To be fair, I had a couple of the younger ones (late 20's) ask why I wasn't there more often because they loved the "old school" stuff I was playing (I'm finding people are swaying more towards the older music again at the moment)
Errrr, that would be because it's so much better.
Actually, you're not far off the mark.
Originally Posted by Imagine
Now to start planning next week's shenanigans in a very nice brasserie local to me who are hosting an 80s night next Saturday....that one's looking like a lot of fun
Back to the modern stuff, eh?
News of a storming gig later, marred only by the fact that I only had one new toy, and didn't dare do the gig with just one. ( Did I mention the new speakers)?
I was out for the first time in a few months on Friday, doing an 80's themed night at my local pub.
I must admit, I was a bit nervous about it as I hadn't done anything for a while, purposely. I was also slightly apprehensive because despite having designed the posters a good 4 weeks before the actual event, they were never put up in the pub for whatever reason?
I mentioned it countless times and went in there thinking that I'd more or less be playing to one man and his dog........... I was totally wrong!
They'd kept telling me not to worry about it and that there was a good vibe going on with lots of interest, but I'm a born worrier, always have been, always will be.
I don't doubt my ability at all, especially when it comes to the 80's and I have recently been pushing the 80's side of things.
I'm not that interested in doing the weddings anymore, and if I am going to continue doing this as and when, I just want to do the gigs that interest me.
I have a few weddings for 2018, both down South and up here in Norfolk, and they are all being covered.
Since I pushed the 80's side, albeit very slightly as I am starting a new co-ordinating role for a well known large brand, working from home as of Wednesday, I've had a number of enquiries.
So, I need not have worried about Friday. It went very well. I'd have liked to have received more obscure 80's requests and there was nothing away from the 'norm, but the place was very busy with lots of people making the effort of dressing up and everyone seemed to love it, including me.
The pub were happy too and they've asked me if I'll do another one at the end of March.
OK, Saturday's gig. The first of four Legslappers* gigs almost in a row. ( Well it was until some clients started moving dates around ) Lincoln City Football ground, a nice venue with great staff, and a very handy load in. I was there very early, having swerved round by Nottingham to pick up the s/h Maui11. We're beginning to come to terms with the venue, which has a few unhelpful characteristics, like us having to set up in a corner of the room, with access to the toilets behind us, which makes speaker placement tricky, as the guests cross the cables. This time, I used cable protectors, and next time, I think the Stealth will probably be tried.
Well, they were a lovely crowd, and when it was my turn, the dance floor was filled to capacity instantly!! I had about an hour and a half to fill, and although a few left with an hour to go, I had a hardcore of dancers who remained on the floor to the end. I was sad that I only had one Maui, as the second one arrived today. I contemplated using only one, but decided that a pair of LD Stinger twelves were a safer bet. I don't use them enough, they're lovely cabs. All in all, a fabulous night, and next week it's back to the site of my first Legslappers gig, nearly nine years ago.
*Legslappers. A charitable organisation who organise wine tastings, in the style of a bier keller. With the right crowd it's immense fun for one and all. The FFN serve wines and lead guests through various activities, including having the fellas stand on chairs, while the ladies beat out the Radetsky March on their legs, hence the nickname. I then get a crowd of punters who have imbibed a fair amount of pop, and are just in a mood for a good dance to finish the night off in the last hour or two of the night.
Addictive, isn't it?
*Legslappers. A charitable organisation who organise wine tastings, in the style of a bier keller. With the right crowd it's immense fun for one and all. The FFN serve wines and lead guests through various activities, including having the fellas stand on chairs, while the ladies beat out the Radetsky March on their legs, hence the nickname. I then get a crowd of punters who have imbibed a fair amount of pop, and are just in a mood for a good dance to finish the night off in the last hour or two of the night.
Yup, they are a great group (FFN), I've had the pleasure to cover a couple of these for Peter in the past. Always been great gigs.
Saturday just gone saw me helping out a friend to do an engagement party at a WMC in a village I'd not passed through since a bypass road was built in 1996.
Loadin was er... Either round the back & up several steep flights of stairs or.. From the front up 2 flights of stairs with a yomp down the length of the function room. I opted for the latter. My my, that was good exercise!
I got paid & all setup then proceeded to get bums wiggling in seats. Buffet time came & afterwards I just managed to tempt people up - at which point the dad of the lass who was newly engaged wanted to say a few words. That done we got rolling again.
Lots of 90s was requested & plenty was delivered. Come 11pm finishing time the crowd had thinned & the ending was somewhat lacklustre.
Loading out took a mere 40 minutes but damn near killed me off. My shoulders are still aching today. The culprit - the trussbooth. I really must change the allaround plastic to 3mm soon!
Wow - that was a BRILLIANT night and a lot of new stuff at the same time.....
The venue, a very swish brasserie cum cocktail bar which has just opened 3 miles from my front door.
