Good Gig, Bad Gig.

[ckpr2]

I remember the light boxes from the 1970's when I started DJ-ing.
We used to have an infinity mirror light box too.

[TONYTIGER]

Retro weddings been doing them for many years nothing new.

[Shakermaker Promotions]

An interesting and enjoyable couple of gigs for me this weekend.
Both were at the same place and walk in jobs as the main kit was there. I just had to take my playout system and back up system and went through the rather large PA system.

The event was at Great Yarmouth racecourse for the NSRA (National Street Rod Association) and I was playing before, between and after the live acts.

Friday was great. I was slightly apprehensive at first because I'd never done one of these events before. I prepped beforehand by looking into the whole scene so that I didn't feel out of my depth and spoke to a friend of a friend who is on that scene himself. I knew that there is a whole 50's rock & roll / rockabilly / psychobilly vibe to it all and got hold of a lot of music via the Top 10 lists on this forum. I must say that I liked quite a lot of it and also found some bands that weren't on the lists that I have become a fan of - Jack Rabbit Slim, Go Cat Go and The Zipheads for starters (Petrolhead by Jack Rabbit Slim is an awesome track that is worth checking out).

Anyway, I needn't have worried..... Everything went down well. It was more of a 50's vibe which saw me playing lots of rock & roll to be honest and the crowd (500+), loved it. There were a lot of people dressed in that 50's look (Happy Days, Grease).

The live act were called The Hound Dogs and they were absolutely brilliant and again, well worth checking out. They were 3 brothers who were all amazing instrumentalists and they played a mix of their own stuff and classics. Their on stage and off stage antics were great too, especially when they played Wipeout. Nice guys too.

Saturday was good but it had a lot to live up to, to beat Friday.
I turned up at 6.30pm for a 7.00pm start. I wasn't in a rush as the gear was all set up anyway. The venue was near empty at that time as it was baking hot outside. I wondered what was happening with the live music as there was no equipment set up on the stage, just 4 mic stands.
It turned out that the live act was a 4-piece vocal act called Franki's Boys who were a Franki Valli tribute. To be totally honest, they were ok. They did dance routines too but I found it all too holiday camp and cheesy. Their voices were ok and they weren't too bad with the audience but they came across as a bit diva-ish. Nice enough blokes but all a bit too karaoke for me. The venue eventually filled up big time and they seemed to go down ok but they stopped after 3 songs and left the stage as they weren't happy with the sound (there was nothing wrong with it all in my opinion).

They finished earlier than the band the night before which meant I had and extra 90 minutes to play through to 00.30am so I partied it up and played the classics. No cheese but a good range of classic tunes and sing along tracks and they went down really well. Lots of good feedback which was nice and I think they want me again for next year.

[funkymook]

Retro weddings been doing them for many years nothing new.

‘nothing new’. Yeah, that’s a given with retro - duh!

[Corabar Steve]

‘nothing new’. Yeah, that’s a given with retro - duh!

Just ignore the miserable old sod Martin.

^I sometimes wonder why he bothers coming on here, as he's clearly better than the rest of us.^

...found some bands that weren't on the lists that I have become a fan of - Jack Rabbit Slim, Go Cat Go and The Zipheads for starters (Petrolhead by Jack Rabbit Slim is an awesome track that is worth checking out).

Only because I haven't updated the lists in question recently The Zipheads are a local(ish) band to me & are gaining quite a following.

[TONYTIGER]

There is always one that does not get the joke or pun.

[Corabar Steve]

There is always one that does not get the joke or pun.

^ ^

There's always one who doesn't know what smilies / emojis are for. Adding one to your previous post (rather than just putting a sarcastic "rolleyes" in your reply) would've helped those of us who can't read thoughts. Read without context or anything to indicate otherwise, it just comes across as somebody peeing on someone's cornflakes.

[Excalibur]

Adding one to your previous post (rather than just putting a sarcastic "rolleyes" in your reply) would've helped those of us who can't read thoughts.

In the light of Steve's post, I feel I must preface my reply with a note that it is a light hearted, whimsical jest, lest some folk misconstrue its intention.


" Nostalgia's not what it used to be " Sorry Steve.

[mattydj50]

" Nostalgia's not what it used to be " Sorry Steve.

He's recovering well. And here's another.....

Broken mirrors. Not all they are cracked up to be.


Before I get taken off, my Saturday night consisted of a dinner for 36 people for a Royal Corps of Transport Football Club reunion. Average age was probably 45-50 but at least it included partners, so I did have some females to entice onto the dancefloor first.

Well, after dinner, speeches, presentations, toasts, more speeches and a silly game, I finally pushed the "start" button at 1040pm (having been playing background music since 6.45pm). The dancefloor at this venue is in a ante-room, between the bar and the main eating / seating room, so, until you get used to it, can feel difficult to work, as you can't actually see most of the guests! However, they can hear the music and do have to pass through the dancing room to get to the bar (or the toilet).

Anyway, as these reunions often do, people have come from miles around and talk about the "good old days", you know, like we do with vinyl and retro screens, so I didn't honestly expect much movement. Motown got the ball running around 1100 and, from then on, there was a steady flow through, including one trollied woman who berated me for not continuing with the Motown music (despite the fact that I had just fired up the first request of the night, the Temptations - Ain't Too Proug To Beg. Though my booking form from teh venue had 1200 midnight as the finish time, this was, as is often the case, the BAR finish time,a nd the function wasn't scheduled to finish until 1230. But then, I'm used to that, so had checked times when I got there. So onwards through midnight when the requests included Amarillo, Living Next Door to Alice and a Waltz or two. Fine with me and finished with Louis Armstrong's Wonderful World.

Numerous hugs and handshakes at the end of the night which was a sign of the maturity of the guests there. Most weddings and younger guests thes days don't even bother to say thank you or goodnight as they pass by on their way out of the door, which is adjacent to my set up. But, like I say, I'm used to that there.

As an interesting aside, the barman came through looking for the Banqueting manager just before 10pm to tell him that around 30 Chinese people had arrived in the bar looking for something to eat. Apparently they were sent there from the main hotel reception (they hadn't when he checked) but, as the restaurant was quite full, they decided to look elsewhere and they saw food being served through one of the windows in our building and though they were able to eat there.

They were sent packing and a phone call to the restaurant and Duty Manager saw that we never saw them again. Local takeaway probably did a roaring trade that night!

Let's see what next weekend brings then......

[funkymook]

There is always one that does not get the joke or pun.

Apologies, I mistook your light hearted witticism as the usual dour and curmudgeonly comment