Terry_42

There are a lot of combo packages with 4 cans and a stand for around 200 bucks, get 2 of these for basic lighting.
With the leftover budget you could probably get 2 cheap scanners or moving heads or if you want zero programming some nice flowers or instant gratification effects from american DJ, sufficiently bright for small parties and a small fog machine (yes you want one).
I would recommend against lasers if you do not want to get into light programming. Make sure, even you do not want to program yet, that everything is DMX ready, so you can easily add a DMX controller later and upgrade your stuff.

Hope that helps.

The mixtrack pro will get you started and is really the cheapest you should go.
You will eventually outgrow the controller when you get more skilled, but as the mixtrack pro is highly valued, it has also a rather high resell value, so you should still get enough money when you upgrade to another controller.
Also the soundcard in the mixtrack is decent quality and will get you started.
If the venue has PA and lighting, you should be set, just make sure you have enough cables and adapters to plug into a PA, best is to ask what connectors they need and what cable length. Over time you will gather a lot of cables and adapters…

You just told us about some tools that you can use to DJ in a bar, depending on what you want to do and which type of bar it is, depending on the audience that will be in that place.
However the whole thing is more about: Did you scout the location, do you know what music to bring, do you have a plan or even setlist, do you by any chance know some of the audience. How are your skills yet? Is your style of mixing appropriate or will you just blend songs into each other?…..
All questions much more important, than the tools you use.

Phil, you could start whining about him whinging about everyone whining… 😉

Sorry just re-watched some Monty Python and that had to go in 🙂
But yeah generally I agree…. whining is not solving anything.

I think it will simply expand.
Like in the day when real turntablism was introduced into DJing. Now we have controllerism.
However those styles, due to new hardware, do not have to work seperate any more. You can do many things that were reserved for turntablism easily on some controllers with high end (or even motorized) jogs, same for CDJs. You can introduce controllerism workflows into a turntable setup by adding a laptop and a launchpad etc. etc. etc.
I think all those styles start to blend into each other and this is what get’s the guys that are into really one single thing, hardliners you coud say, crazy. Because sometimes it is easy, the learning curve is different or whatever and sometimes it is simply envy. I know I had to learn beatmatching and turntables that my brother rigged with a pitch control and were not even meant for DJing and it was a pain.
On the other hand: At the end of the day it is about music and your creativity and if you create something awesome by very simple means or by invoking some mad skills that you needed 20 years to master…. as long as it works for the audience (and you actually have one) you are doing ok. If you then take the next step and go home with a feeling of satisfaction that for the time of your gig it was all about celebrating music with a bunch of people and those people could forget their good or bad lives for a few hours and simply enjoy themselves, then you are a winner, no matter how you do it.