(Direct link to the 8tracks playlist)
A set list from a gig I did at the Speakeasy on Saturday night (22/1/11, 11pm – 2am or so; I DJed 12-1am or so). I haven’t done this in a while, but I was so inspired by the gig itself, and my previously-shitting-me DJing so reinvigorated, I had to post the set list with a long, boring talk about what’s in it and why I played it and so on.
Firstly, why was my DJing giving me the shits? Basically, I’d done too much of it before christmas. Too many frustrating gigs in less than great conditions at a time of year when I was totally buggered. One shitty ‘christmas’ party after another. Fuck that.
I’ve also been doing a lot of unpaid gigs, which is really soul destroying, particularly after being paid in Melbourne. Unpaid gigs make you feel as though your work has no value, particularly when you do them _all the time_. I don’t mind doing the odd gig for free, particularly if it’s for charity or for a special gig for friends who really want to put on a socially right-on gig (like this one I’ll be discussing in a second). But if I’m (one vertebrae in) the backbone of a social night, I really need to see some of the $$ being paid by the punters at the door. My music buying habit also really needs the $$.
I’ve also been doing so much dance work myself, I really want to dance. And there’s nothing more frustrating than sitting on my clack watching other people dance.
(Image lifted from here. If you’re liking this Bill Steber photo, I’ve linked to a few more here.)
So why did I take this gig? Basically, it was because the guys who run this Speakeasy event have some very nice goals:
– make it as cheap as possible for punters;
– run a socially right-on event: make it fun, make the food and drinks good (no fairy bread here), make the vibe friendly, make the music fun;
– be environmentally friendly – avoid non-recyclable cups and so on, and where you can’t be energy or environmentally efficient, be reusable;
– be good to your DJs;
– complement other events by being on after the main dance/event, and working as an ‘after party’ or complement to the main event.
I’ve DJed for them a few times, and the first time I thought ‘fuck, this is what DJing an exchange would be like if the organisers were professional and relaxed, the venue was good and the event was relaxed and fun and not riddled with politics and tension.’ I’ve done a few gigs with them since, and each time has been as good as the first one. The organisers are really nice to me (which, shockingly, isn’t as common with other gigs as you’d expect), the gig is chilled with an equal mix of dancing and socialising (which is really nice – less pressure to ‘facilitate good dancing experiences’, more emphasis on ‘playing fun songs and having fun’) and I feel relaxed and enjoy the actual DJing experience.
This really surprises me as I’m always squeezed into the middle of a crowded room, surrounded by people talking. Usually I hate that crowdedness when I’m trying to ‘work’, but with this gig it feels totally ok. The punters can come and tell me when they like a song or if they want to know who sang it, they buy me drinks, and I can ask them what they’d like to hear or what they’re in the mood for. They’re usually interested in music which isn’t oriented towards hardcore lindy hop, and I play a combination of blues, soul, funk and other fun party music. This is often a sticking point for me. I don’t usually like doing gigs with a mix of music, but I enjoy these ones. I get to play the faster blues music which isn’t ok for lindy hop, really, and isn’t wanted at straight blues nights. And I get to toss in the odd Aretha Franklin song. Which is so sell-out, but also, so wonderful.
So when I was asked to do this gig, I said yes immediately and without stopping to think. Pete was also after some help setting up and I also said yes immediately to that. I really like being involved in dance events which have their politics in the right place: make good events that are fun and friendly and good. Don’t fuck people over. Have fun. I also really like working with these guys as a DJ as they’re so friendly and lovely, I knew that doing prep work would be lots of fun. And when you’re doing volunteer work at dance events, the most important part of the experience is that it be fun and friendly. Which, once again, it’s often not.
