Good Gig, Bad Gig.

[Excalibur]

Mine tonight was a stormer - I've got a big cheesy grin plastered across my chops whilst I indulge in a little light libation

It's possibly one of the best weddings I've worked at recently and I want more of those!

Yes, there was a lot of cheese. What I wasn't expecting was an hour or so of 80s and 90s club classics (and the guests dancing to those were a LOT older than me!).

Your happy experiences of what results from a large helping of Cheese at such a function prompts me to ask why it is that so many of our members regard this as an anathema?
If the punters love it, I love it. Simples.

GBX = pretty much what yer man said plus old school dance (think Ian Van Dahl, Fragma, Scooter) and happy hardcore and remixes of modern chart (life is a highway and still into you being two prime examples) - it's a rich tapestry

Named after a local radio DJ who hosts the George Bowie Experience (hence GBX) of a Saturday after the football.

Wouldn't fancy a full 5 hour set of it myself but a 3 hour kids party will be a skoosh.

Five hours could be pushing it, but I like that sort of music a lot.

When one wedding is an Indie night, and the next is full on cheese followed by 80s/90s club classics....what's "Just another wedding disco"?

Oh crap! Incoming!

Right, before the shells start landing, last night. 40th Birthday party for a nice bloke, at a cricket club near Leeds. Been there before, so had a " bespoke" rig in use. ( There's what passes for a DJ booth installed. DJs must have been thinner and shorter when it was built! )
Evening was marred by half the guests not turning up. It was improved by being urged to head off in a sort of ReggaeFest, with Bob Marley and UB40 ( Yes Steve, UB40 are not the most bona fide roots reggae act in the world, no argument. Customer loves them, I play it, simples. ) to the fore. Must have impressed, he wants to book for his son's 16th in November.
Got paid off early, and I too had a small libation.
Purchased from Ronald's, once I'd found my way through the more exotic parts of Castleford, due to them closing the M62 in places again.

[Nakatomi]

When one wedding is an Indie night, and the next is full on cheese followed by 80s/90s club classics....what's "Just another wedding disco"?

One wbere you get lists of guest requests & it's all from generic wedding disco playlist A of course. The mistake is the 'nice gesture' in the RSVPs IMHO.

[Excalibur]

Or at a pinch a Taser. Suddenly, the prospect of an alcohol-free wedding on Wednesday is becoming strangely appealing. Seeing drunken idiots performing some form of communal Cumberland wrestling on the dancefloor, before cannoning into a thousand pounds worth of month old speakers does little for my blood pressure. To add insult to injury, they seem to think they are holding the moral high ground when I remonstrate with them.

Why do I ing bother?

[rth_discos]

I took on yesterday's gig on the basis that it would likely be finished at 10:30pm, and effectively gave them the wedding breakfast music for free.

Couple wanted a low-key affair. No grand entrance, no first dance etc etc.

They highlighted very early on in the planning that there were only 45 guests, and lots of the guests had children, hence why it would likely be an early finish, and that the groom didn't dance, so wouldn't be on the dancefloor.

Absolutely fine to cater for those requirements.

Venue was a first floor job, with no lift. I've managed to avoid these types of venues, but accepted as it was a March gig (can't be as picky), and being a golf club, meant I would have access to a shower after setting up to freshen up.

Arrived early and set up. Lovely venue with friendly staff. Had a shower, and not long after the bridal party arrived. Following their drinks reception downstairs, they came up to the room for their wedding breakfast. I may have earned my fee before even starting, as I helped the Best Man get his laptop connected to the projector for his presentation for his speech!

After the wedding breakfast had concluded (7:30pm), I put some fairly up to date pop on - mainly for the kids, as they were on the dancefloor.

Surprisingly over the next couple of hours, quite a few guests ventured on to the dancefloor and I rattled through as many of the big songs as possible (seemed weird playing them so early), but it worked, as the dancefloor packed out, but at 9:30, guests started to leave. After 10 I started to pull back the volume a bit, and then at 10:30 dropped to background music for the remaining 6 guests. Bride and Groom departed at 10:50, quickly followed by the remaining few guests.

A strange gig in that it wasn't the 'usual', but was very enjoyable. Was pleased to exceed the expectations of the bride and groom by getting a full dancefloor, when they weren't even sure if anyone would dance, and they left very happy - the wedding had gone exactly the way they had wanted, which is most important. If anything, it was nice that they were aware of how they envisaged the evening and communicated that to me, so I could make the most of the early part of the evening.

