DJ recognition in the electronic (house, trance, electro, techno, etc.) community has long been commonplace. The best DJ’s in the country/world are recognized for their production and entertainment value. The best of the best play sets that contain their own music/remixes, this allows the fan to develop particular allegiances, allegiances based solely on their musical preferences. Understanding why promoters bring in DJ’s that might play their own remixes, but, not their own fully produced tracks is a mystery to some, i’m here to address that mystery.  ITS NOT ALL THE SAME

What Makes a Good Party Rocking DJ/How to spot a Rookie

1. Musical Knowledge - Next time there is a headlining DJ in town, listen to the opener. More often than not he’ll get the crowd going, but he’ll do it with all the “bangers”.  Great DJ’s can get the crowd going with any type of music at any time.  Anyone can hype up the crowd with Radio cuts, the good DJ gets you excited by playing that song you haven’t heard in forever at the perfect time.  I’m a firm believer that any DJ can fumble his way through a 3 hour set, there is a large enough database of current popular music out there to accomplish that.  Put the same DJ in Vegas and make him play a 6hr set, i’ll bet you hear the same songs 2 or 3 times a piece.  Playing longer sets forces DJ’s to expand their musical knowledge and forces them to take chances.  So, next time you’re at a club, listen to what the DJ is playing and watch what the crowd is doing.  If he’s playing the current radio top 10 and only that, you probably have yourself a rookie.  That might not make sense, especially if the dance floor is packed, but, i can promise you it will only be packed during the peak hour and if its the same DJ week in and week out, that hour of dancing will get shorter and shorter. Conversely if he’s playing the exact opposite and people are just standing there, you probably have yourself a rookie, someone who is playing “out side the box” just so he isn’t classified as a “mainstream” DJ.  The best of the best will play the right things at the right times, it will seem new and fresh even if the songs are 20 years old, you’ll get that amazing feeling without the same old music.
2. Technical Experience - There are so many technical aspects to DJ’ing, honing these skills comes with a little natural ability and a LOT of practice.  You want to get an idea of how good your DJ is, watch his hands.  Watch how precise his movements are, how often he moves and what he’s actually doing.  Bad DJ’s are really good at faking like their busy, they’ll fade into a song, then sit back and adjust volume controls.  Watch the hands, pay attention to the music….are the transitions crisp, do the beats match, are the scratches clean and on time, does the DJ make the song his own by adding his own personal flair?  DON’T FORGET, watch the hands.  The reason I say this is because some of the world’s best DJ’s have taken their lives remixes and transitions and sold them to younger DJ’s.  The younger DJ’s just download the transitions and let the computer do all the technical work, instead of mixing it right on the spot.  This isn’t always a bad thing, it allows the DJ to focus more on music selection, but having your whole set pre mixed is lazy, the customer deserves better.  There are other ways to spot pre-programmed sets though, if you have the same DJ week after week, listen for similar transitions, you’ll probably pick it up subliminally.  I’m sure there has been more than one instance where you know what song is coming next, while some of this is expected (some transitions just work well) you shouldn’t be able to do this more than once or 2x in a night, if you can, your DJ isn’t doing his job and he’s getting lazy.
3. Playing to the Crowd - This does NOT mean taking requests.  Just a word to the wise, there is a reason most big name DJ’s do NOT take requests.  You have to understand that you are one person, you like what you like, others are not the same.  You need to trust that your DJ has done his homework and knows what type of crowd he is playing for.  A great DJ needs to be able to execute like a well trained boxer, he needs to be able to adjust his strategy/style if what he’s doing isn’t working.  Too often DJ’s think they can come in with a pre-programmed set and kill it.  This may actually work %60 or %70 of the time, but, if things go wrong, if the people aren’t feeling what you have ready for them, you’re fucked.  Make your DJ work, don’t be afraid to make a casual comment, if it’s educated they’ll know it, if you say something like “why didn’t play my song” they’ll shrug it off and be on to the next one.

In closing, it’s up to you the customer to control your entertainment, be satisfied with the normal and force yourself to go out every week, or go in expecting to have the time of your life.  Most of what you’ve experienced in the past, most of what you’ve picked up is probably more subliminal than it is painfully evident, but, now, you may be able to control another aspect of your good time.  Trust me on this, whether you know it or not, if you have a GREAT DJ, you’ll have a great night, they can generate energy out of thin air, its amazing and it needs to be recognized and appreciated.  You don’t need to go in and analyze every week, but, do it once, and see if you notice these little things, you’ll be surprised.

*Don’t believe the hype, a DJ isn’t good just because he lives in a major market city, has a good mixtape, or markets himself well, it’s all about the live performance.