The venue, Cross Over Dance Studio was also really nice. Pete and I went along to scout it out earlier in the week (we spent a week putting the event together, which was also nice: less long lead time to get stressy). The guy who runs the joint is really nice and I really liked the mood in the studio. It was busy, with lots of people coming in and out to dance. And as we were checking things out, a huge group of young women arrived for a badass hippity hop class, and that was beyond wonderful. The manager was ridiculously accommodating of our slow hippy-paced consensual decision making process, and I felt really good about going into that space to work with someone who was as stupidly in-love with dancing as I am. Often the venue managers we work with in dance are jaded and burnt out. Working in shitty night clubs we see too many fairly unhappy people, and it’s not nice working with them.
The space itself is nice and fresh and clean – you can see some photos on the site. We used the foyer area, with the option of breaking out to one of the studios if we needed it. Which we did. Sound proofing between the studios was GREAT, which is often an issue when you’re using multiple spaces and DJs. We moved the sofas around in the large foyer area to clear a ‘dance floor’, but plopped little bunches of couches together to making ‘conversation spaces’. It worked well – people flowed between the couch areas and the dance floor, into the studio, around the centre admin island (where we put the DJ), to the ‘kissing room’ which was a bit quieter and darker for calmer conversations. I liked the way the main area had general ‘party’ music, and that that was also where a lot of hanging about talking happened. The studio was really more for more hardcore dancing, and that sort of space isn’t really conducive to good talking and socialising, but is good for more hardcore dancing. I actually didn’t dance in there at all – I preferred the more party/pub/bar atmosphere of the main room.
We put the DJ at the main ‘island’ in the centre of the room, which was a great idea. You could see the entire room, keep the ‘in the mix’ feeling of these guys’ other events, but have a secure table for laptop and a good, somewhat raised vantage point for keeping an eye on things. The lift to the space opened straight into the room, in direct line of sight to the DJ. This was really GREAT for DJing, as I could work directly with the energy of the lift’s ‘bing’ and the sudden influx of a crowded lift’s worth of people. I aimed at making the room feel ‘full’ of sound and party with my music. The speakers were in the middle of the room pushing out from the island, and while they weren’t really up to the job, they worked ok.
People ended up dancing in a few different areas, which was also good – it kept things from feeling really crushed and it kind of messed up the usual hierarchies that happen on a dance floor. I also liked it that dance floor space was also traffic space. That would interfere with hardcore dancing which really needs safe, clear areas for dancing, but it keeps you connected, as a dancer, with the people in the rest of the room when you have to keep your eye out for people moving through to get a beer or to call out to you. I like the way that sort of room makes me dance – I feel connected to the whole room, not just my partner. Perfect for late night party feelings.
Incidentally, Pete put on some great food, free beers and wine, all included in the entry price. The studio is right in the middle of Sydney’s China Town, though, so if you’re looking for late night food, for once you needn’t chase shitty take away. Dumplings for all! The public transport was also really good, which meant a bunch of us went home on the night bus together, rather than having to get cabs.
The only real draw back to the space was the heat. We had heaps of fans on, but it got REALLY hot. This isn’t always a bad thing, though. It gets really sweaty, but I’ve always found a hot room much easier to DJ than a cool room. I think it has something to do with the way the heat affects our bodies. It makes us flush and sweat, which no doubt pumps hormones into the air. It makes our muscles looser than the cold, which makes it easier to dance. I also find it keeps people moving around the room, from the dance floor to the drinks, to the bathrooms to wash their faces, to the fans and back again. But we really could have done with a bit more air conditioning.
Ok, so what did I do with the music? I had fussed a bit over it earlier in the week. We were following the Sydney Festival Night at the Trocadero event, which was apparently AMAZING in the Sydney Town Hall, though there wasn’t much ‘real’ dancing to be had. The second part of that event included a Royal Crown Revue gig. My brief was to provide ‘mostly swing’ with ‘some neo swing’ to complement RCR. These Speakeasy gigs usually include some soul and funk, so I was to drop in some of that. Because they also usually do blues, I was to add in some blues. We talked through it a bit, and I wasn’t to do hardcore old school scratchy swinging jazz.
