what is "responding to the crowd"?

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Posted by mehta on Oct-20-2008 18:50:

what is "responding to the crowd"?

It is a DJ's responsibility to feel the crowd and play empathetically. But what does this mean in practice?

A couple of obvious examples would be dropping a huge breakdown once everyone is glued to the dancefloor instead of early on while people are still milling around or increasing the volume/bass as energy rises.

Still, it seems like most DJs play a relatively limited set of tracks and couldn't ever accurately predict what the dancers desire in terms of sonic quality - the crowd maintains itself and the music is only symbolic.

Any ideas? This would probably be a useful discussion.

p.s. sorry if this is a repost. the search feature appears to be broken.

Posted by david.michael on Oct-20-2008 18:54:

Really, it just comes down to seeing what the crowd responds to positively, and then try to accurately predict what they would like based on these reactions in an effort to play tracks that continually please them.

Usually, what I will do is take what I consider to be a slight "risk" for the crowd I'm playing to. Sometimes, people will visibly appreciate it and it lets you know which directions you can move with your set.

On the other hand, it might not work... and it's not necessarily a negative reaction. Just, nothing. Apathy, really. In which case, I know they aren't going to respond to that type of sound.

Posted by MrJiveBoJingles on Oct-20-2008 18:57:

You shout out to the crowd, "What do you want to hear?!", and then you use your supernatural hearing to pick the most popular response out from under the noise of all that yelling and loud music. It is a skill that requires much experience to gain.

Posted by Meat187 on Oct-20-2008 19:11:

1. Play Eurodance
2. ?????
3. Profit

Responding to the crowd must be some part of ?????.

Posted by Guest on Oct-20-2008 19:13:

Re: what is "responding to the crowd"?

quote:
Originally posted by mehta
It is a DJ's responsibility to feel the crowd and play empathetically. But what does this mean in practice?

A couple of obvious examples would be dropping a huge breakdown once everyone is glued to the dancefloor instead of early on while people are still milling around or increasing the volume/bass as energy rises.

Still, it seems like most DJs play a relatively limited set of tracks and couldn't ever accurately predict what the dancers desire in terms of sonic quality - the crowd maintains itself and the music is only symbolic.

Any ideas? This would probably be a useful discussion.

p.s. sorry if this is a repost. the search feature appears to be broken.

what the fuck are you talking about

Posted by david.michael on Oct-20-2008 19:26:

quote:
Originally posted by MrJiveBoJingles
You shout out to the crowd, "What do you want to hear?!", and then you use your supernatural hearing to pick the most popular response out from under the noise of all that yelling and loud music. It is a skill that requires much experience to gain.

I usually just play a CD out of Mixmag and flail myself about all crazy like an idiot, whilst tweaking (in the fullest extent of the word) my EQ knobs on the mixer. You don't have to have the mixer actually hooked up for this... it's all about having that visual cue for the patrons.

Posted by l�cid on Oct-20-2008 19:33:

when Donald Glaude cuts the music and yells "put your motherfuckin' hands up!"

Posted by elFreak on Oct-20-2008 19:35:

when sven vath takes a shit and eats it in front of everyone to hide that he can't really mix records well.

Posted by Clovis on Oct-20-2008 19:47:

Re: what is "responding to the crowd"?

quote:
Originally posted by mehta
A couple of obvious examples would be dropping a huge breakdown once everyone is glued to the dancefloor instead of early on while people are still milling around or increasing the volume/bass as energy rises.

DJing 101

Posted by nefardec on Oct-20-2008 19:54:

quote:
Originally posted by david.michael
Really, it just comes down to seeing what the crowd responds to positively, and then try to accurately predict what they would like based on these reactions in an effort to play tracks that continually please them.

i don't think it's so much about pleasing people, because you can't please everyone.

to me responding to the crowd means your selection is informed by how many people there are in the venue, what people are doing, how they are acting, what the venue is like, etc.

it doesn't mean it has to necessarily be a servient role or a reactionary role, in fact I think you should always stay a step ahead of the crowd to keep it fresh and/or exhilarating.

Posted by david.michael on Oct-20-2008 19:57:

quote:
Originally posted by nefardec
i don't think it's so much about pleasing people, because you can't please everyone.

to me responding to the crowd means your selection is informed by how many people there are in the venue, what people are doing, how they are acting, what the venue is like, etc.

it doesn't mean it has to necessarily be a servient role or a reactionary role, in fact I think you should always stay a step ahead of the crowd to keep it fresh and/or exhilarating.

I thought this might come up, and was going to edit my response... but, well, didn't. Heh.