Unfortunately, it was always going to be a pain to get into (double yellows, unload and move the van before coming back). I don't like doing that when the premises are open to the public but the staff were good enough to stand guard for the three minutes it took to relocate the trusty disco-bus.
I don't normally do this type of gig (i.e. in a commercial bar) - it's really not normally my cup of tea but tonight was AWESOME. 'Twas an 80s night and neither the owners nor myself had any idea of which way it would go (from bitter experience I've seen 80s nights which are dead more than I've seen them bouncing).
Tonight - it was bouncing, which surprised me.
Got into the venue, they'd changed the location of where I was to set up from where we'd spoken about when I did a site visit last week. Yay - slightly more room....but stuck around a dead corner of the venue. Hey Ho.
New toys to play with tonight as well. A new RGBA star cloth on the Micron Booth courtesy of our "local" DJ Dealer (I hate that little puppet theatre of a booth but there are times when needs must) which looked awesome, paired up with a pair of ADJ Profile Panels....WOW they're good! Added to a single Maui 28 which more than held it's own, 8 Freedom Sticks and my home made Rubik's cube, it wasn't the biggest of rigs.
As with last week....everything was in S2L mode (the Micron booth isn't big enough for the DMX laptop as well as the playout).
The Freedom sticks were put in a line down the length of the venue to give ambient light (the tables already had oil-lamp type things on them), and I setup in my little corner, chairs and tables on my "dance floor" and settled in for what could have been a looooong night.
WRONG!
Seems the cocktails hit the spot quite early and I had loads of very nice early 40 something's on to the left of my "dance floor". Me being crafty and realising nobody was coming into the official dance area, swung the little Micron around by 90 degrees (because you can when you've only got a single Maui connected up and that happens to be on the axis of where you're turning).
The place was rammed, and even at 1am when I switched off there was plenty of action with people up dancing or sitting at tables with hands in the air....and all with wall to wall 80s! I was in heaven
The bosses were more than happy too. They're already talking residencies (not that I'm overly interested in that). Apparently I'm the best DJ they've ever seen (boy, they must have seen some bad ones ).
Finally home at 2:15 and having to have a large glass of alcohol just to "come down" - I'm still buzzing after that one!
The only downside (for me) is the number of repeats played during the evening. Customers obviously come and go during the evening, and I lost count of the number of times I played Footloose and I Wanna Dance With Somebody...but if it keeps the punters happy who am I to argue?
Weekend off next week (wifey's birthday so I'd better take her out for a kebab somewhere), then back to weddings for the rest of March.
The bosses were more than happy too. Apparently I'm the best DJ they've ever seen (boy, they must have seen some bad ones ).
Originally Posted by Imagine
Finally home at 2:15 and having to have a large glass of alcohol just to "come down" - I'm still buzzing after that one!
3am for me, and no alcohol. Somewhat wired though with copious amounts of Ronald's coffee.
Originally Posted by Imagine
Weekend off next week (wifey's birthday so I'd better take her out for a kebab somewhere), then back to weddings for the rest of March.
Jeanette's birthday just gone, so we're going out for a bite next week, dual celebration for 40th Anniversary. Big family meal means Saturday off in April for me.
OK, I was in Coningsby, with the Legslappers. First gig with the Maui 11s, which have a few interesting little foibles. On a high stage, if you get close, you can hardly hear the HF, as it's way above your head. Move back a yard or two, and it's perfect. Still coming to terms with the tone on them, they're sooo different from the 5s. Still don't know where the 5s got that bass from. Really liking the 11s so far.
Storming night marred only by the roads in Lincolnshire. Certain areas are very awkward to get to, lots of awkward little minor roads. So, when I finished, I did a Supertramp ( took the long way home ) Actually started off in the wrong direction ( ie South ) to hit a major road, the good old A17, which will be well known to the Norfolk lads and lasses. This would take me to the A1/M18 and an easy if somewhat further way home.
A bit of light relief was provided by the blue lights in my mirror at the start of the journey, as I slowed and gave him/her ample room to pass. When they didn't come past, I wondered why not, until I realised that it wasn't me they were trying to apprehend, but someone in the vehicle tucked in behind me! I got a ringside view of the chase as it roared past me. I'm seeing more and more of these lately. The rest of the journey was blissfully uneventful, which is more than can be said for Dave and Matty.
They were in Hull, with help from their native guide Twinspin. Apparently they had an absolutely storming night, and were heading home in a blissfully happy state of euphoria when they encountered the dreaded roadworks/road closure/badly signed diversion. I couldn't understand why they weren't nearly home when I rang them, until they told me where they'd been diverted from. Poor Dave had been sent in a big loop into pastures new, and was totally lost, and fearful of ever seeing his nice warm bed ever again! With him reading out the road signs, and me pulling over to read my map, with a large slice of good luck, they hit the road I knew would lead them home safely, and at that point Dave relaxed immeasurably.
He's not faring well with longer distance gigs lately, poor soul.
Last night I was back at the same venue as last week and again, it was an 80's fest.
