yeah, i echo all the points made.
i think what the person was referring to is that a quality dj is able to read a crowd and know his/her tunes well enough to keep the energy going in the appropriate direction. and honestly, nothing teaches you this but experience.
that said, i think it's best to plan recorded mixes since there is typically no crowd for feedback. a recorded can also be thought of as more of a representation of a live set.
and like Bento pointed out, having some of those planned bits can come in handy for a lot of things. i tend to fall back on tracks i am super familiar with during technical difficulties (which are inevitable when playing out). monitor crapping out? bet that i'm going to be mixing in some tunes that i know like the back of my hand, and know how to fit them together like a glove. or if you're ever playing after someone who plays a style that is totally different than yours or at a BPM that is way different than yours...i've got some intro type bits to smoothly get into my stuff.
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