Melissa and Rob's Setlist - Part 2: The Boat

At the conclusion of Melissa and Rob's daytime wedding at the Hotel del Coronado, their party shifted to the blue waters of San Diego Bay. Their guests boarded the Emerald Hornblower, operated by Hornblower Cruises and Events.

Their guests, who all traveled to San Diego from Chicago, danced the night away and I added a little touch at the end by playing Jason Mraz's, "I'm Yours." Of course, this is not an unusual closer, but I specifically played the version that was recorded live, in Chicago.

At the end, Jason signs off by saying "Thank you Chicago for hosting us this evening." The crowd -- both on the track and on the boat -- went nuts when they heard this.

It was such a fun day. A long day, but Melissa and Rob, their guests and the Hornblower staff were awesome.

Here's the evening's setlist:

	Song	Artist
	Where the Party At	Jagged Edge
	Disco Inferno	50 Cent
	Every Little Step	Bobby Brown
	September	Earth, Wind and Fire
	Do You Remember	Jay Sean
	Summer of '69	Bryan Adams
	Billionaire	Travie McCoy
	Alejandro	Lady Gaga
	Hip Hop Hooray	Naughty By Nature
	This is How Do It	Montell Jordan
	Yeah	Usher
	Old School Medley	Various
	Got To Be Real	Cheryl Lynn
	Just Dance	Lady Gaga
	California Gurls	Katy Perry
	Tik Tok	Kesha
	Motownphilly	Boyz II Men
	Billie Jean	Michael Jackson
	Bizarre Love Triangle	New Order
	Get Into The Groove	Madonna
	The Right Stuff	New Kids on the Block
	Promiscuous Girl	Nelly Furtado
	Ants Marching	Dave Mathews Band
	Suavemente	Elvis Crespo
	Vida es un Carnaval	Celia Cruz
	Cha Cha Slide	Casper
	Twist and Shout	Beatles
	Love Shack	B-52s
	Sweet Caroline	Neil Diamond
	U Can't Touch This	M.C. Hammer
	Down	Jay Sean
	Boom Boom Pow	Bon Jovi
	Dynamite	Taio Cruz
	Your Love Is My Drug	Kesha
	All Night Long	Lionel Ritchie
	Single Ladies in Black and White	Michael Jackson/Beyonce
	Bust a Move	Young MC
	Good Vibrations	Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch
	I Gotta Feeling	Black Eyed Peas
	Low	Flo Rida
	Don't Stop Believing	Journey
Last Dance	I'm Yours	Jason Mraz

Melissa and Rob's Setlist - Part 1: The Beach

Melissa and Rob's wedding on the beach, in the shadow of the Hotel Del Coronado was a bit of a marathon day for me. The wedding ceremony and reception took place during the day and it followed with an after party aboard the Emerald Hornblower, a yacht that sails around San Diego Bay.

Since the reception was on the beach, a small part of me doubted that their guests would dance. After all, it was on the beach (read: the "dance floor" was made of sand) and it was probably in the 80s with direct sun.

But then again, these people were from Chicago; give them a beach and no humidity in the middle of August and they were down to party.

Here is the beach setlist, which mainly consisted of a lot of requests and old school (80s) music.

	Song	Artist
Intro	Tu Sonrisa	Elvis Crespo
	Hips Don't Lie	Shakira
	Love Shack	B-52s
	Motown Medley	Various
Father/Daughter Dance	My Girl	Temptations
	Let's Stay Together	Al Green
	Heat Wave	Joan Osborne
	Boogie Shoes	K.C. & the Sunshine Band
	Stomp	Brother Johnson
	Disco Inferno	The Trammps
	Copacabana	Barry Manilow
	P.Y.T.	Michael Jackson
	I Feel For You	Chaka Kahn
	El Africano	Wilfrido Vargas
	Holiday	Madonna
	Emotions	Mariah Carey
	When I Think of You	Janet Jackson
	Funky Cold Medina	Tone Loc
	Cupid Shuffle	Cupid
	Say Hey (I Love You)	Michael Franti
	Electric Boogie	Marcia Griffiths
	Staying Alive	Bee Gees
	Crush On You	Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam
	Let The Music Play	Debbie Deb

I Love the 90s and My New Box Set

Oh how I love 90s music. I ordered a nine-disc set, with more than 100 remixes of classic nineties dance tunes on Monday and it arrived in my mail just two days later. Thanks Select Mix.

I documented my excitement in the video below. Enjoy!

Matt and Heidi's Wedding

I was so touched by Heidi's email, that I thought I better get my heiny in gear, edit and post her and Matt's post gig video. So, here are a few highlights of the their July 31, 2010 party at the Lodge at Torrey Pines in beautiful La Jolla, California. Keep in mind, it's just shot from my SLR. No special lighting or anything, just what I have to work with, while DJ'ing. The ultimate in multi-tasking!

Oh yeah, here's a list of all the awesome songs I played that night.

Thanks for the Thanks

I'm not gonna lie ... I love DJ'ing, but it really is hard work. You would think playing music at parties is pretty easy, but it's so much more than that. Mentally it's tough because I'm literally making a desicion every 3 minutes (what song do I play next?) There isn't a "set playlist" as many people have asked me about. And playing the wrong song could literally mean a dance floor clearing like water flowing off an angled roof.

The physical strain is intense too. For a five hour wedding reception I'm spending another 2-3 hours setting up and tearing down. During the actual event, I'm on my feet, generally standing in the same place for hours.

