Good Gig, Bad Gig.

[Excalibur]

Hmmmm. Things are looking up for me. Have to finish half an hour earlier than expected, there's a BT hotspot to get me on here, I've been paid, and the young lady I've been dealing with is lovely.
Feel free to disregard my previous morose offering.

[DJ Jules]

More Xmas fun this weekend starting Yesterday with an interesting party for a local business. This one was a lateish booking for Xmas, the conversation started about four weeks ago with "are you free on x date" and rapidly progressed to "we'll take your most expensive package and I have a budget of x, how can I spend it?" Before anyone goes down the "I wish all my bookings were like that" road... there's some catches which make this one a bit funny. Firstly, 1:15am finish. Secondly, venue is a funny little old Gastro pub down a (pedestrian only) cobbled street with restricted access to the road at the end (getting interesting now, right?) Thirdly, she decided to spend her budget on Karaoke, photo projection and uplighting. Fourthly, after booking my contact went on holiday for two weeks and actually isn't going to be at the gig.

So.... I do a couple of pre-gig visits to the venue to work through the plan for the night and realise quickly that my usual Karaoke rig (standard throw projector and screen) isn't going to work, because there just isn't the distance to get a decent image size. So I bite the bullet and buy an ultra-short throw projector which works lovely. On each visit the events co-ordinator isn't available until the day before the gig I finally manage to get her on the phone. Turns out that 1:15am finish isn't going to be possible because while their drinks license is until 2:00am, the entertainments license finishes at midnight. EMail sent to customer, no reply.

So... on the night I arrive and start moving kit in. Bearing in mind the bollards to get me anywhere near the venue aren't removed until 6:00, I start moving kit in at 6:00pm ready for the 7:30 start. My contact turns up at 6:45 and I immediately notify that I have to finish at midnight. He makes a comment about playing on quietly afterwards and I give a "it's the venues call" answer and he walks off.

I get on setting up and just about manage to arrange uplighting, karaoke projection/screen and the teeniest rig into the available space before people start arriving at 6:45?!? My contact wanders over and asks me to get some background music on and I oblige while I'm finalising the set up. Luckily everyone is either at the bar round the corner or outside in the courtyard (which I can see through a window behind me) but 5minutes later my contact is back to tell me to turn it up so people outside can hear!! I oblige a little, but the limited space has meant that I'm stood about 3m in front of the single 12" speaker (as this was the only way I could arrange kit for Karaoke) so I was hoping to keep it down for a while at least - also my general experience is that if I crank it too hard too early, it'll put people off from coming inside. Then the photographers turn up and ask me where they should put the photobooth! I point out that what they see is what there is, and they're a little shocked. Apparently these guys have been working with this company for Xmas parties every year for a good few years, and their usual gig is a s hotel somewhere with lots of space. They find another corner to set up in (no booth, just table, laptop, printer and props) and get on with it. Nice people, both of them.

Anyway, evening gets underway and was a reasonable success - lots of Karaoke singers (of varied quality, but high entertainment value) and then someone comes over at 21:55 and asks me to knock the Karaoke on the head so people can dance. I close the requests and run through the final four I had lined up and kick off the disco and all is good. I've got a list of 148 songs pre-supplied from the various guests, but looking at the list I'm guessing that some of them don't get out much. Especially the guy who put the whole Bob the Builder album on the list. And the other one who put most of Prodigy's album in there... Suffice to say that about 75% of those 148 tracks are sure fire dance floor killers and I only managed to weave a few into the set list before they cleared the floor and I returned to the usual suspects and the odd request from the floor (mostly 90's cheese and R&B).

So... all going good until 22:45 when the events manager comes over and asks me to turn it down a bit. I oblige, but it's a bit quiet for my liking (and I'm stood 3m from the single 12" speaker!) 23:15 and she's back with "can you turn down the bass a bit?" - I oblige again and it's really a bit quiet now. She's back twice more asking me to notch it down before I get to midnight and finish with a bit of Mariah followed by Happy birthday for one of the guests who had a birthday at midnight. Typically, I have four more requests for Karaoke between 23:00 and midnight which I have to turn away (where were YOU earlier??)

