Good Gig, Bad Gig.

[Imagine]

That was fun

After a couple of weeks off due to cancellations (I seem to be getting more than my fair share of those this year ), tonight I was out with the Retro Roadshow again.

A local (ish) con-club, and the problems started the moment I arrived. Nobody there to let me in!

Eventually somebody turned up who could open the doors and let me into the back of the building. Now bear in mind I'm using the Retro rig....big heavy boxes....access was down a narrow alleyway to a door which opened against the bins (so no chance of turning the trolley and into the building), through a snooker room and eventually into the function room. By the time I'd made 5 trips to the van....I was soaked.

Got the main setup completed just before the guests arrived (bear in mind I'm already running late because I couldn't get in). Got some background going whilst I continued to set up. For some reason, something went haywire with the lighting. I think it's a dud DMX cable (I'll test them tomorrow). I wouldn't of course have needed to use cables if my Donner rechargeable dongles had stayed charged overnight (something else to check).

Eventually, all running tickety-boo.....background is fairly loud because this lot aren't doing food so tried to encourage a little movement early doors. Sure enough, an hour in and people are starting to come to the floor.

Brilliant - let's crank up the volume a little bit.

Eh????? What happened to the music???? It's gone very quiet.

Yes dear reader, there's a sound limiter which nobody told me about and which wasn't obviously visible from where I was standing, and I'd just tripped the thing. An extension lead sorted that particular problem (because nobody knew how to reset said limiter), although I played ball and once I'd worked out where the limiter was, kept within it's boundaries.

I was rewarded with a full floor all night. It was an 80s theme so I was surrounded by various celebrities and rubik's cubes...not least of all my latest lighting fixture which apart from one strip of LEDs which isn't connected properly and dropping the red signal....worked a treat.

Eventually it's home time. Lots of applause, lots of handshakes and compliments. I must have done something right.

Getting out was a LOT easier with the front door unlocked and I made very short work of getting back into the van. Evening's are still way too hot for my liking....I'm sitting here at 2am with the patio door wide open!

Time for a quick beer now before tackling my local primary's Fete tomorrow afternoon. Yup - time to mic up the choir and the recorder group and judge the best jams and jellies again....the fun never ends in this job

[Excalibur]

Yup, it's your favourite geriatric bionic DJ reporting his exploits again!

As Willie Nelson said " On the road again".

Mind you, not without a considerable amount of help. There's a lot of the kit I can't lift yet, so fortunately, last night's gig was near the stalwart Davesounds, and his son Matty. ( That lad's going to be a very fine DJ soon, knowledgeable, and willing to learn. He's already got the customer focus sorted. )

The customer hadn't provided me with an awful lot of information, which sort of bit us on the bum. We turned up early, and got running, kit was simple, two tripars and two Swarm 5s ( formerly mine, now Matty's ). It would have been a couple of moonflowers, but with it being an 18th, we decided the Swarms would add excitement.

Customer ( birthday boy's Mum ) says can we have any music newer than the 80's, well that's no problem. An we haven't got any strobes, have we? Oh crap. Really my only reason for moving the swarms was those whacking great strobes round the outside. Still, we set them to a fixed Derby/Laser programme, and use them a bit less. In all honesty, it mattered not a jot what we used, cos the ambient light was so high that the lighting had no effect at all, really.

So, to the night. Dave called it exactly beforehand, when I told him I was excited to be back in the saddle, and looking forward to it. " It will be rubbish then", said Dave. Spot on. Shortage of bodies, venue set out so 75% of our customers were the other side of a wall, next to the bar, and the only requests coming from young teens, so lots of chart of course. Whoopee.

As is often the case, as we packed up with a sense of having under achieved, lots of folk, including the birthday boy, praised the musical choices, so we must have done something right, eh? Dave turned up to help us pack down, and I was soon back in the van. Huge thanks to Dave and Matty, well done lads.

Next week, I'm going to the seaside for an all day wedding. Young Twinspin is Tech Ops on that one, thanks so much John. I owe this forum so much, for introducing me to such good friends and colleagues.

[Imagine]

Good to see you back out on the road again Peter

[DJColsie]

I owe this forum so much, for introducing me to such good friends and colleagues.

Real friendly community.

[mattydj50]

Back already? You must have a kinder doctor than mine then! Its good to see you driving the (virtual) decks again.

[Excalibur]

You must have a kinder doctor than mine then! .

Well, up until seeing the Cardio Rehab Nurse last week, my return to work was gathering pace. Sadly, she was aghast at some of my antics, so I'm having a steadier week this week. Walking seemed to be the only thing on her approved list.

And Doctors? If you don't tell them you're doing it, they can't tell you not to.


Seriously, the balancing act between recuperation and the need to keep earning money is very tricky. Very tricky.

[Imagine]

Either I'm getting better at this job or my luck's "in" at the moment. Either way - long may it continue.

Tonight, another wedding in a new venue. Yes folks, I seem to be spreading my wings and venturing into new venues quite a bit and to be honest, it's a refreshing change. This one was an ancient farm barn which has been converted for the purposes of weddings, from the bit where they seal the deal to the last dance of the night.

Arrived late due to inconsiderate tractor drivers that just won't pull over even when they have to pass several lay-bys (that's another rant entirely), but having been to recce the venue several weeks ago wasn't too concerned. Luck was also on my side in that this was the most laid back bride and groom I've met in a long time. There really was no pressure to have anything done to a plan or in a certain way.....it was refreshing.

