I'll never forget the last time I saw DJ AM perform. It was a packed Tuesday night at Cinespace, Los Angeles, a popular club on Hollywood Boulevard. And within minutes of arriving it was clear that something was going on. There was a commotion. An energy filled the room making the club - somewhere I'd visited before - feel distinctly different. Waves of excitement pulsed through the air. Elated screams and chants got everyone's focus on the dancefloor. The music emerging at heart-stopping volume was refreshingly different. Feverish excerpts of nineties classics and music familiar to all were being combined with the very latest cutting-edge releases. The timing was perfect. When a track whipped up a frenzy, AM would respond with an even bigger musical moment, consistently building the furor. It was the most perfect demonstration of what Tiësto once described as feeling the energy from the crowd and trying to give it back. DJ AM would absorb crowd excitement and return it with a musical selection that matched or surpassed their level of energy. It was absolutely thrilling to watch. As I moved nearer to the floor and fought my way through the wall of euphoric fans I got a closer look at the man in action. In an unusually intimate setting for a DJ, AM was in a ground-level booth with only a small wooden box separating him from hundreds of fans less than an arm's length away. They cheered him, adored his every track change, button press, slider fade. I knew of DJ AM and his reputation, but it took this close-up view of his performance to truly appreciate the artistry he brought to DJing. This wasn't someone playing records or mixing for money. In his own specialist way, he was bringing excitement, fervor and panache to the crowd.
We salute you, DJ AM, and the happiness you brought to the dancefloors of the world.
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