One couple came up saying they were really pleased as I was playing all the songs they had requested for their own wedding (but their DJ had ignored and played his own choice!!). The songs weren't anything unusual - the usual wedding suspects such as Footloose, Bee Gees, Michael Jackson, etc. Makes me wonder what some DJs are doing when they are given a list of the big wedding songs and choose to ignore it?!

Packed up and away by midnight, which an hour later became 2am, so worked out quite well, as no sudden unusually late night home!!

[djdj]

So a trip to the middle of nowhere, for a Thursday night Wedding reception,
I got the booking following a wedding I covered for the 'Old Git'
The bride had been gushing about how brilliant the night for her friend had been and despite my initial resistance ( I do not do Weeknights as I work Full time) I had agreed to attend.
Twenty or so emails later I duly attended the venue at just after 5.30pm for a 7.30pm start.
Surprisingly (NOT) they were running late and there were people sitting in the area I was to set up (you guessed it the furthest corner form the door).
6.45pm and I am finally allowed to set up, no sooner than I had my booth in place, the loveable children were round me like flies, after explaining that I would be another 10 minutes or so they left me in peace.
7.20pm Music on, Lights checked, first dance loaded and set-list (5 or 6 song requests) ready. At this point the duty manager & Photographer ask what time the first dance was? I had checked this on arrival and confirmed that 8.30pm was correct. Looking round the room it seems to be mainly 30 some-things with a scattering of older family members and the afore mentioned mini beasts. I duly played my 'Modern Indie mix' and every thing was good. I just managed to negotiate a fair sum for my luke warm 'Tesco' lemonade £3.50 (I don't think so!) when I got a tap on the shoulder 'The bride & groom are ready' I checked my watch 8.02pm, Hey ho back to the booth and full steam ahead, Full floor by the end of the first dance which carried on for the first hour. Then it started to get interesting, the Bride would go up to someone and get them to ask for some random song which of course cleared the floor and so the night progressed, every time I got a nice flow up would come some gobby girl 'The Bride hates this can you play something from the playlist'.
Well I kept my fake smile and managed to keep most of the guests happy. 1am eventually arrived and everything was quickly off and packed up. I was on my second trip to the car when the Bride asks for just one more! I explain that the manager had ordered me to finish to which, words that should not have appeared from a lady never mind a bride started to flow. Most of anger seemed to be towards the Overpriced venue but the fact that I hadn't played one of her chosen favourites was also mentioned. I kept calm and asked the bridesmaid sat with her if she remembered knocking into my booth while dancing to said track, she did and both girls were in hysterics! I shook the Grooms hand and left.

NO more Weekday stuff for me!

[Excalibur]

We can't win them all, eh? Never mind, at least you kept smiling. ( At least while in view of the customers, anyway ).

[djdj]

We can't win them all, eh? Never mind, at least you kept smiling. ( At least while in view of the customers, anyway ).

I think I was less receptive to the Drunk Arseholes than I would have been on a Saturday, But back to normal this weekend!


Mod Note: Apparently, you're allowed to call them Arseholes, Dave. The forum censor allows it.

Now as for being uncharitable towards crabby White haired Old Mods........................

[Imagine]

That's it for this financial year.

A school disco (one of only two schools I do these for because I really DON'T understand the reasons behind starting at 3:15pm as most of them do these days).

I actually enjoy this one despite not doing kids parties anymore. To have a school hall of 150 KS2 kids literally bouncing to stuff from the 90s is brilliant.

However....it wasn't all plain sailing.....

Normally, it's a case of rock up 30 mins before the start (it's only a small rig because 8 yr olds really don't appreciate the niceties of DMX control and I'm not allowed to deafen them). We have a new head though and things have changed.

The Xmas one I did resulted in a 20 minute setup because they'd been using the hall for a concert for the afternoon. Lots of sweat and tears and most of the rig assembled outside the doors.....but I managed it.

This one....12....yes TWELVE minutes (and that was with me running 5 minutes late). I got access at 3:07 for a 3:15 start! What planet to these people live on?????

Actually, there was a reason for the delay in getting access. Some sick Bd had sent emails to all of the local schools with a threat to mow down kids with a vehicle as they left for the day details here

As luck would have it....'twas a simple setup of a pair of Maui 28s, a pair of Chauvet Gigbars, four of my beloved Freedom Sticks and a booth. The Gigbars haven't been out for absolutely ages (because like most people....I'm not a huge fan of them). What a pleasure though....I'd actually forgotten what they're capable of!