Now the real fun begins - getting all the kit packed away and back up the cobbled lane with 100 drunk punters milling around (as the bar doesn't close for another two hours!) And then people start.... "why have you finished so early?", "I'm a bit concerned that it's not 1:00am yet?", "I thought we could carry on later than this...?" Despite announcing quite clearly throughout the night that I had a midnight finish (not 1:15 as advertised), people weren't listening. I found myself explaining over and over that I had to finish because it's the venue's rules, and while they might have let me carry on "quietly" - their idea of "quiet" would have meant that it would have been futile.

Anyway. Invoice sent today. We'll wait to see what comes back when my contact returns from her holidays. Sadly my highest paying gig of the year, but possibly one of my least enjoyable due to poor choice of venue and bad planning.

Julian

[Imagine]

Absolute storm of a night for me tonight

It was the Christmas party for the staff on one of the wards at Addenbrookes hospital (I did this one last year as well). It's always held in the same pub (really friendly staff there who do anything they can to help). The only complaint being it's a bit on the small side. Hey ho....a brace of gigbars it is then (could probably get away with one to be honest).

From the moment I popped the speakers on.....the floor was rammed. They only really stopped for the buffet, and even then a load of them were dancing around with plates. The usual suspects of cheese, a couple from Mariah and Shakey to tip a nod to the fact that it's Xmas, and even a couple of Spanish tunes (no idea what I actually played there but they lapped it up).

Nice early 11:30 finish (half of them are back on shift at 0630), in the van by midnight and home by 1am

Tomorrow - a kid's birthday and a 21st.....with a cracking playlist

[Shakermaker Promotions]

Looks as if it was the night for stonkers because mine was certainly that! I couldn't have asked for a better night.
As I mentioned previously, tonight was a large party for the NHS and if you've ever done a gig for them you'll know that they are always up for it and tonight was no exception.
I really only had 2 hours to play because once the meals had finished there was a Star Wars nativity play and what a joy that was! It was absolutely hilarious!
I kicked off with 'Happy' and then 'Shake it off' and the dance floor was rammed. I was a bit worried about my gear if truth be told.
I was really playing off the atmosphere and chucked on Fleur East's Sax after that and then it went mad! I also realised that a little touch on the BPM and Uptown Funk mixed in well.

By now I knew I had them in the palm of my hand and everything and anything I played just worked.

I can't say anymore than that. It was just an excellent night.

The only issue I had was when one of the organisers spoke down to me and actually pushed me and told me to "hurry up and get on with it" just before the play was due to start. I wasn't happy with that but held my tongue until later on and the guy apologised big time.

Cracking night. Looking forward to tomorrow night after that one!

[Nakatomi]

Good gig... another fabulous residency job - a full-on christmas bash. Things went brilliantly from the background music til the very last tunes. And then... The ****heads made an appearance. Guy comes over & shows me his phone. It's got some Streets song about being fit on it. "WELL?!" he demands. "Well what?". WILL YOU PLAY IT? In two words, I say, no way. Next! Call yourself a DJ? Yada yada yada...

Last two tunes were Christmassy - Slade followed by Fairly Dull Tale of NY... And then when I finished I started being called every kind of name under the sun by a group of idiot blokes I can only describe as Southern. Sorry Southerners.. I think I had some of your idiots. For why were they calling me names & being pests? Ah just because I had to finish at midnight. "No, let the man pack his bontempi keyboard away. He hasn't got any proper tunes anyway. The useless ****'s been playing slushy ballads all night... ". Feeling punchy... Oh and then a rather drunk woman came over demanding I play Chris De Burgh A Spaceman came Travelling. For her dead grandad no less. Sigh. "Everybody'll dance to it" she says. March on dear... Apparently she'd been working her ticket at the bar trying to get discount on account of her bereavement too. Give me strength. Dead grandad lass said "I'll remember you. You're a very nasty man & you'll go to hell". I'm sure her dearly departed Grandpappy would've loved me to have killed the party with a song about a myth about a myth.

Anyway... my new DJ (God I really hate saying that) didn't have a great time at all. His guests started to depart just after the tables had been cleared & he had a losing battle on his hands. Yeah, I know that room well. It's a SOD. by 11pm he was down to just 2 people. My spies told me he was being a trooper though

Onwards to tomorrow, where the other room has a much busier table plan & I've got (I think) my last wedding of the year.