I ended up putting together a short list that included:
- early jump blues and rhythm and blues stuff (eg Kansas shouter guys like Jimmy Witherspoon and Walter Brown, Jay McShann’s earlier stuff, some favourites like Lavender Coffin and other late 40s Lionel Hampton stuff, some later Louis Jordan, some Louis Prima, Wynonie Harris, etc);
- some neo (mostly Swing Session and a few other bands, but I didn’t really emphasise this as I have very little);
- hi-fi or modern bands who do dirty, gutbucket blues or saucy upenergy party music (this was a mixed group including the Asylum Street Spankers, Preservation Hall band, Tuba Skinny, Gordon Webster’s new album, etc);
- some early soul and rnb (including Tina Turner, Big Mama Thornton, etc).
I do this sort of set quite often at exchanges (minus the soul), and I have to say that they’re often my very favourite. The energy is high, the tempos are really accessible, the rhythms are often more familiar than earlier swing and hot jazz, and the lyrics are lots of fun. The shouting and clapping always feels good. I felt that I pushed it a bit this time, and included some newer stuff (to me – not just my same old stodge) and worked the transitions in a more dynamic way. I really pushed the high energy vibe. I wanted the room to feel really crowded and loud and full of shouting and drinking and party. I think I got that happening. I felt really good about the set, and I really enjoyed DJing it. I’m fairly sure the punters liked it, though we had some people leave when they realised it wasn’t entirely like the previous events, or because they were just plain buggered after three different events in one night.
Righto, this is what I played (the modern artists have links to their websites – I recommend all of their albums):
[title, artist, album, bpm, year, time played]
I’m Feeling Alright (fast version) Big Mama Thornton (with Muddy Waters, James Cotton, Otis Spann, Sammy Lawhorn, Luther ‘Guitar Junior’ Johnson, Francis Clay) With the Muddy Waters Blues Band, 1966 126 1966 2:28 23/01/11 12:11 AM
All She Wants To Do Is Rock Wynonie Harris Greatest Hits 145 2009 2:34 23/01/11 12:14 AM
My Man Stands Out Di Anne Price Barrel House Queen 145 2010 2:54 23/01/11 12:17 AM
Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen Gordon Webster (with Jesse Selengut, Matt Musselman, Cassidy Holden, Rob Adkins, Jeremy Noller, Adrian Cunningham) Live In Philadelphia 151 2010 5:16 23/01/11 12:22 AM
Sugar Blues Terra Hazelton (feat. Jeff Healey’s Jazz Wizards) Anybody’s Baby 113 2004 3:44 23/01/11 12:26 AM
Knock on wood Ike And Tina Turner The Ike & Tina Turner Archive Series : Hits & Classics Vol.1 119 1998 2:31 23/01/11 12:28 AM
Respect Aretha Franklin Greatest Hits – Disc 1 114 2:25 23/01/11 12:31 AM
Hound Dog Big Mama Thornton Very Best Of 76 2:52 23/01/11 12:33 AM
Lemonade Louis Jordan and his Tympany Five Louis Jordan And His Tympany Five (vol 5) 117 1950 3:17 23/01/11 12:37 AM
Lavender Coffin Lionel Hampton and his Orchestra with Sonny Parker and Joe James Hamp: The Legendary Decca Recordings 134 1949 2:47 23/01/11 12:40 AM
Blue Monday Jay McShann and his Band (Jimmy Witherspoon) Goin’ To Kansas City Blues 125 1957 3:40 23/01/11 12:43 AM
Play the Blues Walter Brown Kansas City Blues 1944-1949 (Disc 2) 145 1949 2:39 23/01/11 12:46 AM
In The Basement – Part One Etta James The Best Of Etta James 122 1966 2:21 14/06/10 3:55 AM
Let’s Do It Terra Hazelton (feat. Jeff Healey, Marty Grosz, Dan Levinson, Vince Giordano) Anybody’s Baby 126 2004 4:28 23/01/11 12:54 AM
Shake That Thing Preservation Hall Jazz Band Shake That Thing 157 2004 6:30 23/01/11 1:00 AM
When I Get Low I Get High Linnzi Zaorski and Delta Royale (Charlie Fardella, Robert Snow, Matt Rhody, Seva Venet, Chaz Leary) Hotsy-Totsy 165 2004 2:36 23/01/11 1:03 AM
Do Your Duty Tuba Skinny (Erika Lewis, Todd, Kiowa, Shaye Cohn, Barnabus, Alynda Lee, Robin) Tuba Skinny 122 2010 3:47 23/01/11 1:07 AM
Shave ’em Dry Asylum Street Spankers Nasty Novelties 131 1997 4:21 23/01/11 4:40 PM
I followed Tom, who’d been playing quite an eclectic mix of old school, funk, super groove and general party. There weren’t millions of people there (perhaps a dozen or so), but they were all talking and cheery (the layout of the room was really what made this happen) and the room felt ‘warm’ in a social sense.
