jam FX or loop or something…
Ciggie burns out while hanging off my lip…
LOL
Haha ya I hear ya, I hear something like damm that would of sounded sick if I done that, then I run back to my gear haha.
Take a piss, Get a beer, chat up the bar maid. In that order.
If you find yourself with 3 minutes between every song then you need to start digging in a little deeper. I have ADD in the DJ booth, and only in the DJ booth, and can’t sit still and just let songs play out.
I’ll dance, drink, makeout with my girlfriend, make fun of the bad dancers with my DJ buddies… and keep looking for that next track. There’s too much to do now to have 3 minutes to just stand around.
in my spare time (which is rare because I tend to spend a lot of time planning the perfect tune to mix into) I get progressively drunker until I stop worrying about perfect mixing and start dancing with all the hot womens
ok, …serious reply.
Take a step back & watch your dancefloor for a minute or two.
Are they digging what you’re playing?
What’s the mix of people like? …is it too “blokey”, do you want to get more girls on the floor?
Do you need to change your gameplan & play something else?
I was given this advice years ago, & I still stick to it. It’s too easy to get lost in your own little “will it mix perfectly / quick I need some more fx” world, without even noticing that your dancefloor’s emptied!
THIS is a man who knows how to use his spare time effectively. Noobs take note.
Would you play at my sweet 16 party?
jester would be a dangerous man to do a b2b set with, better watch yourself ahahah
seriously though, get creative. if you have time to kill it means there are things to make your set more interesting that you’re not doing. sure, there are points in the night where it’s good to let the track ride, and in those moments, you don’t feel awkward, because that’s the vibe you’re setting.
I’d be more worried about sarasin and those random leg humps …
btw the key part of that statement was “when i have a spare few seconds, which i don’t.” make of that what you will 
squat under the booth to get a bump of ket so my next mix is even better sounding to me…
j/k… i think…
it’s all about the illusion.. without being an asshole, as long as you look like you’re doing something, people’ll rave about it.
twist random knobs in time with the automated filters in the songs and things like that.. then when you play wolfgang’s 5th symphony, they actually think you’re mixing in beethoven… it’s pretty incredible! haha
in all seriousness, it depends on what the mood is as everyone’s already said. if you’re the main act at a music orientated event, then they expect you to be reacting somehow - if you’re just in the corner of a club, then you might aswell go take a piss, have a beer, and slime on the hot barmaid.. it’s all relative
Exactly! If there’s too many dudes I’ll drop a La Roux track to kill the sausage-fest and talk up my bartenders. If the girl-guy ratio is ok I do the DJ dance and make eyes at all the hot chicks. And drink.
Actually, no matter what’s going on I drink. I consider it an occupational hazard.