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why do openers bang it out?


diegonyc

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this has to be one of the most aggravating things about djs.

especially when they're opening up for a dj like john digweed or danny howells. why don't they just play their spot? do they not understand the concept of opening up the room and setting it up nicely for the headliner?

unless it's a techno dj, there should be no reason going over 128-132 bpm.

i remember eating dinner at bed one night down in miami and the opening dj, didn't even bother to get a name... it was around 11pm and my boy was dropping ecstacy induced twisted progressive house, u know, the kind u hear at 3 am... that's just wrong. i wanted to throw my steak at him.

i just lose all sorts of respect for those kind...

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from personal experience I can say that as an opener if you play appropriately deep and loungey material you may be characterized as a weak dj who only plays boring music, which spoils any chances you have of becoming a headliner, sad but true! Better to rock it out early if you ever have any hopes of getting the chance to do so later on...

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Originally posted by eKiTeL

from personal experience I can say that as an opener if you play appropriately deep and loungey material you may be characterized as a weak dj who only plays boring music, which spoils any chances you have of becoming a headliner, sad but true! Better to rock it out early if you ever have any hopes of getting the chance to do so later on...

I disagree ...Theres a time and place to bang it out, and its def not when your opening up... A well put together opening set can be just as interesting if not more so at times then a headliner...

IMO... :)

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Originally posted by lavosdeldiablo

I disagree ...Theres a time and place to bang it out, and its def not when your opening up... A well put together opening set can be just as interesting if not more so at times then a headliner...

IMO... :)

I agree 100% unfortunately some bar/club managers don't get it, and if business is slow the first thing they try to blame is the DJ

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Originally posted by lavosdeldiablo

Theres a time and place to bang it out, and its def not when your opening up... A well put together opening set can be just as interesting if not more so at times then a headliner...

IMO... :)

Amen :cool:

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Originally posted by eKiTeL

from personal experience I can say that as an opener if you play appropriately deep and loungey material you may be characterized as a weak dj who only plays boring music, which spoils any chances you have of becoming a headliner, sad but true! Better to rock it out early if you ever have any hopes of getting the chance to do so later on...

no, u rock it out if u close... and you're weak and inpatient if u bang it out as an opener... it's that simple.

all openers should take this class they're offering at miami dade called 'warm art 101'

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How about if the opening DJ plays a different style of music than the headliner? For instance when I opened up for Edgar V at Space two years ago he didn't care what kind of progressive house tracks I spun because he's a trance dj and according to him it wouldn't affect his set. The club owners always feel differently, though. I've found that the headliner doesn't care what the opener spins if they spin different styles.

If I were opening for a dj that spins the same style as me then I can understand but what would you say a progressive house dj should spin if the headliner is a trance dj? I think it depends on the time of night. If it's early then the tracks should be chill but if the dancefloor is feeling the set why not play a banging progressive track?

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i think there is ways of moving the crowd and having a good set without bringin the bombs.... yes its true that you gotta play your goods everytime you play, but in this situation that your eating dinner, there is no need to play headbangin house!!!

jimbo and meng also had real good points.....

1 opening sets could be very sweet if the dj can do it right... u usually hear the tracks that dont get played so much, so u get to hear the inbtween tracks that gives a dj their style imo...

2 it makes perfect sense to me to have a prog house dj be able to bang it while opening up for a trance or different genre headliner... if they are there to see a trance/breakbeat/techno dj, usually their taste is gonna thrive on harder music, and are already gonna be pumped up for their headliner, so the opener should be generous enough to set up the energy and vibe b4 hand....

my 2 cents

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Originally posted by lilliz77

Maybe they bang it out because that's the way they play...they like to get the crowd enthusiastic, to get them to stay awake and keep the momentum going...and sometimes they are actually better than the headliners.

:aright: :aright:
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Originally posted by diegonyc

no, u rock it out if u close... and you're weak and inpatient if u bang it out as an opener... it's that simple.

how 'bout if I put it this way.... opening is a very delicate balancing act, you don't want to show up the headliner (not intentionally anyway) and on the other hand you don't want to put the headliner's fans to sleep either, sometimes you get a crowd that will appreciate a gradual build up from deep to bangin', but some crowds aren't happy unless it's bangin' right from the moment they walk in the door at 11 or 12, sometimes they really dig a lot of deeper instrumental filler tracks while they gradually get into the groove, but sometimes they need a few vocals or something a little flashy to jump start the party... and also you can't always please every individual in the crowd at the same time, you have to make some compromises... as an opener it's best to bring a lot of different records and see what works, the opener has to plan a very open-ended kind of set, however many times she/he is not experienced enough to understand all these subtle nuances, it may very well be one of their first times playing at such a venue, or at any venue at all! anyway it's not as easy as it might seem, I'm still learning myself, though I think I've gotten significantly better at it over the past few months... and I certainly agree that a lot of times openers do play way to hard, and a lot of begginer dj's are very young and just want to play the hard stuff with no conception about progressing from deeper to harder, those ones should just stick to the raves and leave the night clubs to those who know how to build a set

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I say if you can't hang with the big dogs, then stay on the porch...

Example...........CL at Space last weekend.........fucking worked it..........Picotto is my man, but he should have banged it harder..........

Bring it, bang it............................or leave:eek:

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how's this for a formula.....

1)play your style of music......just play lower bpm's than what is

going to be played later. 2)try to get the crowd moving(warmed up)

with tracks that don't build that much but still work nicely on the

floor. 3) Leave the house volume to a level where the dj. can add

some watts to the house once he feels like it. 4) And last but not

least, do some fuckn' research of who the hell your'e opening up

for (try to go a bit out of your way to play music that is

convenient for the crowd that evening and that might inspire the

headliner to play his own style). A good opening set for me

sets everything up for the whole club, without one the night is

just "half-ass".

I think roly did a good job opening for howells a couple of weeks ago.

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