I came in with Big Mama Thornton because I’ve just blown a zillion emusic credits on her and that album with Muddy Waters is beyond excellent. It was a pretty full on start, and I was taking a punt by coming in pounding like that. But I managed to pitch and time it just right, so it worked out. Though The Squeeze had to come tell me to turn the volume down. :D
I followed with that Wynonie Harris song because it’s a nice transition to ‘swing’ and jump blues, and that gave me more options for the following songs. I wasn’t sure whether I’d want to go to straight ahead lindy hop, or to soul or what, so I tried to keep my options open. I was basically thinking ‘big shouting voice’, ‘simple rhythms’, ‘clapping’, and a basic blues structure.
Then I went to Di Anne Price because she’s more in the ‘swing’ category, though this song is pretty much solid jump blues or early rnb, a cover of Julia Lee with a slightly more modern sensibility in her voice. She has a gravelly, dirty voice that complements Big Mama Thornton. From here I could go to lindyhoppable, to blues or to something more modern.
I went to Bei Mir Bist du Schoen, from Gordon Webster’s new album because it has lots of energy and a lovely, gravelly shouting vocal (NB you can download that song for free from the site. The whole album is definitely worth buying). It’s also live, which is a sure fire way of building energy. The beginning is somewhat quieter and more chilled, but that’s ok because I wanted to kind of ease off a bit and give the crowd a bit of an emotional break. But it ends massive.
We had a massive crowd of solid lindy hopper types arrive during that last song, so I went with more conventional lindy hoppable stuff with Terra Hazeleton after that. They looked a bit tired and shell shocked, so I went with something that has a fairly simple rhythm and less intense sound, so they could acclimatise.
After that I was kind of ready to shift gears. Too much swing and hot jazz and early blues type stuff can really kill the energy in a room when most people aren’t really hardcore dancers. I think it’s because it can be a bit unfamiliar, structurally and rhythmically, and people associate it with ‘serious’ dancing, or dancing you have to learn in a dance class. So I went to some Tina Turner. Which was a bit of a leap, but still shouting female vocals. And it’s a song everyone knows. But a vastly superior version to the one most people know. It jumped the energy up in the room.
Then I went to Aretha, as she’s an easy punt. I was also giving people arriving a chance to put their stuff down (we had a steady stream arrivals as the previous gig ended at 12am). But I didn’t want to go too soul or into funk as that can be too off-putting for serious lindy hoppers, or for people coming from the RCR gig.
Hound Dog is my overplayed song. But goddamn it’s good. And people know it well now, and like it. They especially like howling along with the dogs in the chorus and at the end. I was thinking ‘ok, now I’m getting serious again’ with this song. It’s a good one for bumping energy up, but it’s slow, so it’s not tiring. Big Mama is so goddamn awesome, you can’t help but love it. More shouting.
