Most of the gigs that I do always seem to follow a standard theme and usually in this order - for me anyway

After the First dance
Some Pop/Dancey music get played
Some R&B also gets added

at this time a buffet gets announced and it goes quiet for about 30mins

Some Soul music, easy listening stuff that people will want to tap their feet to
ramp up to some pop dancey stuff
60's/70's to get the crusties working
80's
cheesey stuff
Disco
90's
some group playing stuff i.e cha cha slide/macarena
Uptempo tunes like club music
slow down to chill stuff - luvvy dovey stuff

do you guys not think. So I reckon the key is that if I choose at least 10 songs that are party classics from each of those areas. I have my emergency back up list when all else fails?

Sticking to a plan never would work for me, on the surface it may seem you are doing a silmilar thing at each gig, but a set list of tunes could end in tears or an empty dance floor !!!

Wouldnt work for me either

Nor me, I have my regulars, which I bet 99% of all mobile DJ have to play (Kylie, Robbie, Shania etc) but not really in too much of an order.

I usually have an idea of what tracks to play in which particular section, but it would sometimes be impossible to predict exactly what order the music would be played before I had got to the gig.

Sometimes you may have a narrow age group, into one type of music, other times it could be all the family there from age 4 to 90!.

Had I predicted how last weeks 60th would go last week, then I never would have thought that I would be playing Breakdance Music and Rock , however, it got asked for, and the Client Okay'ed it!. Goes to show that you never can tell.

Although I did mention to Andy when I visited him, that he played the same tracks as me......just in a different order!.

Lets face it, most of us mobile "wedding" type jocks play roughly the same songs, be it in Lands end or John O'groats!

I have a "format" but its not set in stone and changes slightly from gig to gig.

Depending on the crowd/time/function etc etc, I normally play between 2-5 songs from each decade working backwards.

Start with chart from the last couple of years and then back we go, and spend about 15 minutes in each decade(This obviously depends on the majority age group)

I do this at most bookings, as it stops people moaning that I haven't played a particular era/genre of music.

Generally though 50's rock 'n' roll is far enough back!

I have got music from the 40's, but don't get to play it very often.........

I think we all have an idea of what we MIGHT play.... but more often that not.....we bin the plan and decide that a plan never works!

I agree that while most of us have a formula, we're ready to bin it and go with the flow.
However, I think it's a good idea to have fallback tracks in mind, again this is probably something the more experienced guys here do without thinking, in time it will come, but any plan is better than no plan.

Cheers

Vinnie

I have a playlist that i will shuffle around from night to night and add to or take away from. Sometimes (if i do a mixture disco) i will avoid playing tracks that have been 'overplayed' on the radio.

We all must have the odd one or two gigs where nobody will dance whatever you play. I've had it happen to me and end up playing to an empty dance floor all night, regardless of whats played.

I had a night in april this year where everybody buggered off home early and left you me playing on my own? It was a company function (which i'm not too keen on anyway...snobby chief execs), and no one told the guests about the 1am extension. So by 12 i had an empty hall, absolutely no one except the hotel staff, who by that time were starting to clear up. I had an early night that night.

I never use a playlist, I just play it by ear.

No audience can be predictable so a playlist that works really well at one gig, might not necesarilly work at another.

So I just watch the dance floor and see what is working and what isn't.

Joe

wise words young man!

When I first started I made a play list and about 10-15 minutes into the first gig I threw it away.

I have an idea what Im playing for each genre but I never go expecting to play the same as I did last week.

DM