Nightmare Gig

[Stephen_N.I.]

Ok, It's another nightmare gig but I just have to post to vent my frustration.

Started off ok, booked from 8 - 12pm,
Got in, set-up, no probs, eveything fine till after buffet.
Then, the floor was like a coiled spring/bouncy castle, everytime someone jumped or danced the CD's blipped/skipped.
I explained it was not my fault and found a sturdier place, (half a window ledge, not ideal when your back is to the crowd!)
Anyway, that went ok, but I stopped at 12, clearly stated on my form, but eveyone expected me to stop @ 1.
Then the abuse started, called everything under the sun and when I was taking out equipment, people deliberatly got in my way. I even refunded the customer some money for the skipping floor and it was nothing to do with me, didn't please them. The atmosphere was so sour and I felt like everyone wanted to hit me.
Then a wise-guy/doped up punter thought it would be funny to put my cd box in the bin, and then make fun of it, I knew I hadn't taken it out to car but you can't acuse until you know.
I felt so threatened, give me your thoughts please.
Should I write a letter to the client to explain that the floor was not my fault, and they clearly stated to stop @ 12. I want to keep my good reputation up?

P.s. - the street in my town is notorious for trouble, I probably should have stayed clear, lesson learnt.:(

[ross@rds]

Well what i really want to say i will get in trouble with the mods if i do lol but these nuggets really need to act there age its not your fault if the music is skipping because they are jumping around and the floor is un steady.

Sure it wasnt a kids party you done mate ? cd case in the bin what a trout. Reminds me of a 60th i dont not long ago people in the way when trying to take down dont move or anything really annoying and childish.

[Stephen_N.I.]

its not your fault if the music is skipping because they are jumping around and the floor is un steady.

Sure it wasnt a kids party you done mate ?

Cheers Ross for the support, just so annoyed right now. Ya can't explain to them that it's not your fault and no amount of anti-skip would help in that case, they were all hurling abuse about getting a refund, bla bla.

Actually a 40th birthday, a crowd of :mad:

[rob1963]

Anyway, that went ok, but I stopped at 12, clearly stated on my form, but everyone expected me to stop @ 1.

Before I can give any advice, I need to ask something.

If the client had booked you until midnight, why did everyone else expect you to finish an hour later than that?

:shrug:

[ross@rds]

If the client had booked you until midnight, why did everyone else expect you to finish an hour later than that?

Think most people expect parties to run till 1 now a days as most of them do.

[Stephen_N.I.]

Before I can give any advice, I need to ask something.

If the client had booked you until midnight, why did everyone else expect you to finish an hour later than that?

:shrug:

The client hadn't told the rest of the guests the finish time and as the general time to stop here is around 1am, and they just assumed that I would stop at 1am.

[ross@rds]

Call the client on monday and explain what happend etc and about the nugget with the cd case she may be sober then and see it from your point of view mind you some people will go out there way to find things to get a freebie or get there money back i would have told her where to go.

[rob1963]

Think most people expect parties to run till 1 now a days as most of them do.

Not the ones I do, 90% of which finish at midnight.


The client hadn't told the rest of the guests the finish time and as the general time to stop here is around 1am, and they just assumed that I would stop at 1am.

I think you just have to put it down to experience, although if the venue was in a road that was notorious for trouble, I personally wouldn't have taken the booking in the first place.

Do your CD players have anti shock & do you carry a lump of foam to use as an additional shock absorber for your decks where necessary?

I think I would write to the client anyway, partly to apologise for the skipping CDs & to explain that it was due to a bouncy floor, and partly to complain about the abuse you received for finishing at midnight when everyone was under the impression you would finish at 1am.

[RnGary]

Your comment that "the street in my town is notorious for trouble, I probably should have stayed clear, lesson learnt." says to me that 1) you are in the right 2) it's not right what happened especially refunding money for a floor thats not your fault but 3) you are dealing with people/scum who do not see things this way and they are the nasty sort who feel that they are owed by the World and untouchable (evidenced by putting your CD case in the bin) and who hang around in gangs and 4) they could probably do you more damage then you can them by writing to them so I suggest treat it like a bad yob experience in a pub - if you start to fight they'll rise to challenge whereas if you walk away it's over. I fully understand how you feel and we'd all like to sort it for you, but from what you've posted i think walking is the best option, and as you said don't go there again - it's the way of this country now. One day however the vigilantes will rise....
Don't let it get to you - there are a lot of good punters out there.