Then I played Lemonade as we had a bunch of lindy hoppers ready to really dance and I needed to give them some familiar rhythms and melodies. Still really not hardcore lindy hopping music to my mind – it’s too late, historically, and too close to blues. Too rhythmically simple. But it’s a great party song. And a nice transition from Big Mama to older, more swinging jazz stuff.
Lavender Coffin. Overplayed favourite. Perfect party song. Something everyone knows. Lots of shouting and clapping. Perfect for tired lindy hoppers. From this point we really were crowded, and people were really ready to dance. But dance in a ‘I’m at a party!’ way. The way people dance at live band gigs here (like Puggsly Buzzard or Unity Hall) where you happily dance one song then go for a drink or a chat. Or where you have to watch the people around you carefully because it’s crowded, or where you have to do some showing off for your friends on the sidelines. It was nice to see quite a bit of that last stuff, actually, and not just from my idiot friends.
Jay McShann and Walter Brown. More of the same for a couple of songs.
Then I changed it up. I’m not entirely sure this was the best song. I got distracted and had to talk to Pete, then we had a few announcements and cheering and stuff. So I started in again with something completely different – Etta James. More shouting. A clear shift back to dirty soul. I didn’t really feel it working properly, though, so I shifted again.
This time more Terra Hazelton (gee I’m overplaying her atm), because it’s a familiar song that people love singing along. It’s a nice version that starts kind of mellow (I often use it to start sets), but builds up and gets really shouty. She sings more mellowly at the beginning, then shouts more later. It’s a funny song, so the lyrics are fun. I always think of Tank Girl singing it when I play it. It’s good for lindy hop.
Now we were solidly in badass lindy hop territory. But not super fast – people were too tired, it was too crowded and it wasn’t a fast dancing scene. It was a beer drinking scene. So I pulled some Preservation Hall. This song can go really badly with the wrong crowd. I think it needs a crowded floor, and people with stamina. Preservation Hall are the ultimate party band.
But it’s a really intense song, emotionally, and really loud with a big, solid sound. So I eased it off a bit with Linnzi Zaorski, who is very popular with a lot of dancers in Australia atm. This song is also overplayed, but it’s familiar and that’s good at a party: singalong factor. It feels less emotionally intense, even though it’s a bit faster. So it feels like a nice break. I always see the floor fill or at least change over, with a new wave of dancers coming on, when this songs starts. I like that because it gives me a chance to try a new angle or work in a new direction because the dancers are ‘new’ (as in, had a song out just before) and bring a new energy to the floor.
Then Tuba Skinny. This is another mellower sounding song. It has fewer instruments, and a sparser sound. The vocals are a bit laid back. It’s a Bessie Smith song, though, so it has the right dirty energy. I’d have preferred to play the Smith version, because it is beyond wonderful. But I was heading in a particular direction and wanted the hi-fi. It also feels a bit less intense because it is a less solid sound. I dunno. Anyways, it’s a nice song, and a good lead up to the next one.
I played Shave em Dry, one of the most overplayed songs on earth, because it is loud, shouting, live, dirty, high energy, hifi, funny, has a great chunky rhythm, is lots of fun. I often play it when I want to shake people up a bit. It has a full-on live energy feel, with lots of call and response type interaction with audience. For first time listeners it’s a bit of a shock because it’s so explicit. For familiar ears, the anticipation of dirty lyrics is good. I like the way it makes explicit the innuendo of Do Your Duty, the previous song. And I played it because Jase was DJing next, and there is no song more appropriate for Jase. And I wanted to leave him with a crowded, high energy room.
And that’s it! I had a lot of fun doing this set. I liked moving between styles. I really liked playing that particular room. I liked the serious change from my usual sets. I didn’t feel I had to ‘achieve’ anything. I just played loud party music. It was just a whole lot of fun. Then I went and danced like a fool, working through three tshirts in an hour.