And at the end of the night, if the bride and groom aren't being quickly whisked away or having to say "goodbye" to about 100 people they will come over and thank me. It's awesome to hear.

On occasion, a surpise will show up in the mailbox and I'll get a nice thank-you card. Rarely though do I get something like this, which showed up in my email a little less than 14 hours after I played the last dance at Matt and Heidi's wedding.

Subject: Best DJ Ever!!

I didn't get a chance to thank you last night. The music and lighting was FANTASTIC!!! Everyone came up to us and commented on what a great DJ you were and how great the music was!!! I saw some the wedding guests this morning and they were still talking about the music! You were amazing and I thank you a hundred times over! I will most definitely be in touch if we need a DJ in the future and be sure to pass your name on to anyone who is in need of a DJ.

Thank you once again!! The best music ever!!!

Heidi and Matt

My Favorite Lyric Tuesday Stay (I Missed You) - Lisa Loeb

I've never hid the fact that "Stay" by Lisa Loeb is one of my all time favorite songs. Not only is it lyrically amazing, but it has a great story behind it.

Going back to they early 90s, Loeb tells the story of hanging out with actor/director Ethan Hawke among a group of mutual friends. Around this time, Hawke was working on a film, Reality Bites, with Ben Stiller. Hawke played the "Stay" track for Stiller, who decided to put it on the movie soundtrack. Local radio started playing it, and eventually the song made it all the way to No. 1 on the Hot 100 chart. Loeb was an unsigned artist at the time, and still holds the distinction of having a No. 1 single without benefits of being signed to a major record label.

While I'm sure you are all enlightened, she actually tells the story better.

Really, this whole song is pretty awesome and every line just flows right into the next. It's hard to pick just one line, but since I really should here you go.

I like how the words "some of us hover when we weep for the other" sound together.

Here it is in context:

Some of us hover when we weep for the other who was
Dying since the day they were born
Well, this is not that
I think that I'm throwing, but I'm thrown

And I thought I'd live forever, but now I'm not so sure
You try to tell me that I'm clever
But that won't take me anyhow, or anywhere with you

I've had the opportunity to see Lisa live a few times. It's always been a treat. Nothing like a genuine singer/songwriter just belting out tunes and strumming on a guitar. No crazy drum machines or synthetic sounds. Just all natural talent.

There are a lot of great live, acoustic videos on YouTube of this song -- including the link I posted earlier. But I thought I'd embed the original music video, which itself is a mini-masterpiece. It was directed by Hawke and was shot in one continuous take. Pretty cool! My favorite lyric comes in at 1:37.

Heidi and Matt's Setlist

Heidi and Matt put on a gorgeous wedding at the Lodge at Torrey Pines on July 31, 2010. I had a great time MC'ing this event and playing some fun music.

They were one of those couples that I had only spoke to over the phone and met, literally, just moments before the grand entrance. At that moment, Heidi asked, "what song are you playing for our entrance." I explained that I didn't have anything specific, just a nice upbeat instrumental.

When I asked if she wanted something specific, she said, "anything Stevie Wonder." So I cued up Superstition -- which I have always felt is the song perfect for walking and strutting. The kind of song that would be blaring from a ghetto blaster, thrown over someone's shoulder in 1979.

Needless to say, the wedding party rocked the intro. What did I play after that? Check out the setlist below.

	Song	Artist
Intro	Superstition	Stevie Wonder
First Dance	Better Together	Jack Johnson
Parents Dance	The Way You Look Tonight	Frank Sinatra
First Set	Let's Stay Together	Al Green
	Signed, Sealed, Delivered	Stevie Wonder
	Boogie Shoes	K.C. & the Sunshine Band
	Billie Jean	Michael Jackson
	Bizarre Love Triangle	New Order
	Just Dance	Lady Gaga
	California Gurls	Katy Perry
	Low	Flo Rida
	I Gotta Feeling	Black Eyed Peas
	Everybody Have Fun Tonight	Wang Chung
	Love Shack	B-52s
Cake Cutting	I Was Made For You	She & Him
Bouquet Toss	That's Not My Name	The Ting Ting's
Second Set	This is How Do It	Montell Jordan
	Yeah	Usher
	Old School Jump Off/Jump	House of Pain
	Joy and Pain	Rob Base
	Poison	Bell Biv Devoe
	The Right Stuff	New Kids on the Block
	Get Down Tonight	K.C. & the Sunshine Band
	Got To Be Real	Cheryl Lynn
	Forever	Chris Brown
	Break Your Heart	Taio Cruz
	Right Round	Flo Rida
	Sweet Caroline	Neil Diamond
	P.Y.T.	Michael Jackson
	September	Earth, Wind and Fire
	Call Me	Blondie
	Tainted Love	Soft Cell
	Holiday	Madonna
	Rappers Delight	Sugarhill Gang
	Rock With You	Michael Jackson
	Motownphilly	Boyz II Men
	Singled Ladies in Black and White	Michael Jackson/Beyonce
	Smack That	Akon
	Bust a Move	Young MC
	Good Vibrations	Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch
	Sexual Healing	Marvin Gaye
	Hypnotize	Notorious B.I.G.
	Hip Hop Hooray/O.P.P.	Naughty By Nature
	Do You Remember	Jay Sean
	Billionaire	Travie McCoy
	Don't Stop Believing	Journey
Last Dance	Hey Soul Sister	Train

For a look at this wedding's beautiful details (orchestrated by Emily Smiley with flowers by Annette Gomez) check out these teaser pics from wedding photographer Darin Fong.