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Thread: Good Gig, Bad Gig.

  1. #5031
    Resident Antagonist Benny Smyth's Avatar
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    Thursday night was a wedding in one of my usual haunts. Good night, but the 1am finish was a stretch too far for some and by some, I mean that there was 6 people left at the end. Didn't feel like a downer and it was a fun night overall, but this was one of those ones where it would have been better to finish at midnight. Even more better to finish at 11pm to be honest. Happy clients and guests, so that's all that matters.

    Saturday night is another new venue for me. I arrived and was greeted by two guests sitting outside having a smoke. Really nice pair of chaps who I got chatting to while we waited to be allowed in and find out that one of them is a sound technician for theatres. Just as well I bought the RCFs out last night!

    It was a really good night - a rammed floor from start to finish and it looks like that I have suitably impressed not only the clients and their guests, but also the wedding planners so we'll see what comes of that.

  2. #5032
    Dinosaur Excalibur's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Benny Smyth View Post
    Thursday night was a wedding in one of my usual haunts. Good night, but the 1am finish was a stretch too far for some and by some, I mean that there was 6 people left at the end. Didn't feel like a downer and it was a fun night overall, but this was one of those ones where it would have been better to finish at midnight. Even more better to finish at 11pm to be honest. Happy clients and guests, so that's all that matters.
    Amen, Brother Benny, Amen! Thursday's finished early ( but too late, if you catch my drift ) and Saturday had the potential for " one more, one more". Marquee in parent's grounds, no immediate neighbours,and the small hardcore of guests I had left wanted to carry on. Bar had closed and gone away, I was booked to midnight, with the option to extend to 1am. With more guests, and a bride who wasn't up to the plimsoll line with shots, I might just have done so.

    All in all, almost the perfect day, the weather and surroundings were great, and the crowd were up for the biggest cheesefest I've had in ages.

    I did my first Mr and Mrs at a wedding, and despite me being such a shrinking violet, I think it worked well. Who am I kidding? With the choice of questions on the sheet I was given ( perm any ten from fifty ) it was a hoot, especially as having met the couple beforehand, the ice was already broken. The evening just flew, and my fears about not having enough tracks to fill the time were groundless, as requests flooded in. The only ones I couldn't easily fit in were from a young lad for Top 40 dross. It wasn't going to suit the crowd, and I had plenty of more suitable stuff to choose from.

    Come midnight, and although I was seemingly down to a handful of guests ( although a few had been hiding outside, swelling the final numbers ) they were keen for more, especially the bride, who was by now well lubricated. With no bar left, a long derig, and long drive home, I simply gave them a handful more and packed up. That one goes down as a good night, definitely.
    Excalibur. Older than the average DJ.

    www.excaliburmobiledisco.co.uk

  3. #5033
    Imagine's Avatar
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    Default Wine.....I need WINE!!!!!

    3am and I'm home from a very late one - and shattered.

    'twas my first ever Add2Event gig and at a very nice fee indeed. The enquiry came in two weeks ago (long story short, the bride had been mucked around with her original venue and couldn't get too much booked in the way of entertainment until the enquiry a couple of weeks ago).

    So, a University building it is then, which is half demolished and being rebuilt, and entails parking on double yellows in the middle of Cambridge (eek!), unloading up a couple of smallish sets of stairs and into something resembling the House of Commons (different I'll give you). Then off to take out a mortgage to pay for the parking for the evening.

    I'd not met the bride or groom due to the time contestants on this one, plus they were using an excellent wedding planner I know. So, armed with a minimal playlist, the promise of listening to a rather good swing band for a couple of hours after the first dance, and knowing it was going to be the load-in/out of nightmares, I packed VERY carefully. It helped that space was at a premium and that the bride wasn't too keen on lots of flashing lights.

    Load in/out took.....drum roll please....just 20 minutes either end (I'm definitely feeling the benefit of all the exercise and weight loss this year!). Boiling hot, absolutely drenched in sweat, but ready to roll way ahead of time.

    The bride and groom were a relaxed couple, and neither the planner or the photographer could call how the evening was going to go. Bets were on though that it wouldn't last to the prescribed time of 2am.

    First dance dispatched, it's over to the swing band who got the whole floor rocking (I wouldn't have predicted that, neither would the planner). Eventually 11pm (my start time) rolls around and we're straight into a cheddar fest as per the bride's instructions. The floor was packed until about 1am when the B&G made their excuses and left, closely followed by a lot of their guests.

    Unfortunately I'm left with a hardcore of a dozen who weren't giving up easily. No problem - still plenty left in the armoury to get through until 2am and finish on the bride's requested end track.

