Evo prica (ali je na Engleskom (( lika, koji se prijavio da na kraju neke studentske zurke pusti par trance stvari...Extra je...
I just got home from my first ever gig playing trance to a crowd. And wat an event it was, that i simply had to share it here.
The "FOREIGNERS", a student organization composed mainly of international students was hosting a dance party. This was one of the first ever "dance" nights to be held at the university. The event could only go 2 ways, either it would be a success or electronic dance music would not be accepted in the area. The student had originally scheduled two djs who were primarily involved with funky house music and dance remixes of top 40 tracks. However, upon learning about this event 2 weeks ago, i decided to contact the organization president about an opportunity to play trance at the party. Fortunately, Nigel was an international student from Scotland, and got interested in the offer as he was fairly familiar with trance. He went ahead and discussed with his fellow decision makers whether to take the risk or not of playing a style of music most ppl may not have ever been exposed to. They decided to reduce the risk of a backlash against the event by scheduling me to play last, from 1am till the close of the club, which i initially assumed to be 2am. However, being a "university event", the party was allowed to go on till 3am (dont know exact laws about how this works, but the club/bar is considered part of the university).
This was my first real live gig at a club, in front of a live audience. My only experience with playing to a crowd was at some house party, and even there, there was a minimum amount of trance. To say the least, i was nervous when i arrived at the event. Earlier in the day, i was actually excited. However upon getting into the club at about 12:15, i noticed there were close to 100 ppl at the boar's nest bar/club. (I decided not to go early to save my ears from the excruciating pain of some cheesy Kelly Clarkson or Justin Timberlake remix. Dont mean any disrespect, just a personal opinion). I arrived as the current djs were playing some "funky house" (i'm not good at genre definitions), and the crowd was "in the zone", so to speak.
Getting in was a little hassle as the bouncers thought i was underdressed in a t-shirt and jeans. I was completely unaware that there was a "chic and business casual" dress code. After a little squabling and calling on the organizers, i managed to get in though, so not a big issue. However, about 20 minutes prior to arriving at the bar, my "friends" ditched me, dry.gif , the bitches not being interested in "dance" decided not to attend. I was going solo, so to speak, and was a little angry at their last minute decisions (also, i dont understand why a college event has to be 21+). Either way, this was my first and possibly only chance to play trance in this area. I wasnt gonna let it go.
Back in the club, one of the ways i was "repaid" for my services was free drinks. Well, i'm not one with a high alcohol tolerance, so i stuck to a couple beers (i still felt a slight buzz tongue.gif). The music by this time was a little bit progressive and featured stuff like proper education and the like - i suck at ids, so couldnt recognize most tracks - so i actually enjoyed it. Mingled with a few ppl i knew till about 12:45 am. At the time, I went up to the "DJ booth" which is actually VERY impressive imo. It was a slightly elevated booth with all the usual equipment, and 3 glass walls surrounding the sides and back. Being up there made me nervous, and thoughts of trainwrecks started pouring in. Kindly the dj playing decided to use the filo and peri remix of Deepsky's ghost to end his set, and pitched it up a bit. I then made my first transition to Touch Me and went from there.
I decided to keep the proggy feeling going, except maybe take it from prog house to prog trance. One thing I've learned is once a crowd is dancing, they'll dance to anything. My goal was to get them "high on trance", hoping they'd feel the music the way i do. The prog trance bit started off well, but after a while, i got the feeling the crowd wanted more. Mind you, by the time my set was half an hour in, at about 1:30am, a significant portion of the initial crowd had left...i'm estimating about 60 ppl or so around that time. I decided to change pace and try to make it a little more "alive"...the exact tl was:
1. Cass Fox - Touch Me (Mike Koglin vs Jono Grant Remix)
2. Billie Ray Martin - Honey (Chicane Clubmix)
3. Jaytech - Starbright (Jaytech's Touch Your DJ Remix)
4. Above & Beyond - Can't Sleep (ATB Remix)
5. Sub6 feat Michele Adamson - 7th Son (Ticon Remix)
6. Armin van Buuren - Control Freak (Sander Van Doorn Remix)
7. Aalto - 5 (Original Mix)
8. Gabriel & Dresden feat Jan Burton - Dangerous Power (Gabriel & Dresden Extended Mix)
9. Luminary - Amsterdam (Smith & Pledger Remix)
10. Daniel Kandi - Breathe (Sunny Lax Remix)
11. Above & Beyond - Alone Tonight (Above & Beyond's Club Mix)
12. Stoneface & Terminal - Another Day (Original Mix)
13. Kenidel Lopez - Heaven's Caliber (Thomas Datt Mix)
14. Sun Decade - Follow You (Mike Shiver's Catching Sun Remix)
15. OceanLab - Sky Falls Down (Original Mix)
16. Mike Koglin vs P.O.S. - Untitled Audio (Nitrous Oxide Remix)
17. Sean Tyas - Lift (Original Mix)
18. O'Callaghan & Kearney - Exactly (Original Mix)
19. Super8 - Get Off (Original Mix)
20. OceanLab - Satellite (Original Above & Beyond Mix)
Finally, once the euphoric trance kicked in, around Amsterdam, I could tell the remaining crowd was definitely enjoying it. I guess the fact that the crowd didnt shrink any further is testimony to that tongue.gif. However, this crowd also appreciated the music as could be seen by their expressions. They knew what trance was, and i'm guessing there were quite a few European students present. They held their hands in the air as i hoped for during the the breakdowns, trying to feel the lights and cheap laser arrangements we had tongue.gif. by this time, i was on a high as well...on the music. I started clapping during the breakdowns, and the most amazing thing was the crowd did too! biggrin.gif I raised my hands and they did it too. I shook my hands in the air, they did too. I pumped my fist, they did too. Once the beats kicked in however, they "ignored" me and got back to
their dance moves tongue.gif However, for those moments during the breakdowns, i felt connected with the music and the audience. I felt what trance is meant to be. These events occured around "5" and "Dangerous Power", and i suddenly felt inspired. I thought to myself, "you're connected to them, they feel you as you feel them, give them the trance you love". And so I did, and they enjoyed it as well.
While I had not planned my set in advance, i had some tracks in mind, and as 3am was approaching, i was on Get Off. I had lost track of time and didnt realize I had left out Satellite, a must. Despite the owner coming to the booth and telling me to wrap up after Get Off ended, i pleaded for 1 more. My wish was granted, but only 1 more as he strictly said. I did what i had to do. I had to pay tribute to one of the greatest vocal trance songs ever. Midway thru Satellite, the lights came on, a signal to the crowd to "go home now"....For the most part, they stayed on. By this time, the crowd had shrunk to between 40 and 50 members (much better than the initial 100 to 60 drop). This second shrink was probably more due to the fact that it was a little late by now.
Overall, being my first event/performace (I wont call myself a dj coz i didnt use real decks), I learned a lot. However, I have learned to appreciate trance more. Regardless of whether or not I will get a similar chance in the future, this one event will be ingrained in my memory forever. Being the community that appreciates the music as much as i did, i decided to share my experience with anjuna as soon as I got home (couple minutes ago). If you read this far, thank you.
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Sun Feb 04, 2007 2:11 pm