Embarrassing things we do at gigs

[rob1963]

Hi folks.

Last night I did a wedding reception at the Holiday Inn at Shepperton. It was one of those functions where you can't get in to set up until they turn the room around, so I'd already got all my gear just outside the room to make things as quick & easy as possible.

They got everyone to leave the room, and started clearing the tables. For some reason, they didn't have the common sense to start with the table in the corner where the disco was going.

Rather than waiting for them, I thought I'd just move the table out of the way, as it was only a case of pulling it a couple of feet. What I didn't know was that these "round" tables were actually two half round tables pushed together, and the legs weren't very firm.

As I pulled the table, the legs gave way on one half, and it collapsed to the floor, complete with all its contents, including glasses, plates and a jug of water. Apart from making a mess, fortunately nothing broke. There were only a few people in the room at the time, as most had already gone outside, but the brides mother smiled & said "I'm so glad it was YOU that did that & not me!"

As it happened, after a bit of a slow start the function went very well. At the end of the night I was chatting to the bride & her mother, and they both said how pleased they were with how it had gone. I said I thought the only problem had been when I'd demolished one of the tables, and the bride's mother just smiled & told me that was very funny!

So, what embarrassing things have YOU done at a gig (that you're prepared to admit to!), and how did things turn out?

[DeckstarDeluxe]

WHere I started I use to really hate having to use the mic. I hate the sound of my high pitched voice on big massive speakers and I use to get tongue tied and forget what I was saying!

Forgot my cds once but thankfully remember well in advance of time before it was a proplem.

Without jinxing it not done anything like that recently.

[DJWilson]

I always seem to say the words in the wrong order or not able to say them :lol: Sooner or later something worse is bound to come up.

[rob1963]

Wow...50 viewings of this thread so far, but only two replies.

Either the other 48 have NEVER had something embarrassing happen to them at a gig, or lots of them HAVE, but don't have the guts to admit to it.

I wonder which of those two options is the most likely?

5789

Come on folks!

[DeckstarDeluxe]

In all fairness this is a public forum and you wouldnt want protential customers viewing something like that about your disco provider. Needless to say its happeaned to us all like it or not

[Disco Leisure UK]

We did a hotel months ago where they had 2 function rooms booked for the same night, one was for a 60th birthday and the other for an engagement party, we were told by the venue that we would be doing the engagement, on arrival at the venue, the porter directed us to the function room and told us where to set up, all was fine, we set up a good show, got the music turned up and the people started to arrive an hour later, it was getting pretty full when the hotel manager came through and said that we was in the wrong room...:eek: and that that the engagement was in the opposite room, but we had a great night and everyone loved it...:) the porters fault!!!

[Shaun]

I once went to set up in a local masonic hall 2 minutes from where I stayed at the time.

I'd arranged to set up early in the afternoon. Later that evening I arrived at the hall to find a band carrying all their equipment into the hall, upon speaking to them it became aware that neither of us knew that any other entertainment was booked.

After some quick investigating, and to my horror I realised that I was a whole 24 hours early! The band was there at the right time and place...I wasn't. :o

The stage was quite spacious so I asked the band and lodge officials if they'd mind if I pulled all my kit to the back of the stage instead of taking it all down. They said that was fine (phew).

To this day I've still no idea how I messed up the dates.

[rob1963]

In all fairness this is a public forum and you wouldnt want protential customers viewing something like that about your disco provider.

I appreciate that deckstar, but we all do & say embarrassing things, whether we're prepared to admit to it or not.

Admitting to it could actually work in our favour, because it's just possible that potential clients could read it & admire us for having the honesty to admit to it.

Maybe I was a bit naive to think that people would be open & honest about embarrassing things that have happened to them.

:shrug:

[Javlingames]

In all fairness this is a public forum and you wouldnt want protential customers viewing something like that about your disco provider. Needless to say its happeaned to us all like it or not

Im not sure that potential customers would even read this forum? Only nerdy DJ's like us surely?

[rob1963]

Im not sure that potential customers would even read this forum? Only nerdy DJ's like us surely?

Agreed.

I think it would be a VERY small percentage of potential customers, if any at all.

I really can't see people Googling or looking on listings sites for possible discos to book, then trying to find as many forums as possible and checking to see if & what they are posting on there.

:shrug:

I certainly wouldn't try & locate businesses I was thinking of using on industry forums!

[DeckstarDeluxe]

Im not sure that potential customers would even read this forum? Only nerdy DJ's like us surely?

What if a customer googles your name? Well for instance my username is the same as my company name so.....

http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&q=deckstar+deluxe&meta=&aq=f&oq=

bottom of first page is an thread I started recently on here.

Naturally for Rob it may be different because his name on here isnt his buisness name so might effect seach results

[thex-faders]

forgotten the headphones! Blind mixing almost all night!

Pulled of some amazing mixes though!