[Shakermaker Promotions]

Blimey, I don't envy you tonight.....BUT, saying that....at least a few of us (always the same by the looks of it) bother to do the reviews.

** Sarcastic mode**.... I guess everyone else has brilliant gigs every time, week in, week out.

No disrespect to anyone but it would be 'nice' to see some reviews from others from time to time.

[Excalibur]

Fourthly, after booking my contact went on holiday for two weeks and actually isn't going to be at the gig.
Julian

I've had loads of these lately, particularly NaD gigs. All negotiations conducted by the initial contact, all details sorted, and then I'm dealing with an ever changing team. Like you, the original contact isn't there, so that's scuppered the chances of feedback. Ah well.

Absolute storm of a night for me tonight

Nice early 11:30 finish (half of them are back on shift at 0630), in the van by midnight and home by 1am

Funny you should say that. More later.

Looks as if it was the night for stonkers because mine was certainly that! I couldn't have asked for a better night.

Mine was good. Not great, but good.

Good gig... another fabulous residency job .

I suspect there's a bit of " tongue in cheek there ".

Blimey, I don't envy you tonight.....BUT, saying that....at least a few of us (always the same by the looks of it) bother to do the reviews.

Even if the authors are few in number, I and a lot of others enjoy reading them.


OK, let's do my review. Overall, very good, but a curate's egg in some ways.
As I said earlier, an hour and a half drive, so back to situation normal, after a rash of local ones. Party for Teachers at a Rugby Club. Access any time after 6pm. Gates are unlocked at 6.15pm, and steward informs me that I don't ( officially ) get access till 6.30pm. Not only that, I have to be out at midnight, not just switching off at that time. Rig accordingly adjusted to micromax ( which is on wheels, and travels fully assembled in the van ) Powerbar on tripod, with cluster laser on top, and two cabs.

I got the steward who thinks he's a comedian, and his witty banter will have me rolling in the aisles. Well it won't mate, especially before I've got set up. I don't want to be spending precious time standing around, I want to be given accurate information, and get set up.

Anyway, I'm set up and ready, and we have me, the steward, and the barmaid there. We're joined by the organiser, and with an hour of a shortened gig gone, we have fifteen people. I'm preparing for the night from hell, but hey ho, suddenly the rest of the party turn up, and I've got a chance. Now the weird bit. I'm expecting a buffet, and at one point, four or five Dominos pizzas arrive, and are taken into the adjoining room. I of course expect a buffet announcement, and try not to hold back some floorfillers. Eventually, it's clear there's no buffet, which means that the alcohol they're necking can do its work, as evidenced by the young lady who comes up totally wrecked, and asks for " that one by J(ay ? ) Boo, or Doo. All suggestions gratefully received.

The requests start to come in, and we're off at full speed, with a wide, wide variety of music. I'm slotting them in as best I can, ( by the way, has anyone else ever played Hills- by The Weekend? I did it once, and won't be doing so again, despite the chap who showed me it on his phone , and asked for it ) and the oddest ones fill the floor. Watch me Nae Nae is so popular it gets two airings.

Very quickly it's 11.30pm, and " one more, one more ". No way, I've got the cables out of the cabs, and I'm packing up. Three minutes to midnight, and I'm in the van, going home. Now I don't know about you lot, but it was too early to eat before leaving home, so it was the meal deal from the petrol station. Since there was no buffet, I was planning on visiting the nearest McDonalds, which was just over a mile away, and roughly on the way home. Due to the sat nav playing silly persons, I missed it ( it couldn't be seen from the road I approached the big roundabout on. ) No worries, there's one at the side of the A1 about ten minutes further on. Well, I then decided that since I was ahead of time, I would capitalise on it, and just go straight through, so I arrived home before 1.30am, an hour earlier than it might easily have been.

Local again tonight, let's see what that brings.

[Nakatomi]

My first attempt at a multiquote, so bear with me...

Turns out that 1:15am finish isn't going to be possible because while their drinks license is until 2:00am, the entertainments license finishes at midnight. EMail sent to customer, no reply.

.. oof.. that's gonna make life tricky for anybody. I expect it's not the venue's choice though.

.... some of them don't get out much. Especially the guy who put the whole Bob the Builder album on the list.

Good grief.. how many years is it since HE had a number one?

