Music lineup from second week of the open-mic DJ night I'm hosting at a pub downtown.

Glamour & Glitz - A Tribe Called Quest
Ego Trippin' - Ultramagnetic MCs
Keep On Movin' - Soul II Soul
Burning Brightly - Ayro
Backdrifts - Radiohead

Sascha - Jolie Holland
Such Great Heights - Iron & Wine
Cecelia - Simon & Garfunkel
The Distance - Cake
32 Flavors - Ani Difranco
Be Be Your Love - Rachel Yamagata

Stand - Sly & The Family Stone
Rebel Music - Bob Marley & The Wailers
Extraordinary Machine - Fiona Apple
Bye Bye Blackbird - Rachelle Ferrell
Apache Rose Peacock - Red Hot Chili Peppers

Friends Till The End - Ray Lamontagne
Empty Room - Marjorie Fair
Roads - Assembly of Dust
Werente Serigne - Orchestra Boabab

Center of the Universe - Built To Spill
Wild Packs of Family Dogs - Modest Mouse
Beercan - Beck
Deceptacon - Le Tigre
Violet - Hole
Gold Lion - Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Club Manhattan - Jesse Winchester
Milk & Sugar - The Hard Lessons
16 Days (Unsteady) - Fletcher Pratt
Slacker Ways - Moods For Moderns

Mary Mary - Run D.M.C.
He Got Game - Public Enemy
Midnight - Ice-T
Block Party - Jean Grae
Ice King - Res

Future Thugs - Redman
Take It Easy - The Fugees
Food - Common
Vintage - Vast.Aire & Mighty Mi
Bada Bing - DangerDoom

Grooveallegiance - Funkadelic
Freak Flag - Laura Love
Uptown Up - Maceo Parker
Beat Box (live) - Matisyahu
Life - Sly & The Family Stone

You're Gonna Get Yours - Public Enemy
We Are The Ones - The Coup
Finding - Blackalicious
Magnificent Seven - The Clash
Omega Supreme (remix) - DangerMouse & Jemini

Shoreless - Glowb
A Perfect Fit - Corey Planck

Waterline - A Certain Ratio
Trench Warfare - Holger Czukay & Jah Wobble
Pay It All Back - Mark Stewart & The Mafia
No Separation - Nocturnal Emissions

Golden Brown - The Stranglers
Conquest of the Irrational (DJ Vadim remix) - Esthero
Lampshade-Moonjam - IndieFeed.com community
Chicken Lips - Stanton W

Showbiz Shotguns - Two Lone Swordsmen
Y Control (Brooklyn Fire Retouch) - Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Banquet (Phones Disco Edit) - Bloc Party
Outlines (Moulder mix) - Clor

Drop It Down - Calibre
Psychoticbumpschool (live) - Bootsy Collins

Come on, no one had any thoughts on the oddity of hearing Holger Czukay and Jah Wobble, The Stranglers, Ice-T and The Shins played in a bar?

Y'all must imbibe in some pretty open-minded places.

Then suggest some stuff I should play during my set(s) this week.

Sorry dude. I forgot how good it made me feel for people to compliment me on my Bingo playlists. Nothing really grabbed me from this gig though. Do you heckle people who's playlists suck?

Yeah. That girl who played the Iron & Wine, I had to tell her to pick things up before people started slitting their wrists.
It actually went a lot better than the music suggests. I'm just glad I didn't have to fill half the night myself like I did the first week. There were enough guest spots that I only had to do an hour or so, which is kinda the point.

Speaking of bingo, what happened to that?

I got canned after the manager at the bar (I had followed him for more $$$ from my original place) was let go. Now, they want me back for either bingo or maybe a trivia type thing where I still get to play my own shit. Apparently, they've had some patrons questioning my dissapearance, their midweek business sucks, and now they want me back. Makes me feel pretty fucking good actually.

Meanwhile, the original joint I did Bingo at wants me to DJ their club like one Friday a month and maybe do Bingo or trivia etc. (the owner also wants me to BUY the whole bar and club but that's a whole nother story)

So I got options; its just a matter of making a new gig work.

Nice.
The bingo playlists were actually what inspired this idea way back in May. I'm just doing it gratis right now ('cept for free drinks while I'm running things) and if it takes off I'll talk to them about sliding some bread my way. Really, it's my little contribution to getting some action going downtown on a night that's either hit or (mostly) miss.

