Museum of Science and Industry - May 2, 2007

Museum of Science and Industry – May 2, 2007

Unfreakin’ believable! There’s so much to dissect about this gig. I’ll start with the basics. The fig team was James, Megan, Matt, and myself. James was the artist (headlining dj) and I led the team. We were working for Carmel and In the Loop at the Museum of Science and Industry. 3,000 people scattered throughout the space with 6 different kinds of performers (bands, singers, Djs – us!). We were set up on the lower level in the room with the ticket counter and near the Silver Streak Zephyr. Most of the guests came into our area when they entered, dropped they coats off at the coat check, and then proceeded upstairs to see the exhibits, eat food, watch the other performers, etc. We played down-tempo music as guests arrived and kicked into dancing as the night progressed. The space got PACKED during dancing. It was like a river of people flowing down the escalator at one point. We did an hour of overtime and everybody had a ton of fun, ourselves included.

Tons of learns on this one for me. I coordinated the set-up and take-down of equipment which included getting a truck and extra equipment rented, getting the equipment down there, coordinating with the other vendors, and keeping our team performing at our best. Set-up was like birthing a calf. Not that I know what that feels like, but I imagine it was close to this. We picked up bigger sound equipment to support the sound within the room up. To get the equipment down there, we rented a truck. We had been trying to get into the space the day before to set-up because something always goes wrong and with a large set-up, the last thing we wanted was to be rushed and not adequately prepared. It was like pulling teeth to get our equipment down there the day before, but we were able to do it. We weren’t able to set up, but at least it was down there. I’m glad we did do it the day before because I ran into a host of problems getting the truck and driving down (miscommunication about where to rent the equipment, going 45 minutes out of my way to get the truck because of that, printer problems at U-Haul, traffic, etc.). Drama, right? Yep. So, the learn: communicate effectively to my team about what’s going to happen and allot for adequate time because stuff always hits the fan, and when it sprays across the room, it gets messy and stinky.

Setting up the day of was a breeze. I had it all visually laid out in my head about how it was all going to work, communicated what I needed to my team (Megan and Matt), we made it happen, and BAM! we’re done setting up ahead of schedule. We had enough time to talk about how we were going to be with each other, what we wanted the evening to be like, what we wanted to have happen, and see some of the exhibits as well.

As guests were first coming in, I was playing upbeat, fun, fast-paced songs that were way too upbeat and fast for the time of the night. James came over and reminded me to keep it chill, down tempo, laid-back to create a space where people can feel safe, comfortable, talk. Matt observed most of the night and it was helpful having him there because you get that many people in a room and it gets overwhelming. Matt right next to me was like a security blanket because I knew I wasn’t alone, I felt safe, was able to talk things out, move through my fear rather than let it block me, etc. Megan and James came on for a while after Matt and I. We kept the same vibe going. A couple hours into the event, I hopped on with Megan, starting picking it up a little bit, I threw on some Earth, Wind, and Fire, and the crowd started dancing. There wasn’t many people there at that point, but the crowd slowly built, I slowly worked them with disco and 80’s. The next thing I know, the whole lower level is packed with people and I’m going from disco to 80’s to current stuff to house. In and out of all that stuff and keeping the crowd guessing once I earned their trust. Megan and James came on when we hit overtime and tore it up with some Latin and Hip-Hop. Megan and myself wound up the night at the end, YMCA being the final song. Normally I detest playing that song, but it was totally perfect for this crowd that was eating up the happy, upbeat, discoey, housey stuff. All said and done, we made a great team that communicated well with one another and supported each other well.

I liked being the "warm-up" dj. It was cool to build the dance floor and step away when it was at its peak, and allowing James and Megan to take over at that point. I helped create a space for others to play in and saw the value in what I did - overtime!

--Jonathan Hood, team lead
Team: Megan Taylor, Matt Carlson
Artist DJ: James Gustin