Registered: May 2003
Location: Los Angeles (OC) / Mexicali
<review> My First Night @ Vanguard..... Boy, Do I Have A Lot To Learn
What up peeps... First off, the videos below are from the main room.
Anyhow, last night was my first night @ Vanguard. And Boy, do I have a lot to learn. DJ Splyce was on the main room, I was on the NEW VIP Room (The Front), and I have no idea who was on the other rooms. But all the DJ's I saw we're pretty much world class, or near world class except me.
Splyce was tearing it up, but he was clipping hard!!! How did he make a million dollar Funktion One sound system sound distorted? I have no clue. But either way, he was good.
In my room I had two guest DJ's, and they were rocking. They were playing mostly Indie & Electro. Really impressed by them. I was playing house all night. But the crowd was feeling the indie/electro more than my house. My set was all over the place. I wasn't prepared for a house set. I was told I to do spanish rock, but when I got there, the Vanguard's manager said NO LATIN. So I played house instead.
I had a couple people come up and tell me they liked my music better than the main room (DJ Splyce was playing), which that made me feel good. But boy, was I jealous I wasn't in the main room. Their production was amazing. They change it every week, and by far, this week was the best I’ve seen.
So I learned I gotta redefine my sound. The Hollywood crowd is way different than the crowd I’m used to. So I have a lot of homework to do. Hehe I wasn’t completely disappointed with my set, but I wasn’t blown away either. At least I didn’t clear my room. Well, I did, nearly at 2am. But they told me that was normal. Even then, I went to the main room, that room was clearing too. So I don’t feel that bad.
Oh and the staff was AMAZING! The friendliest staff I have ever worked with. The coat check girl was really friendly too. Oh yeah, the room I played at is being worked on. Completely remodeled, and we have a temporary L-Acoustics sound system that rocks!!! I love that system. So while they build the DJ Booth, they put in the coat-check room! Lol. That was fine with me, cause I got to talk to the coat-check girl all night. Haha
The Setup I had was pretty high end. They set me up with a Xone 92 Mixer, which I learned to dislike last night and made me appreciate my DJM800. YES, I said it. Let the flaming begin. Hahaha They also set me up with 2 CDJ 1000’s and a JBL EON Monitor. The production manager was really cool. He gave me his card and told me to call him during the week so he can set up the system however I want it next week. WOW, That has never happened to me. Somebody actually cared about my set up! Hehehe
Overall it was a good night. I had fun, and I was buzzed for a while. Can’t wait til next week.
Last edited by DjWoody on Oct-14-2007 at 01:32
Oct-13-2007 21:19
TSG
"Trinity"
Registered: Oct 2004
Location:
Mijo, in due time you'll be world class or at least near world class. So with alittle bit more learning here & there, you'll get there.
Keep up the good work!
Mom
Oct-13-2007 21:49
mar46017
Mikey Esq.
Registered: Jan 2006
Location: Southern California USA
Woody,
Just the fact that you want to work on your DJing abilities goes a long way. When I call around for DJ's, I first call the ones that I actually like and have good personalities. The ones that truly like what they do .
I can't count the number of times I've been to Vanguard. I used to go when it first opened and it was always jam packed. (Hip Hop I might add). Then it died down a lil. I helped out with a Thursday night weekly a couple years ago and that didn't last more than a couple months.
Now I help out on Friday and Saturday nights through the Hollywood entrance. The crowd Friday nights is very random and diverse. They aren't the pickiest crowd. It seams as if Vanguard called back every promoter it ever worked with and turned it into Epic Fridays. You have many different promoters promoting through different doors (patio, main and Hollywood Blvd).
I help promote another Friday night, but I usually recommend Vanguard if they want a bigger club with more options. They have 4 different DJ's playing at the same time.
Vanguard is huge! You need at least 500+ people just so it doesn't look dead!
Congrats on your gig. I know you've been listening to many house DJ sets and you are constantly updating you music selection. That plus your personality will make you a world class DJ. (us trancaddicts already know you rock!)
