based on a true story

There's a scene in Groove, where a newbie DJ is pressed into emergency service in the middle of a rave. He's been practicing in his bedroom and working sets out in his head, but this is the first time he'll be DJing in front of live people. The anxiety is pronounced on his face and in his tentative movements as he lays down the first record, gives it a listen and tries to figure out his fade. He doesn't want to mess this up, doesn't want to ruin the vibe. He waits, he hems, he haws, and then he closes his eyes and slides the fader over to the new track. and, of course, the mix works, and the hands go up in the air, and a new star is born.

Saturday night - our venue is packed. The crowd arrived in one big mass about ten minutes ago, as I laid down a Cure cover of Depeche Mode's "World In My Eyes" and then rode its bassline into Ministry's old classic "Everyday is Halloween." The dance floor is filling, and everything is starting to work; and I hand the headphones over to Bridget, who's looking at the floor with anxiety bright in her large, brown eyes. She's spun before, at radio stations and lounge nights, but this was the first time she'd be doing it with dancers and an audience. Her hand's still over the crossfader, and she doesn't quite close her eyes as she makes the cut to Clint Mansell. And the floor stays full. She runs through three songs before the realization sets in that people are dancing to our set, and she starts screaming, "oh my god! I'm not sucking! They're having fun! I'm not sucking!"

And, no, we didn't suck. If you looked at the people who kept the dancefloor packed for the entire night, and if you counted the number of kids who came up to us squealing, "Oh my God! Thank you for playing this song!" or "Oh my God! What did you just play? That was the best song. EVER!" you'd think we were actually quite far from sucking. Rather, we were rocking ass. Hardcore.

There used to be rules about how goth and industrial kids reacted on the dancefloor. Goths don't like new stuff. They want to hear it about three times before they'll dance to it. They can't dance to too many sets with high BPMs. They don't have the stamina and they wear impractical shoes. There are many rules, but last night, none of them applied to us.

Bridget fired out dusty, obscure goth tracks and got a good response. I filled the floor with Sigur Ros and got four kids coming up to me afterwards, breathlessly asking, "that was awesome! What the hell did I just dance to?" We both battered the floor with twenty and thirty minutes of fast electro, and the crowd was asking for more. We could do no wrong.

Around 11:30, the event organizer came up to our table, and pressed a wad of cash into our hand -- our take for a job well done. I asked him what he thought of the night and if he was having fun, and he shrugged and said, "trying to. But I'm too busy being host. Don't have the time to have fun."

I replied, "well, I'd still call it fun, just a different kind of fun."

and he looked out into the crowd and said, "yeah, that's true isn't it?"

Playlist
(bridget)
Changelings - Red Shift
Amber Asylum - Everything You Touch
Silver Mt Zion - Stumble then Rise on Some Awkward Morning
One of Us - Boxthorn
Bauhaus - Passion of Lovers

(c'ris)
Dead Can Dance - Cantara
Reflecting Skin - One
Collide - Beneath the Skin
Curve - Storm
Clan of Xymox - Stranger

(bridget & c'ris tag-team)
*Fade - Make Believe
Amber Spyglass - Higher
Chromavoid - Iron
Scissorkiss - Dream of Razors

Cyber-Tec - Nothing Stays (ext remix)
Skinny Puppy - Worlock (rhys fulber mix)
KMFDM - Help Us Save Us Take Us Away
The Cure - World in My Eyes
Ministry - Every Day is Halloween

(bridget)
Clint Mansell - We Got the Gun
Will - Father Forgive
Blut Engel - Die With You
Chameleons UK - Swamp Thing
Kirlian Camera - Ascension
Dead Can Dance - Host of the Seraphim (oakenfold trance mix)

(c'ris)
In Strict Confidence - Zauberschloss
Covenant - Theremin (club version)
Concrete Nature - Thrill Seeker
*FrontLine Assembly - Evil Playground
*Future Bible Heroes - Loney Days
Sigur Ros - Hun Joro (Remix Bin)
New Order - Temptation
Red Delicious - Icon
*Gary Numan - Dark

(bridget)
Utah Saints - Lost Vagueness
Cure - Fear of Ghosts
Einsturzende Neubauten - Sabrina
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Loverman
*Kommunity FK - Something Inside Me Has Died
London After Midnight - Kiss
Coil - Windowpane
Fluke - Atom Bomb
Cyber Tec - Let Your Body Die
*Front 242 - Welcome to Paradise
Wumpscut - Thorns (distant vocals mix)
NIN Vs. Super Mario Brothers - Closer

* - denotes request