OK - I wouldn't dream of using them for something like a wedding where the lighting is required to be "just so", but for a quick and dirty school disco setup where they're running in Master/Slave on S2L mode....let's just say that for the setup time I had available they dug me out of a big hole.

For a 12 minute setup.....I was quite impressed with the result



That's it now until 14th April....when I'll only get four hours of sleep between an 80s gig and travelling to Brum for ProMobile (luckily....I'm not driving ).

I won't be bored though....end of year accounts to do, leaving NaD (because I really can't be bothered to keep pressing the No Bid button anymore), PAT testing, and replacing the incandescent lamps in the Retro Roadshow with very expensive LED alternatives (I'll do a post on this shortly but it's cost just shy of £300, is a lot brighter, a LOT cooler to run, and will consume just 300w of power as opposed to the previous 2kW!). The other bonus of the LED replacement - no "cool down" time after the gig's finished . What's not to like?

[Excalibur]

That's a tidy rig Wayne, well done.

Midweek wedding for me, local racecourse function room. Bride and Father were pretty much teetotal, so low chance of drunken rowdy behaviour. What a welcome relief from some of the appalling behaviour I've had lately. One in the afternoon till seven, and on the way to the Liversedge meeting. Perfect, eh?


Well, nearly. You know when you just get that feeling about a gig. I got it, and I was spot on. It was the thirteen first dances that clinched it.

I had fantastic help from Davesounds to set up and Mattysounds to derig. Thanks lads, you're stars. It was upstairs, with a very small roll on, roll off lift, or some very easy, wide stairs. Management confirmed exactly what I'd already guessed, yes they were Travellers, but they were lovely folk, and that turned out to be pretty much the case.

Bride had bent my ear on the phone many times about wanting a perfect day, and I was led to believe I'd have a Toastmaster running the whole event, and could I give him a radio mic? Of course. Well, I think he missed the bus, cos I never saw him. Cue one DJ filling the void as best he could, with some very average direction from venue staff.

The photographers were well known to the guests, seemingly being the preferred suppliers, and they were lovely lads. DJs too, and keen to have a nosey at the kit. Most impressed with the Mauis and the Equinox booth.

Bride wanted the music low key until the first dances, which sadly clashed with the insistent teens who were an ache in the nether regions all afternoon, wanting mainly chart, and particularly chart drivel. A balance was struck, DJs weren't, and the whole event ended two hours early, with a very happy bride, and a pretty contented DJ. Matty helped me pack up, and we headed over to Liversedge for a splendid meeting.

Midweek weddings? Contrary to my friend from The Capital Of The Wolds, I'll take as many as I can get, thanks. These lot were a pleasure to deal with, apart from the obligatory and ubiquitous couple of teens, whoi sem to be a feature of all family gatherings.

[Nakatomi]

I had a private booking at a rugby club (eee! I know! Gentile moi in a rugby club?! what's the world coming to!) to attend to yesterday, one which was fraught by the customer's problems with my online booking management system - he found holes in the process I never knew existed - clever customer! They're all sorted now. I think. I hope!

Anyway I must've been in a really good mood when I took the call because a) it was a 90 mile round trip and b) the gig was to be 7 hours long. Oy! Well, a quote is a quote & on reflection no wonder they took my arm off.

I figured with a 5pm start time there was going to be a family element involved & I wasn't wrong. I gladly helped out with the kids' activities - namely the easter egg hunt, egg & spoon races etc. Nobody really told me there were gonna be kids' games n stuff but hey I don't mind helping out when I can. After all that a little half hour break or so & onto the 'adult' section of the booking. Things were slow to start - as in glacial but once we got going there was no stopping us. I think the beer pong may have had a part to play in lubricating the masses.. I was fed curry & kept well watered.. with probably one of the most memorably friendly crowds in recent times. It ended up being a complete & utter edam fest with a bunch of bouncy dance music thrown in for good measure. Cries of one more were answered at the end with NYNY & I packed down to big thankyous from the venue staff. One of the barmen even commented on how well behaved I managed to keep them all. There was a time, back in the day when I wouldn't even have considered taking a gig in such a place. Mind that would've been in the town I was born & I don't think it's got any less rough.

20 minutes after finishing time I was sat in my van starting the engine. Oh yeah didn't I mention how easy the loadin was? Reverse van into parking space, take 3 steps, walk through door. Walk another 3 paces, set gear down. Absolute bliss.

I could get used to this mobile lark.



Bass bin cunningly hidden inside the booth. No haze allowed so didn't see the point bringing the mini movers in. And YES I know my cable tidiness leaves a lot to be desired!