I always tell prospective brides and grooms that wedding timings are "ish" (you know, the first dance will be at 7:30-ish, the buffet will be at 9-ish). They took me at my word on that one

So, nice easy setup (and guided to use the non-limited plugs by the venue on account of the fact they get fed up of resetting the limiter). I've got to say, I plugged my hazer and fan into the limited plugs and they never went off though. In fact I didn't even notice the warning light until I was packing up at the end of the evening. But then the venue doesn't lend itself to rave-style sound systems so it was never going to be a problem anyway, so quite what others are doing in there is beyond me if they're tripping it!.

On to the party....well...awesome sums it up. I'd been given a handful of must plays and some which weren't quite so important. The best part....only one "Do Not Play"....this young lady banned ANYTHING and EVERYTHING by Drake (scores loads of Brownie points in my book ).

I was worried seeing the location of the venue, the lovely outdoor seating area and the nice weather we'd had today, along with the fact they had an outdoor pizza oven for the buffet that it was going to be one of "those" weddings with everybody outside.

Nope . Full floor from the first dance until the end. Even the TOG commented that he'd not seen a floor so full for the first dance for a long time. I knew I was in for a good night.

90s rave, Rock 'n' Roll, just a smidgen of cheese (really...not a lot of it at all), a couple of 80s and substantial amounts of Rock kept the floor bouncing for the night....I couldn't fail

So, drinking a well earned beer or two with a massive grin on my chops now!

Next week, just a school prom unfortunately (the anniversary on Saturday night cancelled and I haven't re-booked it). Hey ho....night off with a beer it is then

[Benny Smyth]

One of those nights where I thought to myself "Y'know what? I'm pretty damn good at this job."

Wedding at a new venue to me some 60 miles from home working alongside a 3-piece band and, on paper, a pretty easy night. Background music until the first dance (which the band are performing), then I get to Foxtrot-Oscar for 45 minutes. Back for 30 minutes, then Foxtrot-Oscar again so the band can do their second 45 minute set. Band finished at 10pm and I encouraged all to go outside for sparklers and photos. Once that's done, I round off the night until midnight.

Sounds easy, right? Well let me tell you - it was!

Band were easy to work with and I was very impressed with their performances. Mrs. B, my nephew and I sat in the bar area as they performed and we were definitely toe tapping and enjoying the music. They also got a good reaction from the guests too.

My first 'proper' bit of work was after their first set. With the buffet due to come out, I wasn't holding out much hope but wow! This lot were up for it. My 30 minutes flew by and I'm already handing out high fives. The photographer, who up to this point didn't even acknowledge my existence, suddenly became my best friend. There are as many photos of me as their are of dancers. It's almost as if I outdid his expectations.

After the band did their second set and guests returned from playing with sparklers, I was in the driving seat again. In summary: house, naughties indie and pop punk was the order of the night - pretty much my perfect gig and these guests were the craziest bunch of nutters that I have DJd to for a long time. The venue staff on several occasions made a comment on how great the night was and that I was probably the best DJ they've had there for a long time. The venue even Tweeted how good the night was and tagged me in it alongside the band.

I really cannot convey how good it was. It was an audience that we yearn for - nice, polite, up for a good party and a little bit bonkers. I had to apologise to the groom afterwards because when he took his new wife upstairs last night, there was no way in hell he'd ever be able to follow that!

11/10. Would DJ for this crowd again. May even consider doing it for free too!

[DJ Jules]

There must have been something in the air last night I reckon My night was storming as well. The sound limiter didn't trip (though admittedly I only had half my PA and an uplighter plugged into it anyway) and the guests were properly engaged and up for it from the start to the last at midnight. Polite, but forthcoming throughout and no cries for one more at the end either! My night ended like this (the Bride is behind him in the crowd in the photo):



The only negative? They had Mr & Mrs letters which I rented from a local company, are huge and heavy and added 15mins to my setup time and somehow another 20mins to my packdown. Because of the letters I also had to borrow a van that I returned after I'd unloaded, meaning a 2am bedtime for me despite only a 25min commute to the venue!

Still, well worth it. Hopefully they'll be forthcoming on NaD

Julian

[Excalibur]

Either I'm getting better at this job or my luck's "in" at the moment. Either way - long may it continue.

. Full floor from the first dance until the end.

One of those nights where I thought to myself "Y'know what? I'm pretty damn good at this job."

There must have been something in the air last night I reckon

Well it didn't waft across to Yorkshire, that's for certain.
I'm still restricted to " light duties", so the twin 18" subs won't be going out any time soon. Young Twinspin helped me with an all day wedding at the seaside, at a bowls club, notable for the nicest venue staff we've come across in years, and the hot weather which kept everyone outside all night. Another one which promised so much, and peaked too early.
Groom was the biggest Blues Brothers fan, and the playlist reflected this. John and I were of course in costume, and piccies exist.

Lovely venue, great access, and a nice crowd. What could go wrong? Well the two hour session we did for the kids went well, the early part of the night was good, and then everyone went outside, leaving John and me with a handful of guests for most of the time.
The groom by this time was up to the plimsoll line with alcohol, and " lights on, nobody home". The big farewell to B&G was binned as we had nobody in the room to say goodbye, let alone form an arch.
One or two guests, and all the venue staff sang our praises, so we maybe weren't as bad as we thought.

Following week, well the demon drink struck in a big way. An FFN for a cricket club, who are often " boisterous". John was again my invaluable helper, and once we'd set up we had hours of inactivity for us, before what promised to be an hour of frenzied activity. Oh no, no such luck. They all came in from outside with half an hour left, and gave an hour's worth of requests.

The floor was soon deep in spilt drink, and we were repelling boarders from the kit. My, but drunks are really annoying when you're stonee cold sober.

Anyway, nothing this weekend, but hopefully next week will break the cycle.