Maybe we should get The Real World to film here. That'd be more like COPS crossed w/ CSI. But I guess nothing's out of the question since they start filming Real World: Detroit this summer.

For real. I'm not kidding.

No shit. How the fuck are they doing Detroit before Atlanta?

How are you doing on the mic? The gift of gab (and turning up the bass on my mic) is the only thing that saves me sometimes.

They're actually filming it in Royal Oak, a revitalized suburb that's around 14 Mile. Lots of clubs, trendy privately owned restaurants, new loft spaces and such, and only 10 mins or so from downtown w/ the good rock bars, dance clubs, Comerica Park and Ford Field. Kinda lame of them to do it in a suburb, but I understand the decision. I have no problem being in Detroit at night by myself before and after a show, but there's not the nighttime bustle that The Real World requires. Royal Oak will deliver in that respect, even though it's technically in a different county.

As for Atlanta, that's what I wondered when I heard the Detroit rumors. The only obvious cities left are ATL, Portland, Wash D.C., Houston or Dallas and (*maybe*) Nashville. And I would've picked any of those before Detroit, which could be a much more viable locale in 5-6 years. Some good things going on there.

I'm just getting the hang of the mic. I'm much better (obnoxious, loud and outgoing) when I'm loaded up, so I'm gonna make a point of that tomorrow.
I'll report back.

Swiatek..... question. I'm trying to pull something off like this in Nashville (see my avatar) and the first time out, it failed miserably. Firstly because I only had 4 days to promote the thing, and secondly because the bar I had it at is known as a live music venue even thought it's probably the coolest "bar" in town on it's own.
What was your secret for success and is this place you're holding it at a regular hang-out joint for we music snob types?

I have a couple things going for me; we use the night as a marketing/promo event for the weekly entertainment section of the paper that I'm in charge of, so we get to put a decent-sized house ad in every week. People come and DJ, we give them a free T-shirt, and it's kind of an event.

Second, there's more DJs than live performance at this bar and it's not too big of a joint, so you get 40 people in there and the place is hopping. I've also hit up the DJs at the local college station to come out, and they've hyped the night up on their shows in exchange.

There's a wide margin of error since every night can be different, so I'd say book yourself a few strategically timed slots over the course of the night to play guaranteed crowd-pleasing stuff (which varies from bar to bar) so things don't go too far afield and turn of the casual patrons.

I'm sure this is being done in other cities, but I've never heard of it. Do you know other folks who are doing something similar elsewhere?

mine was hot women, vodka, and a very eclectic selection of music.

You guys have to realize that the bar/club owners could care the fuck less about you----you have to basically say "hey, I'll drop promos for EVERY other night of the week" no matter how crappy they may be....

And come up with some free or discount drink cards (you can buy the cheap business cards at office depot and I'll send you my templates if you like); free or discount drinks will guaran-damn-tee you repeat business.

nobody likes you, they are just glad to have somebody to fill up time.

Oh, I know this. I proposed this idea in the spring, and they didn't bite on it until January when their Wed night was tanking big time and they needed to try something new to get people coming out.

Promoing for other nights is something I'll definitely start doing more of. The Tuesday DJ gave us plugs during his night last week, which was a really cool move.

Bloor, what's your persona on the mic? Loutish, drunk and obnoxious is what I imagine working best for your bingo nights. I'm still figuring out what'll work best for this endeavor.

You got it pretty well nailed though I'd love to hear an outside opinion from someone who has attended (Busty or the Sen. and the Sen. saw me on a REAL off night). I just try and be professional, engaging, and funny; even though engaging can be slightly insulting and funny can mean going over the heads of the crowd.

Try and know your audience and keep it simple. But definately make an effort to talk clearly and ennunciate if nothing else.

We did the free drink thing. Worked ok. Everything was going against the first Ear Hustler's Ball. Rain/Sleet mix, off night, 4 days to promote, place being known as a live venue, not a normal bar hang, etc.
I'm going to revive the night, but need some support from an extended social circle.
And, Bloor, I'm friends with the guy at the Basement (venue), and yeah, he didn't care whether the party was there or not, he just wanted to go home and go to sleep.