Chas just for the record...& BTW nice post......I myself might only have heard of 2 or 3 of those songs also..

That list I posted was a google search for top dance songs as I provided the link above also....mine or your list or repertoire I'm sure would look very very different. Don't you think by now we gave Scott enough info to make a decision on how to "FILL A DANCE FLOOR" !

So, let's just tell it the way it is... you didn't post that list top actually answer a real question, simply speaking, you posted that list as a joke, as Scott was asking a serious question. You certainly didn't post YOUR list of floor packers did you - unwilling to share?

Thing is, laugh's on you, as in fact, unless you are playing to the elderly or NH crowd, that list actually IS how to pack a floor. And Duke of Earl ISN'T!

Anyway, as I think I might have shown, you CAN play oldies and new stuff and entertain with BOTH. Choosing to completely ignore anything that is contemporary only shows how ossified you can let yourself become if you aren't careful.

Diki,

I hate to disagree with you, but that list, at least in this part of the world, would NOT pack a dancefloor. Keep in mind that you're playing music down in "Kiddie Land", an upscale resort area of the Florida Panhandle where the average age of your audience ranges from high school to college. I saw them walking around the beach area of Destin when I was in your neighborhood. (A lot of young, attractive ladies down there during the dead of winter.)

I may be a bit old--Hell, I'm old as dirt, but I can still read an audience and pack a dancefloor. And, I'm not talking about the dancefloor of a NH. I only know one song on that list, and I wouldn't play any of them. But that's just me.

What's really interesting is that I performed a Latin song at an Italian restaurant where I was filling in for the regular guy who was a bit under the weather. The song, El Cumbanchero, is older than you. The audience loved it, packed the dancefloor, and some of the younger folks in their 30s had never heard it, but they danced just the same. You just never know what will work, and if I could predict what would work, I would own a much larger boat.

Scott,

I'll be more than happy to give you a call and see if I can help.

Gary

[This message has been edited by travlin'easy (edited 05-15-2010).]

Gary, I'm honestly not sure what the point of your post is here. I've no doubt at ALL that you could pack a Dancefloor with none of those Songs on the now "Infamous New Song List" posted on the previous page, but if you included a couple, (carefully picking and choosing...) a couple of those BIG hits would probably get everyone up just as well as the hits from yesteryear.

A hit is a hit.

I've personally played "I Gotta Feeling" (our Dance remix of it no less) countless times in many Venues, and it gets EVERYONE, Old OR Young either on the floor, or writhing in their seats (in a GOOD way ) which brings me to a question after reading all these posts here:

Do many of you (maybe I'm talking to the U.S. Citizens here) play to audiences that are so narrow in Age-range/Tastes?

Speaking for myself, we (my Wife and I) absolutely NEED to play a huge range of music almost every time we play.

Just last night at a gig we did -

1. Old Time Dance Numbers (e.g. In the Mood, But I Do)
2. Country (e.g. Neon Moon, I just Wanna Dance with You)
3. RnR (e.g. Runaround Sue, You Never Can Tell)
4. Pub/Goodtime (Bad Moon Rising, Mustang Sally)
5. 90's (Mambo #5, Macarena)
6. Top 40 (Tik Tok, Pokerface (mashed with Bad Romance)

and many many MANY more including "out there" kind of songs like "Bad Things" (the Theme to True Blood - works great as a RnR Eight-Step!)

Unless we're doing a specific themed show with a specific audience (RnR or Country/Linedancing shows) we play to audiences that range in Age from 5 to 90 - ALL THE TIME.

(Even when we DO those specific shows I mentioned, we manage to slip in some VERY out of Genre tunes that go down a treat)

I often read here about very specific gigs - is it all about the Restaurant or NH gigs?

Are there lots of specific, "splintered" audiences in lots of specific Venues over in the States?

In Australia, most (public) Venues contain - by and large - All Ages.

I really wanna know.....genuine, serious (and respectful) question here!

P.S. My point is, if we just stuck to a "certain list" of Material, we'd be out of a Job.

So does this mean you don't play
"Knees Up Mother Brown" ?

But audiences can be VERY different so of course you completely base your song selection on what you know they will want to hear. That is so obvious it doesn't even require discussion.

I doubt that an elderly audience would be much interested in the Vengaboys either .... unless they enjoy doing the silly old guy Magic Mountain dance

Some of our songs you can find on our home page, there is a live site so you can listen and also a site in swedish "vilka låtar vi spelar" = songs we play www.susann-hasse.se

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LU2yt6wOoK0

Hellboy,

The first five categories of songs on your list are in my list as well. And, I agree, I too must play a huge variety of music to accommodate the audiences. The audiences vary significantly from region to region, and in the Florida Panhandle there can be drastic differences in audience composition within a distance of only 50 miles. The same holds true here where inland audiences tend to be more conservative and older, while those along the coast at beach resorts are younger and wilder. That's why teh ability to read the audience and make needed changes has always been of paramount importance.

I NEVER play a set number of specific songs--it all depends upon the audience. Scott is a very talented individual, but his experience as an OMB performer,if I recall correctly, was somewhat limited, thus his request for assistance.

Gary

My audience ranges from 20's to 80's. Just because you weren't looking at them, Gary, doesn't mean there weren't some ladies of a more mature age floating around on the beach!

Thing is, unless you are in a venue that ONLY caters to the elderly, you can't completely ignore the kids... it is disrespectful of a customer that is paying JUST as much (if not more!) as a more aged one. Refuse to play anything from their generation, and they have every right to simply go somewhere else. And, Donny notwithstanding, we find that there are customers MUCH older than their twenties that LOVE to dance to some of those tunes, too!

I guess it all boils down to how well you perform them...