I thought last week was good. Blimey, it was rammed last night.
We're talking a small pub in a small village, not quite in the middle of nowhere, but it is a tad remote.
It's one of those places where everybody makes an effort if there is something on. Everyone was up for a good night, just as they were last week and it was really enjoyable.
Lots of really good requests and lots of compliments too. The pub owners were very happy and have asked me if I would be interested in doing regular themed nights there on a bi-monthly basis. I don't have a problem with that at all. There's another 80's night in the diary already, but they're also interested in a 60's and 70's night too.
I got asked for business cards again too. It's nice when you can just be relaxed about the whole thing and give someone a card and not be too bothered whether they get in touch or not, rather than hope that they do.
Bit of a fuzzy head this morning and now I just need to go and pack up the equipment.
Great gig on Friday. Massive list of requests from the invitations and they were really all over the place (Air? Whitney? OMD? The Smiths? Bruce?) all in there and then some.
Slow starter but I got into an 80s thing and it picked up. Picked up after the food and got the girls with some cheese and RnB then the lads with the indie stuff - anyone else get to drip Motorcycle Emptiness at their gig?
1am finish but it flew in. Small setup meant I was packed up and out quick too.
Got a lovely bit of feedback from the groom who said we'd have been pals in a different life
I passed them on tge way out of tge venue looking a bit flustered. Turned out neither of them had been carrying money all night which is great for free drinks, not so much when you need a taxi!
I cpuldnt fit them in so handed over a score, told them to get to their hotel safely and spend the change on a drink from me.
They were overwhelmed and she turmrd to him - see, I told you, Jim has by far been the nicest supplier we had.
Scottish Wedding Awards tomorrow night so hopefully earned some positive karma.
After a particularly dull evening, number of guests expected = 150, number of guests turned up = 72 and a lot of them openly brought their own booze (both in bottles and already in themselves it seemed), I was secretly hoping that , when I counted 13 adults and 4 kids left at 1130 (for a 1230 finish), I was going to get away with an early finish.
Nope. Functions manager did her usual trick of vanishing into thin air, even the bar staff couldn't find her, so, as she is the only person there who could call time early, we plodded on. The bar closed at 1200, so I used the time honoured trick of playing the B&G's first dance again and made the big announcement regarding the residents bar still being open elsewhere, hoping that the hardened drinkers would take the hint...
Well, that didn't work either. However, after the B&G and the other remaining guests had lovingly danced together, right in front of me, I noticed that the bride's 18 year old daughter was getting a bit stroppy. Now, she had had one over the 8 at about 1 minute over 8 o'clock and was extremely wobbly by midnight. Mind you, so were anyone else left standing (just).
Soon, the groom (her step-dad) started shouting and waving his arms around and the bride then joined in. The gist of it was that daughter wanted to go into town for further festivities as some of her friends were out. Groom expressly forbid it telling her that she was staying in the hotel as planned. She remonstrated with him so bride (her mother) joined in, followed by bride's brother, groom's mother and sister. I couldn't hear everything that was said, but it became clear that this was heading for one of the shortest marriages on record, especially when the bride tore her shiny new wedding ring off and threw it on the floor. Her brother picked it up and gave it back to her, only for her to repeat the process.
She stood up, face like thunder, told the groom where to go and stormed off out, followed by daughter, groom's mother, brother and anyone else who could still walk. By this time, the function manager had returned, and, a minute later, she got a phone call and she legged it too.
Meanwhile, I lowered the music a bit more and raised the house lights. The two couples left both came over and thanked me for a "great set of music" and left quietly.
About 20 minutes later, the manager came back and said that the bride had tried to take her dress off in the hotel reception. The groom tried to stop her, only to be restrained by the daughter, who then got told by the groom that she wasn't going out. The groom then hit her! The bride went psycho and threatened to kill the groom and they all piled into each other, trying to stop the mayhem, but of course, causing more!
Manager decided she had had enough and phoned the police. The upshot was that the bride refused to leave the reception until the groom was removed from the hotel. He didn't want to go, naturally, and was eventually carted off in handcuffs. The daughter was taken away by her brother who had got a taxi to take her home. Finally, about 30 minutes later, the bride went off to her room accompanied by the groom's mother and his 11 year old son.
I haven't spoken to anyone at the hotel yet to see whether metal detectors are required to search the car park for wedding rings, or whether annulments are being sought.
Originally Posted by Imagine
( Did I mention the new speakers)?
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I had about an hour and a half to fill, and although a few left with an hour to go, I had a hardcore of dancers who remained on the floor to the end. I was sad that I only had one Maui, as the second one arrived today. I contemplated using only one, but decided that a pair of LD Stinger twelves were a safer bet. I don't use them enough, they're lovely cabs. All in all, a fabulous night, and next week it's back to the site of my first Legslappers gig, nearly nine years ago. 
(because you can when you've only got a single Maui connected up and that happens to be on the axis of where you're turning).
Really liking the 11s so far. 