    And that's where I turned from hero to zero in a matter of 8 bars! The remaining 5 (who were well and truly struggling to stand I might add), took offence at the track, and threatened to go, to which I cheekily uttered "goodbye then, have a safe journey home".

    They left, and we ended 5 minutes earlier than scheduled (this one really should have ended at 1am to be honest).

    Other than the upset at the end....another really good night

    Oh....the track in question I hear you ask? Bill and Jennifer (it was the bride's choice). Can't please 'em all and at least it stopped the drunken calls for one more track at the end

    That's it now until the 27th, when I have a marquee wedding that thinks it's going to midnight (I very much doubt it....it's a hotel right in the centre of a built up area and I'm expecting to be told 11pm on the night....and yes, I have tried finding out for definite). The only big downside to that particular wedding is the playlist....it's currently over 300 tracks long

    Right...time for that wine

  4. #5034

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    Another 'hero to zero' for me.

    It seems this is becomingly (sadly) increasingly common.

    A great day - I was providing my 'all day' service. The air conditioned room where the ceremony and wedding breakfast was held was a welcome relief!

    The group were heavy drinkers - the couple had warned the venue of how much the families would drink, and to stock up, because they have drunk bars dry!

    When I arrived the venue were already talking about how surprised they were at how much had been drunk on the previous night by those who had stayed the night before for the wedding!

    They were definitely a noisier group - where I've often been able to go around asking people to take their seats, this one required a bit of 'shouting' to be heard!

    One angry man during the wedding breakfast comes out moaning he is being deafened by the speaker. Why people can't ask nicely if the volume could be reduced a little, I don't know.

    A later ceremony meant we didn't finish the wedding breakfast until 7:30, which was perfect. Tea/Coffee served in the room where the disco is, and evening guests arrived. The planned cake cutting/first dance time at 8:30 was met perfectly, and in to the first song of the night, and a drink was dropped on the dancefloor 30 seconds in. Appearance of a dustpan and bruch along with mop soon clears the dancefloor, and the photographer mentions that he plan of getting all the dancing photos during that song are now shot!

    Some good dancing through the evening, despite the heat inside (no air con is the room I'm in during the evening!). Buffet comes out at 9:30, and then a Mr and Mrs game just after 10 to reset things and bring everyone back on to the dancefloor. And off they went. Right through to 12:30.

    Drink is definitely getting to them - an inflatable toy that should have been in a swimming pool has made its way on to the dancefloor. Add in a few more smashed glasses (venue keeps asking me to tell people no drinks on the dancefloor - but they're not listening).

    At 12:25, 1 minute away from the planned last song, the bride asks if I can squeeze an additional song in. Fortunately, I was running about a minute early, so over-running by a couple of minutes would be fine. Squeeze in Mr Brightside, and both the bride and groom get some pretty high 'bumps'. By this point I'm amazed we have no broken bones!

    Final song played, and then unanimous calls for one more song. Not going to happen. It's 12:33 at this point. Fortunately, venue manager is next to me, and explains to the bride why another song can't be played. She's fine with that. But there's one woman who persists for about 20 minutes. Unnecessarily angry about it. At one point says that she's spoken to the manager at reception and they're coming over to tell me to play one more song (pull the other one!). The says that the reviews on Trip Advisor and Facebook won't be favourable the next day because we wouldn't play another song, and then even pulls out the 'I'm a local councillor' line (what difference does that make?!). Gives me an opportunitely to swing the conversation by explaining that she should therefore be very aware of the issues that playing beyond the agreed finish time can cause for venues, and that many venues are suffering from noise restrictions, and I would rather avoid that.

    Bride and Groom very happy. Everything went perfect from my end, but I just left feeling a little more deflated from it than I would have liked. Didn't leave the venue 'on a high' like I usually do.

  5. #5035

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    The first birthday party booking for me since May saw me travelling 30 minutes to the Durham area last night. A client whose email address gave me pause ... mrsbrightside@... hahaha.. is this for real? Well I quoted anyway & she paid her deposit quickly...

    My 1st impression of the place was that it was a bit .. rough. I introduced myself to the barstaff in the lounge where I seemed to be the only bloke there not wearing a wife beater. Nonetheless I was shown where to load in & the doors were opened up for me. I moved my van & started unloading. That was when I spotted a vocal microphone on the ceiling pointed towards the stage. Uh-oh. Limiter at 12 o' clock!

