12 dic 2007 - Cellspace, DJ duties.

Cellspace was a meat locker last night. The cold, still air inside that metal warehouse was insidious, seeping inside my jeans and hoodie jacket like it was trying to suffocate me. It was a little tricky to arrange my music on the Macbook with my fingers trembling. Trackpad nuances can be pretty precarious when you are playing for a crowd, just an fyi. Many folks I know use a USB mouse but for those like me who like to stick with the stock computer, it may be prudent to turn off the trackpad tap/click function. I had to learn this lesson the hard way once, zapping a song mid stride from an errant touch (I stand by my assertion that my computer was being overly sensitive that night).

I wasn't altogether prepared for the evening as DJ issues seemed to constantly pop up. I was originally slated to share duties with Gordo but he had to be in L.A., so he swapped with Sabrina. A few hours before showtime I got an email from Ben telling me that Sabrina was sick and that he would fill in, but he had to leave early to pick someone up from the airport. I was counting on either Gordo or Sabrina to fill in a lot of the alternative music because that's really not my speciality, but since I now had to cover more of the evening myself I had to construct a couple of tandas pretty quickly. Homer offered to take up some of the slack later in the evening if I didn't feel comfortable but I felt I could get by, and besides it would be good exercise as I don't often play a whole night myself (although in a way that's actually easier than switching off).

Once the momentum for the milonga had found its groove Sean stopped by the DJ table and gave us praise for getting and keeping everybody out on the floor. I had to reply that we couldn't take all the credit because essentially the options were to dance, or freeze. But in all seriousness I was happy the way the music played out and was glad to see everybody enjoying themselves. Ben's additions kept the flow going smoothly and added much needed variety at the right places. Now I just have two weeks to put together my next playlists for the post-Christmas milonga at Cellspace, where I will be sharing music duties with Homer. Should be a good time.

My playlists were as follows:

FIRST ROUND - De Caro, tango set: Mala Junta, La Rayuela, El Espiante. Alternative milonga set: El Llorón (electrocutango), Junto a las Piedras (Otros Aires), Miles de Pasajeros - Omar Remix (Bajofondo). Donato, tango set: Mi Serenata, Amando En Silencio, Muchacho de Cafetin. Biagi, tango set: Pura Clase, La Marca De Fuego, El Estribo. De Angelis, vals set: Olga, Pampa y Cielo, Ilusión Azul.

SECOND ROUND - Alternative set: Shy Kind of Guy (Gogol Bordello), Easy (Tracey Thorn), Arrabal (Gotan Project). Pugliese, tango set: Malandraca, La Tupungatina, Pata Ancha. Lomuto, milonga set: Serenata, Parque Patricios, No Hay Tierra Como La Mía. Fresedo, tango set: Sueño Azul, Tigre Viejo, Dulce Amargura. D'Arienzo, vals set: Pabellón de las Rosas, Amor y Celos, A una Mujer. Alternative set: Grateful Days (Dragon Ash), Pa' Bailar (Bajofondo).