And then people start.... "why have you finished so early?", "I'm a bit concerned that it's not 1:00am yet?", "I thought we could carry on later than this...?" Despite announcing quite clearly throughout the night that I had a midnight finish (not 1:15 as advertised), people weren't listening.

I'm quite sure people only hear what they want to hear when it comes to things like this. Midnight at my place always comes as a big shock to a lot of punters. Last night one of my idiots compared it to a school disco. He was a very good winder-upper, that one. Nothing a smack in the face with a flightcase couldn't fix (I did it repeatedly, in my head on the drive home).

... because once the meals had finished there was a Star Wars nativity play and what a joy that was! It was absolutely hilarious!

Why oh why is there never any video evidence of this kind of thing?

I kicked off with 'Happy' and then 'Shake it off' and the dance floor was rammed. I was a bit worried about my gear if truth be told.
I was really playing off the atmosphere and chucked on Fleur East's Sax after that and then it went mad! I also realised that a little touch on the BPM and Uptown Funk mixed in well.

By now I knew I had them in the palm of my hand and everything and anything I played just worked.

I can't say anymore than that. It was just an excellent night.

Can't find an envy icon, but imagine me all green.

Blimey, I don't envy you tonight.....BUT, saying that....at least a few of us (always the same by the looks of it) bother to do the reviews.

** Sarcastic mode**.... I guess everyone else has brilliant gigs every time, week in, week out.

No disrespect to anyone but it would be 'nice' to see some reviews from others from time to time.

Ahh, but they're saving up all the bile from the bad nights for the day they create a headline... "DJ goes postal in local hotel"

I've had loads of these lately, particularly NaD gigs. All negotiations conducted by the initial contact, all details sorted, and then I'm dealing with an ever changing team. Like you, the original contact isn't there, so that's scuppered the chances of feedback. Ah well.

If it's any consolation I've not been getting returns to my customer questionnaires lately. Help much? No, didn't think so.

I suspect there's a bit of " tongue in cheek there ".

Just a bit. I had to go to quite some lengths to get October's invoice paid. Put it this way, the manager isn't getting a present from me this year, the lying so & so.

Even if the authors are few in number, I and a lot of others enjoy reading them.

Too right!

I was planning on visiting the nearest McDonalds, which was just over a mile away, and roughly on the way home. Due to the sat nav playing silly persons, I missed it ( it couldn't be seen from the road I approached the big roundabout on. ) No worries, there's one at the side of the A1 about ten minutes further on. Well, I then decided that since I was ahead of time, I would capitalise on it, and just go straight through, so I arrived home before 1.30am, an hour earlier than it might easily have been.

Circumstances did you a favour Peter, make no mistake. As tempting as a Maccy D's is at that time of night it's never a good idea.

[Jim - Scotland's Party DJ]

You chaps aren't making me regret the lack if party bookings I took on this year

2nd private school disco in as many weeks last night and it was 5 minutes up the road. Bonus.

Let in by the headmistress whose opening gambit was - "so Alan tells me you're the guy who knocked back the History job I offered you in the Summer!" #awks

Turns out its an s5 winter ball (apparently its so expensive most of the final year students are sgipped off to uni if they can or to one of our more schemey schools to get a few more Highers.

17 girls with a small amount of pre vetted male guests and a bunch of staff.

Turned out to be a great gig. No sneaky drinking going on or if there was they were good at hiding it. And they left sharpish to head into town so I was unloaded and in the tub with a bottle of wine before Midnight.

Got a 13ty tonight in a rather uonarket part of town. Apparently all Ger pals have rented out nightclubs for their parties so she wants a clubby vibe. That'll be everything set and forget light wise and getting to really give my new Bose cans a workout

Will be home even earlier and it pays more than the party nights I was doing last year bonus

[Benny Smyth]

Blimey, I don't envy you tonight.....BUT, saying that....at least a few of us (always the same by the looks of it) bother to do the reviews.

** Sarcastic mode**.... I guess everyone else has brilliant gigs every time, week in, week out.

No disrespect to anyone but it would be 'nice' to see some reviews from others from time to time.

To be honest, the reason I've not told any tales in the last couple of weeks is because I can't be bothered.

I'm doing gigs where nothing standout is happening, so no tales to tell.

I am looking at a new van though.