The Christmas Parties Thread

[Shakermaker Promotions]

Have you started yours yet?
Mine start on Thursday and I have 4 next week.
Last year I remember saying that I had noticed that the guests were really into the current charty stuff more than they had been in previous years.
If I remember correctly, one of the guaranteed floorfillers was Maroon 5 - Moves Like Jagger. It never failed me.
Judging on my past couple of months of gigs, I think it's fairly obvious (depending on the guests in attendance) that this 'Gangnam Style' thing is going to be one of, if not the guaranteed floorfiller. What do you think?

Is it worth making this thread a sticky?
Thought it might be a good idea to put all of our Christmas Party reviews in one place?

[Shaun]

Thread 'stuck'.

My first party night was last night. I've been doing this group for the last 5 years - predominantly 40 to 60 year olds, who are really into their 70s and 80s music. Historically even the likes of moves like jagger and I gotta feeling have been Luke-warmly received with this crowd in the past. Last nights biggest Floorfiller....Gangnam Style.

[Daryll]

Well I must be lucky , plenty of gigs in December , but no X-mas party's , but I expect that the gigs on 22 and 24 December will turn out to be x-mas ones..

Daryll

[DazzyD]

I've no Christmas parties this year as I took a step back from my usual advertising thinking that I'd be ok with the resident gigs I had. But, since they ended, things have been quite quiet for the end of the year although I have New Years Eve and a few bookings in for January 2013 and enquiries are coming in for the rest of 2013.

Maybe I might even attend one or two Christmas nights out myself and be on the other side of the DJ decks for a change!!

(actually, this starts tomorrow night with a cracking night of comedy and several ! Bring it on!!)

[leelive]

We had horrendous snow up here in 2010 and I struggled to get to Ayrshire (90miles) for one gig.
Because of that I decided to do some agency work and was booked for Christmas parties at a local venue! What a mistake.... the pay was dire (1/2 my usual rate) and then we had no snow in 2011.
Decided not to do any more agency work and have taken bookings for a mixture of weddings and christmas parties this December.
My first Christmas party starts on Saturday.... and it will be my second party this year for W.L.Gore (Goretex)
Quite looking forward to it. Though.. not sure if anything can beat doing a gig on the Sunday when the Christmas number was announced in 2009 and the crowd cheered and went wild for "Killing in the Name."
Lee

[Shaun]

I don't do regular party nights at venues, I never have. All my bookings come in directly for December, this has always made it a bit hit or a miss for me. This year is pretty good though.

[dj foureyes]

I did my first Christmas party over TWO WEEKS ago at Stock Brook Manor for Ian Stewart. Xmas parties are getting earlier every year! It was a Charity function and they had 12 tables so they had a competition to see who could sing one line of the Twelve Days of Christmas the best. That was interesting and it put me in mind to come up with my own version of the song, based on that night.
*TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS
On the first gig of Christmas my agent gave to me-
12 tables of punters,
11 Hooray Henrys,
10 girls from accounts,
9 raffle prizes,
8 broken glasses,
7 “Dad” dancers,
6 chin-less wonders,
5 requests for WINGS (Little Mix)
4 heckling birds,
3 grooving grannies
2 bitching queens
And a Dj who got home by three!


*May not be totally accurate

[surround sounds]

I do ot really do Discos at one venue as such because i find they can mess you around and cancel at the last minute. All my christmas booking come directly through one of my websites and its been really busy with xmas and wedding parties. Also Helium Balloons have done really well this christmas.

[Daryll]

*TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS
On the first gig of Christmas my agent gave to me-
12 tables of punters,
11 Hooray Henrys,
10 girls from accounts,
9 raffle prizes,
8 broken glasses,
7 “Dad” dancers,
6 chin-less wonders,
5 requests for WINGS (Little Mix)
4 heckling birds,
3 grooving grannies
2 bitching queens
And a Dj who got home by three!


*May not be totally accurate

Love it.......

Daryll

[Shakermaker Promotions]

I do not really do Discos at one venue as such because I find they can mess you around and cancel at the last minute.

I would have said the same thing around 3 years ago. I had a residency at another local hotel and despite having a contract signed and cancellation fees understood etc etc, they still tried to get out of them everytime and couldn't understand why I wouldn't 'let them off'. One of the comments in my final year with them (before I decided to tell them where to go because I had already lined up another residency) was when they cancelled a booking 2 weeks before I was due to do it. The cancellation fee in my Terms & Conditions at the time was 100% of the agreed fee should be paid if the booking is cancelled 2 weeks before the date. The General Manager called me personally (I worked with them for nearly 5 years and never had the misfortune of ever meeting him or speaking to him, even at the FREE staff parties I did for them)...He said to me "You're not being very flexible are you with regards to the cancellation charges". I said that I was a small business unlike them and that I bet they had cancellation charges to which he said agreed. I also said that in my 2 previous years with them, I had not had cancellation charges on my booking forms with them and that I had suffered for it. I also pointed out that they had cancelled a number of bookings on me in the past and that they weren't easy to fill at such short notice. He then more or less told me that I was lying and said that he found it very hard to believe that at that time of the year (Christmas period) it would be hard to get bookings..... (He should read THIS thread today). He then agreed to pay them and sent me an email saying he had agreed to pay them but would also need to re-think the Disco Entertainment situation in the new year. I had already sorted something out as I wasn't happy with the venue and also with the idiot of a C&B Manager who thought she knew how to do my job when she couldn't do her own. She and the General Manager both left in the new year and went to work at the same hotel. I moved across town and have been happy since.

What I am getting at (very slowly ha ha) is that not all hotels will cancel on you or refuse to pay cancellation charges. I am with a hotel now and it's as good as gold. I have a signed contract with them and they have yet to cancel anything on me. There may be a date towards the end of December that isn't 100% confirmed as yet that may not go ahead but I have that pencilled in as 'To be confirmed' anyway. Once you find a decent residency, in my opinion it's worth bending over backwards for them because as I said, at this time of the year they are worth their weight.