Music Sounds Better With A Laptop
Bia Bar, Lower Stephens Green, D2, Soul Food World Beats.
So, the lads in Remedy have decided to change musical directions. Well, actually they have only really changed lanes. They used to run a night called Soul Food in Bia Bar on Thursdays and now they are calling it Soul Food World Beats.
I was fortunate enough to play 2 gigs during the 'old' Soul Food days and last night was my first monthly appearance at Soul Food World Beats.
Bia is a great bar. The lighting is very warm (mostly red), the atmosphere is chilled out and the staff are quite attentive. It is a bar that I really enjoy playing in because nearly anything goes with the music.
Normally when I play in a bar on a regular basis I try and find a core group of tunes (usually about 5-10) that just define the place. Songs that match the atmosphere and feel like a big warm hug when you hear them. I haven't found those tunes yet for Bia but I'm starting to get a feel for the place. In order to find those tunes I need to experiment and play a lot of different types of music. Watch the crowd, look for a reaction, a smile, a nod or a foot tapping. During the first 2 gigs I pretty much stuck to the menu - funk & soul.
But last night I decided to have a bit of fun. I have secured a regular, monthly slot at SFWB and figured it was time to begin asserting myself a little bit. The great thing about music is that it can say many different things on many different levels. Some DJs just play music but good ones play music for a reason. I play music sometimes because I want to share it. I want to introduce people to a song that they have never heard of or would never be able to find. Sometimes I want to evoke an emotional response. Sometimes I want to remind people of a song they haven't heard in years. And sometimes a song is just so damn funky it just has to be played out. Whatever the reason may be, the music I play is always saying something.
I must admit that I was quite nervous last night before I started playing. I think because it was a slightly new music policy and I always need a few gigs to get my bearings. Find my way around musically. See what works and what doesn't. The fact that I didn't set up properly and only had silence when I pressed play didn't help my mood. Then when I got the music going I sort of fucked up and didn't choose a very good first song. Actually it wasn't a bad song (Jungle Music by The Specials and Rico) but it just didn't grab anyone's attention. It was also a bit too 'fast' to start off with since the tempo was in the mid 130s. Tempo is a funny thing. It is very subtle but very very noticeable if you make a mistake (for example playing a song with 100 bpm and then playing one right after at 130 bpm). But it can be used to your advantage if you know how. Staying with a steady tempo and progressing slowly (about 5 bpm every song) lets you play really diverse music back to back without sounding like a car wreck.
So, I got off on the wrong foot. The manager even came over and reminded me that people were still eating. In other words - keep it chilled for a bit. But I got back on track and quickly settled in. I changed directions a few times without derailing and much to everyone's surprise and delight played Thriller by Michael Jackson (it is Halloween next week). I also dropped Waterfall by The Roses because it was requested. Even though neither of those 2 songs have anything to do with World Beats everyone loved them. And they worked.
The full setlist for the night was:
01. Jungle Music - The Specials & Rico
02. Light My Fire - Astrud Gilberto
03. Breakfast Club Di Milano - Giacomo Bondi
04. Teenage Kicks - Nouvelle Vague
05. Pass The Dutchie - Musical Youth
06. Spanish Joint (Ritual Session) - D'Angelo
07. Lady (Acoustique) - Modjo
08. T Plays It Cool - Marvin Gaye
09. A Vida Em Seus Metodos Diz Calma - Di Melo
10. See-Line Woman - Nina Simone
11. Daytripper - Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66
12. Crik Crak - The Lovers
13. Hide Me (Al Usher Dance Remix) - Grandadbob
14. Exploration - Karminsky Experience Inc
15. Funk da Virada - Antonio Pinto / Ed Cortes
16. 54-46 (Was My Number) - Toots & The Maytals
17. Whine & Grine / Stand Down Margaret - The Beat
18. One Nation Under A Groove - Chaka Demus & Pliers
19. Spanish Grease - Willie Bobo
20. Guanabara - Dom Salvador & Banda Abolicao
21. Emotional Rescue - Freedom Dub
22. Thriller - Michael Jackson
23. To Be In Love - Tito Puente & India
24. Brazil 2030 (St Barth Mix) - Oscar
25. Call Me (Dlugosch Edit) - Dino
26. Rude Boy Rock - Lionrock
27. Waterfall (12" Remix) - Stone Roses
28. Police & Thieves - The Clash
29. Vida de Otario - Antonio Pinto / Ed Cortes
30. Don't Joke With A Hungry Man (Part 2) - Quantic Soul ft Spanky Wilson
31. At the Speakeasy - Speedometer
32. Hit The Road Jack (Pena Estrada) - Mo' Horizons
33. Summer Sun (Markus Enochson Remix) - Koop
34. I'm Coming Out - Diana Ross
35. Fry Chicken In Your Hotpants - Clarence Foster & The Internal Revenue
Peace...
So, the lads in Remedy have decided to change musical directions. Well, actually they have only really changed lanes. They used to run a night called Soul Food in Bia Bar on Thursdays and now they are calling it Soul Food World Beats.
