John Wilson's 50th at the W Lakeshore

So this was a 50th birthday bash thrown for John Wilson by his wife Deanna at the lavish W Hotel lakeshore and about 60 of his closest friends and familiy. In terms of agenda, there was not much to the night - cocktails for a hour and a 1/2, dinner, and a short speech from the man of the hour thanking his guests. While this sounds straightforward, it lead to a unique situation in terms of getting in relationship with the crowd and getting dancing started later in the night. With weddings, the structure allows for early interaction with the crowd, getting them warmed up to the deejay. This event, however, was more like a corporate pary in terms of that element, with no real time bulit-in to actually acknowledge the crowd.
The Hybrid.
Brian recognized it and spoke with the crowd, introducing John, which let them actually see the deejay. During dinner, the crowd was getting a bit antsy, doing more mingling with each other, I was getting antsy myself, wanting to get the party started...
Getting dancing was a little tough at first. But, just like a coporate gig, there is always one person who will come up and ask for something to dance to, fun, current, etc. A woman did just that, and she wanted to hear current stuff. Brian put on Hey Ya, and that got the crowd out. Over the course of the evening we hit a lot of genres, songs ranging from Rock Around the Clock, to Usher's Thats What It's Made For during dinner. Cocktails consisted of a lot of midtempo lounge style music, with a world beat feel to it. I played songs from brazilian artists, french, and a variety of latin beats. Even a bachata was played for one guy that had an overwhelming desire to show off. There were some great song transitions over the night - I Like Big Butts is always a crowd favorite, which was followed up by My Humps, in a pair praising posteriors. The keyboard outro on that song allowed Brian to completely shift gears and have the crowd rock out to end the night. A good time was had by all, and Deanna said that her 50th is in 3 years - so fig can do it all again!
Summing up the night musically:

• Bossa no. 5, Riolistic
• Tabou, Les Nubians
• The Right Kind of Lover, Patti LaBelle
• Hey Ya!, Outkast
• Rapper's Delight, Sugarhill Gang
• Livin' on a Prayer, Bon Jovi

written by Alvin Black III, assistant deejay