    It was a Formula Sound Sentry fella & seemed to be quite insensitive to my test stamps & shouting. Maybe it was broken ? Meh... on with getting set up. I didn't set up on the stage, purely for the reason the ceiling is low enough as it is & the stage is oddly placed. I set my gear just by the doors I'd loaded in from.

    Just before 7pm the client appeared & handed me the balance of my fee.. We chatted a while & she went off to the bar while I slunk off to count the pennies. Huh? There's £50 too much here I'm sure of it. I counted it again & sure enough she'd overpaid me. Being an honest sort I went to find her & hand her the excess 50 quid. "Oh!", she says, "I thought it was £50 deposit AND.. ".. Heh no.. but, I quoted what I quoted, so here's the extra back. Yes yes I know.. I could be charging more.. that somebody didn't flinch at paying the extra when I quoted speaks volumes.

    On to the party itself.. definitely what I'd call a slow burner. Up til around 8pm we had 6 guests but by 8.30 more had shown up bumping the number to 25 or so. Hardly a recipe for the most banging of nights but hey.. there was barely a bum on a seat after the food had been nibbled, all the way til closing time at 11.30pm.

    The limiter? Pushing up to -6dB out of my controller the Sentry sat there, unblinking. Pushing a little more I saw the first green light flicker briefly... It wasn't quiet in there by any stretch but man.. how loud must you have to go to trip the thing?! Anyway.. not a bad gig. Happy customer, happy guests..

  6. #5036

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    Bah missed the deadline for editing my post..

    I've just found out the handle of the social club on Instagram is "Redneck CWC". YEEEEEEEEEEEEEE HAW!!!!!!!!!!! It struck me as that kind of place.. well if the cap fits..

  7. #5037

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    Quote Originally Posted by Excalibur View Post
    Slightly different one for me last night, roady, tech ops and lighting engineer for the legend that is Dave Jackson.

    It's a college near where he works, and we put on a larger than normal show for them. Dave's options are hire a van, or hire me. No brainer, really.
    It's a great night for me, I turn up, set up, and stand back while Dave does all the work.

    To be serious, it's actually valuable for me, as I get the chance to play with aspects of the kit, and observe it without fielding requests and playing music.
    It was great to be able to stand at the back of the hall, and listen to the Db612/RCF710 PA doing its stuff. It was reassuring to hear that my normal settings were smack dab in the ballpark, and it sounded just the way I wanted. I think it's going to be my default rig for slightly larger rooms, which is what it was bought for.

    The prom- Better than last year, even though the weather was sweltering. Dave kept a very busy dancefloor, mainly with the cheesy favourites we've all played a million times, and that's what they loved. One request for something we didn't have, and the other three requests ( yes, three ) were for cheese. Just goes to show, eh?

    Even though we had a large rig out, two hands made light work, and we were heading home at 11.30, mmm nice.

    No such luck tonight, wedding at Forest Pines, 1am finish, long walk with the big rock and roller . Ah well.
    Really impressed with the sound, and the Roadie was worth every penny!!

  8. #5038
    Dinosaur Excalibur's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Imagine View Post


    And that's where I turned from hero to zero in a matter of 8 bars! The remaining 5 (who were well and truly struggling to stand I might add), took offence at the track, and threatened to go, to which I cheekily uttered "goodbye then, have a safe journey home".

    They left, and we ended 5 minutes earlier than scheduled (this one really should have ended at 1am to be honest).
    Quote Originally Posted by rth_discos View Post
    Another 'hero to zero' for me.

    It seems this is becomingly (sadly) increasingly common.


    Final song played, and then unanimous calls for one more song. Not going to happen. It's 12:33 at this point. Fortunately, venue manager is next to me, and explains to the bride why another song can't be played.
    Bride and Groom very happy. Everything went perfect from my end, but I just left feeling a little more deflated from it than I would have liked. Didn't leave the venue 'on a high' like I usually do.
    As posted elsewhere, this is now my second biggest pet hate, behind drinks in hand ( or worse, not in hand ) on the floor/near the gear.
    Fortunately, neither gig this weekend were marred thus.

    Friday, last minute gig for some Netball players in a Masonic Lodge not far from me. Possibly the worst access I've had in many years. Microscopic car park, narrow gates, and you block the street if you use the front door. If I ever work there again, If another one comes up there, I shan't rush to take it, but I'm taking the car, definitely not a transit van!!
    After the presentation formalities were done, it was time for me to play some music, and the younger ones were hyper!! The nicest, most appreciative crowd I've had in sooooo long. Just fantastic. 11pm packup, and a less frantic exit, as there was a touch more room for the van.