I attempt to play tracks which I like (and I don't feel like I'm "selling out") which allow me to express myself artistically, while still working for a crowd (ie-- more than a select few/niche/elitist/etc.) Where those lines cross is a good place to be as a DJ when you aren't surrounded by a particular "scene" or notable genre preference as far as EDM goes.

Posted by mehta on Oct-20-2008 20:01:

Re: Re: what is "responding to the crowd"?

quote:
Originally posted by Clovis
DJing 101

totally basic but still worth mentioning?

thank you for the responses so far!

Posted by airwalker1 on Oct-20-2008 20:53:

Posted by RJT on Oct-20-2008 20:57:

quote:
Originally posted by l�cid
when Donald Glaude cuts the music and yells "put your motherfuckin' hands up!"

So true.

Posted by MrJiveBoJingles on Oct-20-2008 21:04:

quote:
Originally posted by david.michael
I usually just play a CD out of Mixmag and flail myself about all crazy like an idiot, whilst tweaking (in the fullest extent of the word) my EQ knobs on the mixer. You don't have to have the mixer actually hooked up for this... it's all about having that visual cue for the patrons.

It's best to have the mixer hooked up, though. When the enthusiasm of the crowd starts to wane, you can redline the highs and mids, which is like sweet honey to everyone's ears and will be sure to get them dancing again. After you do that, you can bring the energy level up even further by playing a mashup of George Michael's "I Want Your Sex" and Scooter's "How Much Is the Fish?"

Posted by airwalker1 on Oct-20-2008 21:06:

im gessing being able to read the crowd and see what there into on the night. some djs like to cover thier tracks so that they can build some tenshion.or just simply play to the crowd.

Posted by SYSTEM-J on Oct-21-2008 01:07:

It's basically code for "Don't pre-programme your set". If a DJ starts playing and it's obvious nobody is enjoying the music, then a pre-planned set is going to crash and burn. I suppose it also applies if, say, a DJ has played a big vocal anthem and cleared half the floor. They should take that as a hint.

The idea that a DJ should have some sort of deep relationship with the crowd and play every record based on the feedback they're getting is just mythology in my opinion. Maybe it happens sometimes, in places where the DJ and the crowd are familiar with each other, but it's pretty rare that a DJ will make such a poor track selection I'll feel compelled to leave the floor or visibly show my disgust, and I think most people are the same.

Posted by b i n k u n on Oct-21-2008 07:05:

quote:
Originally posted by SYSTEM-J

The idea that a DJ should have some sort of deep relationship with the crowd and play every record based on the feedback they're getting is just mythology in my opinion. Maybe it happens sometimes, in places where the DJ and the crowd are familiar with each other, but it's pretty rare that a DJ will make such a poor track selection I'll feel compelled to leave the floor or visibly show my disgust, and I think most people are the same.

i always thought responding to a crowd is more important when the DJ isn't familiar with the crowd. As in, he's got to pick out what will get a particular crowd going. Some crowds are more up for it and enjoy the breakdowns right away (typical trance crowd), some require a longer warmup time before they enjoy the breakdowns (prog crowd), and some just hate breakdowns (techno crowds). Big generalization here, but I'm sure you get my point. It all depends on what kind of people the crowd is made up of.

On the flipside, when the crowd knows the DJ, that is when he is allowed to flex his artistic muscles, and can get away with playing whatever the fuck he wants. With unknown crowds, they have to be drawn in (familiar music to them), before they will accept something new.

Posted by WhooCares on Oct-21-2008 08:25:

Posted by Ted Promo on Oct-21-2008 10:07:

This is, without a shadow of a doubt, the best response to a crowd a dj has offered that is captured on tape:

Posted by adi_hanson on Oct-21-2008 10:27:

quote:
Originally posted by Ted Promo
This is, without a shadow of a doubt, the best response to a crowd a dj has offered that is captured on tape:

truly a killer set!

Posted by _Ocean_Drive_ on Oct-21-2008 13:20:

quote:
Originally posted by Ted Promo
This is, without a shadow of a doubt, the best response to a crowd a dj has offered that is captured on tape:

I like how Cox continues playing then calmly dips his head below the decks. That was scary stuff.

Posted by GoSpeedGo! on Oct-21-2008 13:22:

quote:
Originally posted by _Ocean_Drive_

I like how Cox continues playing then calmly dips his head below the decks. That was scary stuff.

Oh man, does someone still have that gif?

Posted by _Ocean_Drive_ on Oct-21-2008 13:30:

quote:
Originally posted by paulandrews
Oh man, does someone still have that gif?

This?

Posted by ToXano on Oct-21-2008 13:40:

quote:
Originally posted by Ted Promo
This is, without a shadow of a doubt, the best response to a crowd a dj has offered that is captured on tape:

It's soooo funny to see how he dissapears like a ninja

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