[rob1963]

What if a customer googles your name? Well for instance my username is the same as my company name so.....

http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&q=deckstar+deluxe&meta=&aq=f&oq=

bottom of first page is an thread I started recently on here.

Naturally for Rob it may be different because his name on here isnt his buisness name so might effect seach results

Indeed it IS different for me and DOES effect search results.

I just Googled my business name, and none of my 17,000 posts on this forum came up in the first 10 pages of results.

Edit: I've just Googled my forum user name, and I STILL had none of my posts come up in the first 10 pages of results!

:shrug:

[Jiggles]

You sure Rob :sj: :sofa:

[DeckstarDeluxe]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA

I see you do reviews Rob!

[Daryll]

Not so much at a gig.

I made a lead up , not just any old lead , the lead that connects the sound card to the mixer , I made a good job of the soldering , and was pleased..........er

The night of the gig.

now most mixers have female XLR`s for the input , so you plug a male plug into the mixer.
no,,,,,not me , I had made a phono to female lead :Censored: .

As luck would have it , I found two single phono to male leads.
Result.........0 to panic in 2 seconds flat :D

Daryll

[ScottThompson]

You sure Rob :sj: :sofa:

HAHAHA! Total legend

[rob1963]

You sure Rob :sj: :sofa:


HAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA

I see you do reviews Rob!


HAHAHA! Total legend

:jawdrop:

Meanwhile, back at the thread...

:D

[Jiggles]

Care to explain :D :P

[DeckstarDeluxe]

Least we know someone has the Blue oyster bar covered when it comes to writting up the venue database :P

[ScottThompson]

Something I have done; it wasn't at my own gig I was helping a friend out at a local primary school, anyway we had just finished announcing the winning raffle tickets and had quiet background music while we were announcing them, so the raffle had come to an end and as the background music was still playing quietly while the prizes were being given out I forgot to mute the microphone on the mixer and all you heard me say was "I need the loo," it may not of been very loud but it was loud enough for everyone to hear what I had said, I had never felt my face go so red and feel the embarrassment of 300 people staring at me!

Touch wood this will never happen again!

[1st Choice Karaoke]

A few years ago whilst hosting karaoke... some friend of mine were doing "Paradise by the dashboard light" so I knew I had plenty of time for a pee... so off I went.. with my SM58 radio mic in my back pocket... When i came back... everyone was staring at me... I'd left the mic switched on and apparently my "tinkling" was coming out over the speakers nearly as loud as the singers ;-)

[ScottThompson]

A few years ago whilst hosting karaoke... some friend of mine were doing "Paradise by the dashboard light" so I knew I had plenty of time for a pee... so off I went.. with my SM58 radio mic in my back pocket... When i came back... everyone was staring at me... I'd left the mic switched on and apparently my "tinkling" was coming out over the speakers nearly as loud as the singers ;-)

OFF TOPIC

Ah no :( Your 360 has RROD - R.I.P Xbox

ON TOPIC

That isn't something you wanted to happen similar to my situation but you was actually heard taking a wee! Not good!

[DJ Jules]

A month or so ago I left my star cloth at a gig on a Saturday night, but didn't realise until I got to my next Gig on the following Friday. I was close enough to home to be able to run back and check that I hadn't just overlooked it when packing, but ended up having to do the whole Gig without it, the situation being made worse because I was high up on a stage in front of everyone. Talk about self-concious?!?

Luckily, I went back to the previous weekends venue the next day and they'd found it and put it to one side for me!

Julian

[DJ Jules]

Im not sure that potential customers would even read this forum? Only nerdy DJ's like us surely?

You might be surprised where your company name turns up when you're googling (and how quick!) I was searching around earlier today for info on the Laser offered on here just yesterday, and the top three results from Google were the references to the laser on this forum.

Julian

[Dynamic Entertainment]

Not a moment whilst doing mobile work, but (after Dave jogged my memory), theres plenty of occasions whilst working with a mate in one of the pubs i used to do, where we hadnt realised the mics were on and we were (shall I say...as its a family forum) discussing the "benifits" of the ladies dancing......

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

Wow...50 viewings of this thread so far, but only two replies.

Either the other 48 have NEVER had something embarrassing happen to them at a gig, or lots of them HAVE, but don't have the guts to admit to it.

I wonder which of those two options is the most likely?




Maybe I was a bit naive to think that people would be open & honest about embarrassing things that have happened to them.

:shrug:

Perhaps people want to post at their leisure rather than being forced into it by your comments Rob?

[Jonathan Ford]

I used to forget the name of my clients all the time.

When I worked in radio, I always wrote the letters K.I.S.S (Keep It Simple, Stupid!) on a post it stuck to the mic. For the last couple of years, I've had the B and G's names in massive letters on the front of my stand, facing me,

[Daryll]

For the last couple of years, I've had the B and G's names in massive letters on the front of my stand, facing me,

Nothing wrong with that mate , I do it all the time .

