Monster Session #1

June 21, 2008

Time of arrival - a little before 9:30. It's quite warm already. Check temperature - 25C. Extractor is on already. Turn on both AC units at the lowest setting. Check amplifier setting - ok. Utilize the CD player lens cleaner. Check temperature again - 21C. Turn off the extractor to reduce background noise. Hmm - the mixer is not detecting sound level unless the headphone button is turned on - that's useless. I can't figure out how to get that fixed in time so I'll have to wing it with the sound level - play it by my ears. Switch CD players for the lens cleaner. Pick a final practice track - Yolanda. Get the first song ready. Ready set go. Change the light setting from the DJ booth. Turn off the lights. Change the AC setting to circulate air. Turn on the extractor. Full sail ahead. By the way, Jay substituted for Joe with Andrea assisting. Jane substituted for Danie. Olga was present to teach the beginners. Ivan was present once again at the start of the social - before going off on his holiday.

Playlist

Huracan - Bobby Valentin* (1)
La-La-La - Direct Latin Influence
Con Eso - El Gran Combo
Almendra - German Villarreal
Sientate Ahi - Oscar D'Leon
Quien Como Tu - Jose Alberto "El Canario" (2)
Volver Volver - Grupo Gale
Fuego En El 23 - Sonora Poncena
Swing La Moderna - Mandingo Y Su Son
Ay Amor, Cuando Hablan Las Miradas - Orquesta Guayacan
No Tu Me Has Visto Miguel - Javier Vazquez (Sonora Matancera?)
Flor De Los Lindos Campos - Ray Barretto
La Musica Es Mi Vida - Spanish Harlem Orchestra (3)
Vampira - Rey Reyes
Geisha Girl - Louie Ramirez
Macho Perez - Hector Tricoche*
Avisale A Mi Contrario - Roberto Roena Y Su Apollo Sound
Babarabatiri - Tito Puente
Loco De Amor - Evolution A R
Y No Has Mas Na - El Gran Combo (4)
Tu Nuevo Amor - Ismael Miranda & Junior Gonzalez
Lejos De Ti - Son Boricua
Se Le Ve - Edwin Bonilla (5)*
Woman De Callao - Juan Luis Guerra (6)
Un Alto En El Camino - Grupo Niche
Campanero - Jose Mangual Jr
Mambo Is Here To Stay - Latin Giants of Jazz
Trompeta Y Flauta - Orquesta Broadway (DJ Duste remix)* (-5%)
Te Extrano - Extreme
Que Pasa Contigo - Willie Rosario
Recordando A Cuba - Cubanoson
Guaguanco Del Gran Combo - El Gran Combo
Tumba El Quinto - Linda Leida / Javier Vazquez*
El Cepillo - Fulanito*
Musica Ligera - Toque D Keda
Periquito Pin Pin - Tommy Olivencia
Satin And Lace - Tito Rodriguez (7)
Cualquiera - Oscar D'Leon
Hacha Y Machete - Hector Lavoe
Whenever Whenver - Shakira** (8)
Pin Pon - El Medico (9)
Cinco A Diez - Azabache (10)
Gracias - El Gran Combo
Que Buena Baila Usted - Oscar D'Leon
Chango Ta Beni - German Villarreal
Playa Fa Sho - Toby Love
Y No Hago Mas Na - El Gran Combo (11)
Si Tu Te Vas - Juan Luis Guerra*
La Fiesta De Pilito - El Gran Combo
Lamento Boliviano - Toque D Keda
Otra Oportunidad - Jimmy Bosch
Los Caminos De La Vida - Ismael Miranda & Junior Gonzalez
La Novella - Fulanito* (12)
Chan Chan - Buena Vista Social Club

(1) Why not? Start with something new.
(2) This was an odd one. My recollection was that Ivan danced with Jane while Jay danced with Andrea on the main floor while everyone else decided to watch. This led me to change my selection for the next song.
(3) No doubt Ivan has used this song when he was deejaying.
(4) Song info requested.
(5) Ivan gave me a funny look - he thought it sounded like Cumbia at the beginning.
(6) A Meregue request, which I decided to accommodate instead of continuing with Salsa.
(7) Bulbul had been asking me to play some Latin music. He might have meant Latin pop. I'm not completely sure. In any case I moved this song from two songs later to here and skipped the original choice because I thought it was a now or never type of situation.
(8) Latin Pop - from CDs Vish lent me. Something of a fulfilment of Bulbul's request.
(9) I think Bulbul was hoping for Reggaeton as well. Not completely sure once again.
(10) Bulbul wants good … was it Salsa? Another lost in translation moment. He might have meant "popular" Salsa music - as defined by someone like Shila.
(11) Yes, I know I played this earlier in the evening. Someone specifically requested that I replay the song one more time. This time I decided not to cut off the very beginning of the song.
(12) I obtained this CD because of a guy who has been bugging me about a song called Guallando for months. He wasn't here today so I decided to wait before playing it.

Total = 54 songs. 4 Merengue including 3 new. 4 Bachata. 1 Latin Pop from Vish's collection. 1 Reggaeton. 44 Salsa including 5 new with one song repeated. It was a fun crowd to play music for - nice mix of familiar and unfamiliar faces.

Quote of the day - "I know! It's true!"

No context known for sure although I thought I had a really good guess - I think it was about the music. Scary. It also made me think of a Robert DeNiro scene in front of a mirror in Taxi Driver.

One dance for the evening - Gracias.

Tomorrow - I'm supposed to impersonate Vish. Music selection will be very different. A lot less "Mambo" - quite possibly none at all. A lot less Salsa too.