[Stephen_N.I.]

Thanks for the support guys, I just needed a few second opinions, out of all the times I've disco'ed it's the first time I've been threatened.
Sure you get the guys at the end, "just one more" etc, but they're managable, this was more a "gang-up on the DJ" affair.
Leaves you with a bad feeling but, ya'know.

[Shakermaker Promotions]

At least you are in one piece and so is your gear mate. In future, if you have an 'inkling' (??) that something is going to be dodgy because of the area, either charge them big style or stay away.

Saying that though...there are places where I live that no amount of money would get me in!!

[Spirits High]

Stephen,

As you know I left NI about 6 months ago now to ply my trade in Derbyshire. But while I was still in Belfast there were certain places I just wouldn't do especialy as my English accent wouldn't have helped matters.

I did however do a gig at the Woodvale bowling club for a lodge on the 12th of July and it was one of the best gigs i've done. I was also warned off doing the Maple Leaf club but went there 3 times and no dramas each time

I think you need to put this one down to experience and take a longer look at your availability should something like this come in again.

I also had a roadie that was the size of a house and this seemed to work to my advantage aswell!

[mutley]

again this is the worst part of the job!! unless the venue had a manager to stand by & watch the idiots when you tried to pack down, apart from (maybe calling) the police if you felt really unsafe,

its wise in these cases to take the money, bite your tongue & run. i had a wedding like this but the other way round, they thought i should have been there at 7 but it said on the form 8pm - abuse also followed
you could have heard a pin drop when you walked in the hall to setup & everyone was staring at me!!!!

it turned out the bride & groom ended up having a rowl & everyone going home early, so i was the true winner in the end, only needing to play for half the time they booked for hihi

[Vectis]

i had a wedding like this but the other way round, they thought i should have been there at 7 but it said on the form 8pm

Aaargh :bang: !!! How can this happen? It's a WEDDING - these things should be double and triple checked :mad: Not just with the couple but with the venue too, just to be sure everyone knows what's expected! Don't rely on what was written "on the form" several months prior :bang: :bang: :bang: These things need checking literally a few DAYS beforehand MAX ...

</rant>

[robbiedj]

A couple of comments.

1. ALWAYS carry a copy of your contract, so that, if there is any disagreement about times, you have the clients signature to show them.

2. Never apologise for something out of your control, it puts you in the wrong. I have had this problem, when my deck stand actually "walked" across a floor and had to be continually pulled back into place. I made a joke of it early on and got them on my side.


As for the skipping cds, the easiest and cheapest way to counteract this is to buy a piece of thick, firm foam and put it under the player. It will absorb a lot of movement.

It wasn't your fault that things went wrong. Did they dance and apparently enjoy themselves up until midnight? Job done then.

[djsteve10]

I had something similar a few months ago at a 60th birthday party, finished the night and this drunk was shouting "crap disco, [content removed] Dj" but at the beginning of the night i had put a coat down which i was wearing and it had gone missing, Not that it was much use to anybody as on the back it had my logo and on the front it said "Dj steve". At the end of the night i was taking the gear out and i saw this drunk with it on. I approached him and he said it was his coat so i said since when have you owned my company and been called steve? He just replied to me you were crap so i am getting my money out of you in another way. So i told him this was stealing and i was calling the police, I dialed 999 and hit the call button and the coat came flying onto the car bonnet and he kicked off big time with me. I had organised for the police to come and he started pushing me around so with instinct and self protection i grabbed a speaker pole from the back of the car and held him off until the police came.

[Andy Westcott]

Stephen - I sympathise with you and the predicament you found yourself to be in; No-one should have to be placed in that kind of situation.