    Saturday: A big one. Another short notice gig, wedding for a lovely couple, who had planned to DIY their music, and bailed at the last minute( fortnight, actually ) in case they ed up their big day. To be fair, it was a wise move, as it involved ceremony music, background at the permanent bar, and evening in the Tipi ( three days to erect, what a fabulous tent)!

    So, 9am, I arrive to find Bride and Matron of honour in PJs, having bacon sarnies. Given a swift tour of the venue, The Old Vicarage, Elkesley. What a fabulous venue, with lovely staff. It was a pleasure to be involved with such a place. I drive the van across a ford to the tent, and rig the Rustic Booth up in the tent, with lights and the RCF/Db rig. I then take a Maui11 over to the arbor/Pergola for the ceremony, with a cabled mic for the registrar ( who was a truly lovely lady, a breath of fresh air ) with music from my tablet. I will have to look at getting some form of really portable folding table/booth for these bits. That's set for early afternoon, then I'm told they want music in the bar at the far side of the beautiful grounds. The place has acres of grass, a steam running through it, with a water wheel, a ford, and footbridges. Trees with rope swings, zip line and other outdoor games and activities, just perfect, coupled with the glorious weather, so that bar is a a long way away. Off I go with a laptop and VMS2 ( which hasn't been out in ages, and wasn't exactly working perfectly ) to find the venue have provided a 15" Gemini active ( with integral sound to light!!! ) for me, so that was fine. From here , it was spinning plates time- Start bar music till ceremony. Stop bar, start ceremony. Stop ceremony, restart bar, derig ceremony. Start tent, stop and derig bar. Phew!!

    Now the long haul, afternoon to finish in the stunning tent. The lights were awesome, and the Rustic Booth fitted in nicely. ( I'll have to adjust it a bit, but a great first attempt ) We had the very well received speeches, a main course seved in the tent, and an ice cream van outside for dessert. I was then Billy No Mates when everyone went out to enjoy the facilities in the sunshine. It was getting on for 7pm when the evening guests started to arrive,by which time I'd finished the day playlist, and already got into the evening one. Some fine music in there, a bit of everything.

    Now I must say, and the venue staff confirmed, this, these lot were drinkers. I mean, they could sup! They'd started giving the bar some hammer from the off, and a nicer, more polite, well behaved bunch of guests you couldn't ask for. Just goes to show, the drink doesn't necessarily make things go awry.

    I had around 200 people somewhere on site in the evening, and the floor was always well populated, and sometimes rammed. The venue have noise issues, and take regular readings and photos for the authorities. Although I felt I was making plenty of noise at my end, nothing was said, so it must have been OK. It was suggested that I lower the bass as the night went on, as those frequencies carry the most, and annoy neighbours, so cutting them was a wise move.
    At midnight, I played my last song, and the onemore, onemore brigade only made a token call, falling silent as soon as I said the venue forbade it. The groom came across and was effusive in his praise, couldn't thank me enough.
    By now, I'd reversed the van up to the nearest access point, and started to get the kit out. Venue staff offered me a drink, were absolutely lovely, and topped off a fabulous day. Even better, once I'd played a bit more tetris with kit ( the rustic booth doesn't fit easily yet, and I had oodles of stuff with me " just in case", the access point for the A1 home was less than ten yards from the gate!!

    Woke up early Sunday morning, to retrieve my Father from Hull Ferry Terminal at 8am, where he'd returned from The Black Forest, on a coach trip ( not a walk ). Off to the nearest Wetherspoons for brekkie and a debrief, drop him off at home, and headed off to Scarborough for a client meeting. This was immensely valuable,and well worth doing. Jeanette was taxi driver, and much appreciated, as I'd only had four hours sleep.

    Dinner in another 'spoons, home again, watch F1 and Cricket, and hit my bed for a well deserved kip.
    Excalibur. Older than the average DJ.

    www.excaliburmobiledisco.co.uk

  9. #5039

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    Quote Originally Posted by Excalibur View Post
    I will have to look at getting some form of really portable folding table/booth for these bits.
    I have one of these: https://www.gear4music.com/Keyboards...ear4music/1OF9

    Some black lycra over the top for a table, and it holds a small 2u flightcase perfectly.

  10. #5040
    Imagine's Avatar
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    I use even less than that

    Battery operated bluetooth speaker (currently a QTX Busker but about to become a Maui 5 Go due to the number of these gigs I'm starting to get) with an app called "Go Button" on the iPad via Bluetooth. I don't tend to offer mic'ing up of celebrants/registrars and to be honest, have never been asked for it. If needs be, I'll find a suitable wireless setup for that when the time comes.

    Doesn't get much simpler.

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