I was fortunate enough to play 2 gigs during the 'old' Soul Food days and last night was my first monthly appearance at Soul Food World Beats.
Bia is a great bar. The lighting is very warm (mostly red), the atmosphere is chilled out and the staff are quite attentive. It is a bar that I really enjoy playing in because nearly anything goes with the music.
Normally when I play in a bar on a regular basis I try and find a core group of tunes (usually about 5-10) that just define the place. Songs that match the atmosphere and feel like a big warm hug when you hear them. I haven't found those tunes yet for Bia but I'm starting to get a feel for the place. In order to find those tunes I need to experiment and play a lot of different types of music. Watch the crowd, look for a reaction, a smile, a nod or a foot tapping. During the first 2 gigs I pretty much stuck to the menu - funk & soul.
But last night I decided to have a bit of fun. I have secured a regular, monthly slot at SFWB and figured it was time to begin asserting myself a little bit. The great thing about music is that it can say many different things on many different levels. Some DJs just play music but good ones play music for a reason. I play music sometimes because I want to share it. I want to introduce people to a song that they have never heard of or would never be able to find. Sometimes I want to evoke an emotional response. Sometimes I want to remind people of a song they haven't heard in years. And sometimes a song is just so damn funky it just has to be played out. Whatever the reason may be, the music I play is always saying something.
I must admit that I was quite nervous last night before I started playing. I think because it was a slightly new music policy and I always need a few gigs to get my bearings. Find my way around musically. See what works and what doesn't. The fact that I didn't set up properly and only had silence when I pressed play didn't help my mood. Then when I got the music going I sort of fucked up and didn't choose a very good first song. Actually it wasn't a bad song (Jungle Music by The Specials and Rico) but it just didn't grab anyone's attention. It was also a bit too 'fast' to start off with since the tempo was in the mid 130s. Tempo is a funny thing. It is very subtle but very very noticeable if you make a mistake (for example playing a song with 100 bpm and then playing one right after at 130 bpm). But it can be used to your advantage if you know how. Staying with a steady tempo and progressing slowly (about 5 bpm every song) lets you play really diverse music back to back without sounding like a car wreck.
So, I got off on the wrong foot. The manager even came over and reminded me that people were still eating. In other words - keep it chilled for a bit. But I got back on track and quickly settled in. I changed directions a few times without derailing and much to everyone's surprise and delight played Thriller by Michael Jackson (it is Halloween next week). I also dropped Waterfall by The Roses because it was requested. Even though neither of those 2 songs have anything to do with World Beats everyone loved them. And they worked.
The full setlist for the night was:
01. Jungle Music - The Specials & Rico
02. Light My Fire - Astrud Gilberto
03. Breakfast Club Di Milano - Giacomo Bondi
04. Teenage Kicks - Nouvelle Vague
05. Pass The Dutchie - Musical Youth
06. Spanish Joint (Ritual Session) - D'Angelo
07. Lady (Acoustique) - Modjo
08. T Plays It Cool - Marvin Gaye
09. A Vida Em Seus Metodos Diz Calma - Di Melo
10. See-Line Woman - Nina Simone
11. Daytripper - Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66
12. Crik Crak - The Lovers
13. Hide Me (Al Usher Dance Remix) - Grandadbob
14. Exploration - Karminsky Experience Inc
15. Funk da Virada - Antonio Pinto / Ed Cortes
16. 54-46 (Was My Number) - Toots & The Maytals
17. Whine & Grine / Stand Down Margaret - The Beat
18. One Nation Under A Groove - Chaka Demus & Pliers
19. Spanish Grease - Willie Bobo
20. Guanabara - Dom Salvador & Banda Abolicao
21. Emotional Rescue - Freedom Dub
22. Thriller - Michael Jackson
23. To Be In Love - Tito Puente & India
24. Brazil 2030 (St Barth Mix) - Oscar
25. Call Me (Dlugosch Edit) - Dino
26. Rude Boy Rock - Lionrock
27. Waterfall (12" Remix) - Stone Roses
28. Police & Thieves - The Clash
29. Vida de Otario - Antonio Pinto / Ed Cortes
30. Don't Joke With A Hungry Man (Part 2) - Quantic Soul ft Spanky Wilson
31. At the Speakeasy - Speedometer
32. Hit The Road Jack (Pena Estrada) - Mo' Horizons
33. Summer Sun (Markus Enochson Remix) - Koop
34. I'm Coming Out - Diana Ross
35. Fry Chicken In Your Hotpants - Clarence Foster & The Internal Revenue
Peace...
Labels: Gigs
posted by Kub at 16:23
2 Comments:
the manager made a comment and it didn't all end with you getting in a fist fight and the rest of the night being played in shuffle mode on someones Ipod.
You're growing !
Hahaha, that´s a mean one from Bill, and I know what he´s talking about...
I enjoy reading about your DJing rambles, in fact it makes me wanna try DJing again one of these days, sort of. Congratulations on your new venue.
j.
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