Some observations:
Skipping CD decks can be a big problem with 'mobile' floors, especially when one member of the audience realises the problem and starts jumping on the sensitive spot on purpose, but this can be virtually eliminated by buying decks with an anti-skip memory of at least 10 seconds. I appreciate that this represents a hefty outlay, but when the time comes for you to replace your main decks, bear this in mind.

As mentioned by Robbie, have a written & signed agreement, and take it with you. Ensure that the start and finish times are highly prominent.

I don't think you should have offered any money back by way of refund - the floor was obviously the venue's problem and could possibly even have been unsafe. By offering a refund you instantly became the underdog.

As for dealing with aggressive situations, I'm no expert in defusing them as I don't have the experience - I've never been in quite that situation myself, but maybe others here will have some tips.

Finally, if this behaviour is typical of the kind of gigs you do, maybe go up the ladder a rung or two and concentrate on an audience sector which has a bit more respect and leave this lot to the £50 DJs.

I hope the experience hasn't traumatised you too much - try to move on ASAP.

[Dragonfly]

ive had one or 2 like this .... speakers on poles helped and no bass bins on those old wooden floors , antishock cd players or my advice ...... go digital it's one of my favourite dj games embarrassing the numpty and his even more dosile friend who have spent the last 20 minutes trying to make the djs mp3 s jump thinking its cds.

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

Sorry to hear of your horrid night.

As others have mentioned, anti shock players really should be standard these days, especially with equipment being so cheap.

[Stephen_N.I.]

Thanks again for support.
As for the contract, I always carry a copy that clearly states all arrangements, you just get the odd wise-guy saying, "ya know, it's only 12 o'clock mate." Even if you show them the contract, they'll walk off in a huff.
TBH my players don't have anti-shock but in saying that no amount (seconds-wise) would have been sufficient as the floor was constantly moving, enough to shake my lamp off the table. But the move to digital is now on the cards nonetheless.
Looking back I probably should have not given any money back to the client but with the heat of the situation I thought it was a good thing to do.
You've probably all been there and you learn from your mistakes, I've learnt to never go to that venue again or surrounding ones and keep my prices at a higher level to eliminate these sorts of client.

[CRAZY K]

ive had one or 2 like this .... speakers on poles helped and no bass bins on those old wooden floors , antishock cd players or my advice ...... go digital it's one of my favourite dj games embarrassing the numpty and his even more dosile friend who have spent the last 20 minutes trying to make the djs mp3 s jump thinking its cds.


Time to start increasing your prices Dave and get rid of the muppets:D :D :D

I guess you already have;)

£350 Cortex and a Hard drive might be a good investment.

CRAZY K

[PropellerHeadCase]

Then, the floor was like a coiled spring/bouncy castle, everytime someone jumped or danced the CD's blipped/skipped.
I explained it was not my fault and found a sturdier place, (half a window ledge, not ideal when your back is to the crowd!)

Two solutions for skipping CDs where the problem is an overly "re-active" floor (assuming that your player is in its own roadcase on a flat surface of some kind)...

1) Take two tennis balls, cut them in half along the seam so you have a total of four hemipheres. Place them under your player roadcase open face down - your player does look a little precarious balanced atop the narrow end of four half tennis balls but it's perfectly safe. If you don't have a frontage to your system and the bright yellow will be highly visible... paint 'em black!

...or, on the night...

2) See if you can get four bar towels (it's in their best interests to keep the punters happy, too, after all), fold them in half to form a long narrow strip and then roll them up tightly. Place one under each corner of your road case. This dampens all but the most severe vibrations, and usually this in combination with even rudimentary shock protection on your player will get you out of most situations.


By the way, for a situation where you have a whole large unit (or you just want something more permanent for your smaller unit) with this problem, rather than tennis balls, you can make little sandwiches of MDF with an ice hockey puck or a good (double) thickness of wet-suit neoprene in the middle - either in one board to fit the entire unit or four smaller ones (one for each corner).

The ice hockey pucks (or similar) are used by some semi-professional home-studio owners for creating an isolated/acoustically de-coupled room-within-a-room studio.