Daryll

[rob1963]

Perhaps people want to post at their leisure rather than being forced into it by your comments Rob?

I wasn't trying to force people into anything, Darren.

I was merely making the observation that out of 50 viewings, 48 of those had not replied.

As for people posting at their leisure, I think it's generally the case that people reply to a thread when they first view it...rather than at some point in the future. That's certainly what I do.

[Charlie Brown]

Yeah, I must admit this morning I was lying in bed and I just read everything on the forum...sounds bad but I could not be bothered to type anything so I leave it till now. Silly thing to do really because all my new posts are no longer "new" :o....but yeah I get what your point is rob :approve:

[UltraBeat Entertainment]

A few years ago i was playing on a stage that was probably about 2 foot high. Got to the end of the gig and somehow forgot i was on a stage. Lets just say i kissed the dance floor:eek:

Another time when i had just started i done a 4 year olds birthday party. After the cake i played a birthday megamix track which was all good until it started playing the track "21 today" and to my surprise everyone sung along until the end when an old lady shouted who's 21?:o
Never used that track again.

[rob1963]

I've just remembered another embarrassing thing I've done at a disco.

It was way back in the mid 1980s when I was doing a christmas party for my local Sainsburys. I'd just bought a Le Maitre pyrotechnic system, complete with a box of coloured smoke pods which I was eager to try out.

Early in the gig I hit the red button, and a mushroom of green smoke appeared, which looked fantastic.

A few seconds later, I heard a bell ringing, and after a few minutes in rushed half a dozen firemen. I felt terrible.

After some quick thinking, I found & put on a certain song by The Crazy World of Arthur Brown. Fortunately it had the desired effect, as it raised some smiles from the firemen. I then offered them my humble apologies.

[Excalibur]

Not a moment whilst doing mobile work, but (after Dave jogged my memory), theres plenty of occasions whilst working with a mate in one of the pubs i used to do, where we hadnt realised the mics were on and we were (shall I say...as its a family forum) discussing the "benifits" of the ladies dancing......
One of my mics is always on a stand. A couple of venues had staff who learned not to approach and ask questions of a delicate or risque nature until they saw me hit the kill switch. ;) :D :D


I've just remembered another embarrassing thing I've done at a disco.

It was way back in the mid 1980s when I was doing a christmas party for my local Sainsburys. I'd just bought a Le Maitre pyrotechnic system, complete with a box of coloured smoke pods which I was eager to try out.

Early in the gig I hit the red button, and a mushroom of green smoke appeared, which looked fantastic.

A few seconds later, I heard a bell ringing, and after a few minutes in rushed half a dozen firemen. I felt terrible.

After some quick thinking, I found & put on a certain song by The Crazy World of Arthur Brown. Fortunately it had the desired effect, as it raised some smiles from the firemen. I then offered them my humble apologies.
Two like that Rob, though one wasn't me, and the other was post gig.
Many years ago a local pub was having a BBQ party. Early in the evening, we were playing merrily away, and out of the corner of our eyes something attracted our attention. Outside where the barbie was, flames were shooting about twelve feet up in the air. :eek: I'm guessing someone used a little too much accelerant. I too played the same song. ;) :D :D :D Our food that evening was indeed a "Burnt offering". :(

On the same vein, I've remembered as I type, another venue with an owner who treated me very well. My drinks tab was often wiped, and food was provided. On one occasion, there was a BBQ, nad I was told to get some for myself. As you do, I was discreetly tagging along at the end of the queue, when I saw the owner at the front piling a plate high with meat. "Where's that :Censored: DJ?. Here's yours, you can get your own salad " :eek: :o :D :D

Same venue, I took a mate as roadie/designated drinker. (I'm ashamed now to say that in those days drink was an integral part of the evening for many DJ's self included):o :o :o :o Having unloaded the gear, I asked him to park my car in a suitable place. Early in the evening, a punter comes up, and asks if I can announce that a car is blocking her exit, can the owner shift it? Some of you are already ahead of me, yes it was my car! On asking over the mic where my roadie was, the answer came back" He's outside with my daughter!!!!!! ":eek: :eek: :eek: Moved car myself, luckily they weren't in it. Phew. The story of the ride home from that gig will have to be run past the censor. ;) :o :D :D :D

Second fire alarm one for Rob, at a Hull City Centre hotel, I was packing up and on arriving at the fire exit, my egress was foiled by a mountain of drum kit. :bang: I cursed said Drummer, moved some kit and opened the doors nto load my motor. Drummer returns and says " Oh you got somebody to turn the alarm off did you? " Oops. :( :o :o :o As we stood looking at each other, we wail of the sirens began to get louder. "Oh bother" he said, and rushed off to avert more trouble. As the advert says " Time for a sharp exit" :D :D

Dunno about embarrassing, but being propositioned by a very pretty young Lady, with her Dad stood behind her, and my Son stood behind me goes down as one I won't forget. :( :(