Aaaagaaaaadoo doo....didn't
And neither did the conga or the Hokey Cokey :(
I'd been looking forward to this one immensely, and it was actually supposed to happen this time last year but got delayed.
A lovely couple just a little older than me who wanted thing different. From my side of things this meant the Retro setup and a playlist that wouldn't get a look in at 99.99999% of weddings, but it's the music they grew up with and that's what they wanted.
I am the music man actually went down a storm, as did Superman and the Birdie Dance.....oh the memories of staying in Caistor for my summer holidays and learning the actions to those....happy days indeed.
The plan was thus. Arrive and be ready to roll for background music at 6pm until the first dance at 7:30pm. No problemo.
Having spoken to the bride and groom last weekend, I was to use their list as guidance and play things by ear....keeping things in the same ilk. When I arrived, they'd changed their minds and wanted me to stick rigidly to the playlist. Not a problem - I've done parties for some of this family in the past and what was on the list shouldn't be too difficult to get things going.
And it wasn't, until the buffet. It was decided the disco would be a party of two halves.....dancing up to the buffet at 9pm, then background music whilst the guests ate, then back to business at about 9:30ish when they'd finished eating.
As I started things back up, I started getting very angry guests DEMANDING chart music (and one of them was a big fella). I shouldn't have done it but I pointed him in the direction of the groom (most of the guests were already aware that I was working to a playlist anyway as they'd been told by the bride and groom). I don't know why the anger - was he paying my fee?
10 mins later, the groom has given in and allowed me to play some modern stuff.....which as expected completely bombed (but hey, the teenagers could look at their phones whilst listening to Drake mumble on about whatever his tracks are about)
Unfortunately, the change in genre was also a cue for a lot of the day guests to disappear. They'd been with the happy couple since 10am and in the venue itself since midday....they must have had enough at that point.
Back to the playlist after about 20 mins of the demanded chart music, but it's too late to save things. Guests start saying their farewells and the remainder start to clear things away whilst I continue playing (I hate it when that happens). Come midnight, we're left with a handful of immediate family and I'm the only major thing which needs to be cleared away (and the Retro show can be in the van and rolling within 20 mins :) ).
It should have been so much better, and I felt for the bride and groom on this one. The music should have worked (it wasn't all cheese by the way), but for the selfish attitude of some of the entitled guests.
Hey ho - I've been due one like this for a while.
Next week, just the one (and I'm glad of that because I'm absolutely shattered at the moment doing back-to-back parties). It's a retirement party in the next village (so 5 mins from home) and should be a good mix of some of the older stuff knowing the guests that'll be at that one (my next door neighbour being one of them)......hoorah!
Hello, my name is Peter, and I'm a DJ!
I suppose typing in this place the night after a gig must be the equivalent of " DJ's Anonymous" ! :) I had a wedding picked up at short notice. Couple wouldn't meet beforehand, but I did visit the venue, which influenced my choice of kit.
Big pub function room, well more of a WMC, really, I suspect it's a bit of both. Absolutely bloody sweltering! Booked 5 till 11, and I expected very little dancing. Well, I was wrong, eventually. Groom has changed into jeans, after the ceremony, so I fitted right in, with my shorts and flip flops! :D
I started off with background, my crowd seemed generally younger, with a few older ones, so background music was adjusted accordingly. Buffet was due 6.30, and can we have the first dance about 5.45? But of course. :fp: First dance ( and speeches!!!??? ) coincided with hot buffet exactly. Ah well.
Once the bride hit the dancefloor, all four foot something of her, we never stopped. She'd be a fabulous advert for Duracell. We had a mix of all kinds of stuff, early doors, it was the full cheese fest, and the 80's was well received in particular. To be fair, they danced to everything really, and when I was nearing the end ( literally. I was wiped out with the heat, should have had a bit more liquid, probably ) I'd expected to wind it down. I'd had a request for Children of the Night earlier, and had it requested again. Why not? We'd got away with Killing In The Name, and Ace Of Spades, so what's the harm?
Well, none, in fact quite the opposite! Packed floor, hands in the air. Cue dials round to eleven, and Insomnia, Born Slippy, Sandstorm, Pretty Green Eyes, and another night finishing at 140 BPM!
I can hear the more perceptive among you asking what I did to qualify for DJ's Anonymous? Well I'll tell you, I have no shame.
I played a track twice, as it packed the floor, and was requested again.
What was it, I hear you ask?
Baby Shark!! :eek::eek::o:o:o:o
When the guaranteed bangers fail...you know you're in trouble.....
Hardly anybody danced (I kid you not), and yet it was a brilliant night!
How so?
Tonight was a retirement party for a chap I know from a previous job (I didn't realise until he turned up to the party who he was....long story but he was a tenant in the same building as I used to work in)
I knew from the off that the guests were of a more "mature" disposition (one of them was my very own next-door-neighbour), and I was expecting a night of anything from 50's to 70's, although just for once....there was no playlist :).
I also knew that a lot of these people don't see each other for years at a time.
Fairly minimal rig set up at a nice leisurely pace and the guests start to arrive....on Zimmer frames, dual walking sticks and in wheelchairs.....you can see where this is going can't you.
It was NEVER going to be a night of packed dance floors and hands held aloft to Mr Brightside (although believe it or not that WAS played ;) ). Thankfully I've been doing this job long enough these days to know that not every party is going to look like a mosh-pit in front of the booth and that people don't have to dance to enjoy the evening.
So, whilst they're arriving and settling in, I stick on a Motown mix at background levels and start going round and saying hello (I really must do that more often). The general consensus on music preferences was as expected (apart from a couple that were heavily into punk and that wasn't going to happen.....I'd have rattled too many hips out of their joints!).
The buffet went on for what seemed ages, with the guests content just to sit there and talk, the client was happy, the bar were already taking bets on whether we'd reach midnight (we nearly got there).
Eventually, the lights go down and it's my time to shine, but not in the way you'd expect. I soon realised that this wasn't going to be one of the nights we all live for and kept the volumes down at a reasonable 90db....the guests wanted to talk and catch up whilst listening to the music. Yes, I dipped in and out of all sorts of genres (I even played a couple of modern ones for a couple of the youngsters there). All of the classic floor fillers made an appearance, and some that I haven't played in ages (well....when you're not stressing about keeping a floor full...you get more time to look through the tracks and pick out something a bit different don't you).
It wasn't a night of mixing (more crossfading), it wasn't a night of beams flashing across the room picked out by generous amounts of haze (the Intimidators were hardly used), and it wasn't a night of a million requests (I had just two of those).
BUT - it was a night of compliments, handshakes and the giving out of a lot of business cards (including to the venue and to someone that's on the committee of the local British Legion).
Apparently my selection of music was spot on. Just for once, I even got multiple comments about the lighting as well (provided by an Equinox GigaBar, 2 Intimidator 305 barrels and 8 Freedom sticks).
Looking around, there WERE people jiggling around in their seats, there WERE feet tapping on the floor and fingers tapping on the tables.
The call of Horlicks and cocoa started at around 10:30, and we were soon down to around half a dozen guests who started busying themselves with clearing up the venue. 11:30 - I'm fading out on Sweet Caroline and starting to clear up half an hour earlier than expected.
But do you know what....I enjoyed that one....A LOT!
The highlight of the evening? My neighbour's elderly mother being spun around in her wheelchair (she can hardly walk these days) to Human by the Killers. The smile on her face said it all.
And I'll be back!
They're already talking about making this an annual family party starting from next year and I'm likely to be the headline on the bill!
it's a strange job at times being a DJ :daft: