Saturday was a 40th birthday and had a Smiths tribute band playing (The Smiths Indeed) They were excellent, I played loads of 80/90's indie - here's a few piccies..
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Saturday was a 40th birthday and had a Smiths tribute band playing (The Smiths Indeed) They were excellent, I played loads of 80/90's indie - here's a few piccies..
Done a gig at Makeney Hall In derby..
Nice place in the Country and access is fairly Easy..
I arrived at 4 o clock and had plenty of time to set up for 7..
They finished eating by 5.15 and i was set up taking my time by 6.30..
There was around 110 guests and once they had eaten at 8.45 they slowly got on the dance floor..1st dance went great and all seamed well..
Played some of the bride and groom requests but not many danced to them..
At 10 o clock i had the dancefloor packed but around 11.15 guests started to leave..The party was on till 1 in the morning..By midnight there was around 50 left and the last 30 mins everyone who was left was dancing(around 30 people) Overall not a bad night and the customers was happy and i got 1 more booking from it..
Good weekend for me (one mishap though which I will mention in a second).
Friday was 80's Night at my local. It was my first time at the pub for around 5 weeks due to being booked for lots of other stuff. I'd heard from regulars that it had been a bit quiet as the pub had not booked anything else since I had last been there.
The place was packed! Great atmosphere and some really good requests during the night. Lots of people dancing too. I had a small set up (it's all you need in there) but I took the monitors too and used some 80's visuals and they got a good reaction. Loved it as I felt comfortable playing the stuff I know really well.
Saturday was a small-ish wedding at one of my residencies. A very nice couple who I met in the week. Well, I only met the Bride as the Groom was away. On arrival I introduced myself and they had bought me a present in advance (a bottle of Champagne...which I will drink tonight). To be honest, I didn't have much of a list of requests and nothing to really go on or work with.
In the last email I received from them, it simply said....
"First Dance will be Bryan Adams - Flying".
"We like Disco, Abba & Ring My Bell etc...the rest is up to you".
I chatted to the Bride & Groom just before their first dance about the music and they were very laid back. The Groom actually said "If you played the music that I like, no'one would dance!"...I asked him what music he liked and he said "Gary Numan, Indie / Rock...". I laughed, rolled up my shirt sleeve and showed him my Numan tattoo, he was like a difference person and started getting really enthusiastic about the evening. His Bride stood there smiling, let us talk for a bit and then said "Sorry Gary's (the Groom's name was Gary too!)..."We better do this first dance!".
The first dance was played, I followed it with Always by Bon Jovi and then asked the guests to sing Happy Birthday as a cake was bought out for the Groom as it was also his birthday. The atmosphere at that time was great and I knew I would have a good night.
Lots of Disco stuff and 80's throughout the evening. Lots of dancing too. I was approached by a guy who said "I'm from the 'Gay Table'...Could you play some Cheese and The Timewarp please?". They went mad for this stuff. I played lots of stuff that I knew would work from my previous DJ stints at local Gay Nights...(at the end of the night one of them asked me for a card. He said.."I'm hoping to get married to that Queen over there next year..").
Anyway - Mishap time... I was playing 'Love Shack' and it was about 2 minutes from the end. I had 'The Timewarp' cued up and ready to go when all of a sudden I felt the urge to be sick. I don't know why or what the cause was but I went into panic mode. I ran to the bar and asked one of the staff to follow me quickly. I told them what to do ("When that finishes, press that!") and I legged it to the toilets. I did the deed and was back halfway through 'The Timewarp'. I don't think anyone noticed?
Just as we were coming to the end of the night, there were around 20 people left (65 invited) as lots had left by then. I got on the mic, asked the Groom to get to the dancefloor and played 'Cars' by Gary Numan followed by 'In The End' by Linkin Park and 'Time of Your Life' by Green Day before the last track of the night 'Greatest Day' by Take That. He loved it and so did his Bride and those that were left all applauded. The couple came over at the end and couldn't thank me enough.
It was a small gig but very enjoyable.
had a 70th birthday last night, a jazz band were playing first so we didnt turn up till 9.15.
following the buffet we started at 10, due to finish at 12.30.
all going fine with plenty dancers & request to begin with. A lot of the crowd were older, and many started leaving 10.30 onwards. By 11.30 there was only about 20 left, all 40 years old or less (expect the birthday lady)
Suddenly, two woman started fighting. One was dragged away to the buffet room, about 10 people followed her, the rest left.
After 20 minutes the 10 people came back into the hall, finished their drinks, and left too. The birthday woman's sons came and thanked me for a great night!
Only finished 30 minutes early but still felt sorry for the birthday woman.
First one Saturday, store promo in Harrogate, with a superstar special guest-Noddy. With minder!:eek: :eek: :D :D :D Excellent gig, and because I'd contacted the council beforehand, they gave me the info on where to park all day for a fiver.
Back home for a 21st in the local social club, first outing for some of the new cases, initial signs encouraging. Excellent night, nice atmosphere.
My Friday gig (came in late) was a pub karaoke disco. It was at a venue that is usually quiet but there was a load of women in for a middle-aged woman's birthday so it turned out quite well in the end.
As for last night, it was officially the worst karaoke disco I've ever done - only 1 singer!! :eek: Heavy rain and the street being flooded seemed to keep everyone away. The phone rang a few times with people asking if the karaoke was on but only one couple actually braved the rain and came along. The husband sang a couple of songs and then they soon left leaving me with the barmaid and an "older" couple (I had more chance of winning the lottery than getting them singing!). I spent the night pretty much practising new tracks and some old ones and playing a bit disco stuff for the barmaid. Oh, well!
Cool!! This year, I've played alongside several celebrities including Pepper Pig, Ben 10, Oopsie Daisy (from In The Night Garden), Spongebob Square Pants and The Mighty Morphing Power Rangers (well, two of them!). And, later this year, I believe I'm to be joined by Father Christmas himself so a pretty good year for the autograph book!! :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Excalibur
with the rest of Slade? :)Quote:
superstar special guest-Noddy
Did you get lost though ??Quote:
Originally Posted by Excalibur
Absolute doddle. The combination of a high grade Sat Nav, and a White Van that looks as if it's no stranger to conflict meant it was a dodddle. :D :DQuote:
Originally Posted by ppentertainments
2 interesting jobs last night and Friday night.
Friday was a ladies night for the Masons. Mostly middle aged and upwards, it was a lot of Ballroom dancing and I managed to sneek in a bit of Al Martino, Dean Martin and Stevie Wonder...lol. Actually it wasn't that bad, think Penny Arcade was the high point of the evening. A rather pompus chap came up at the end and said, "you played some interesting pieces and it was just what we wanted". He went on to tell me that he was the Secretary of Newcastle golf club and could he book me for a few in December and NY but sadly I had to tell him I was booked, however, he did book me for 2 next year.
Saturday was a Wedding whereby the man was very much in charge, he had been a bit of a worrier at the meeting and throughout various telephone conversations in the run up to the event and last night his list wasn't going too well but everytime I wandered off his list and put something on that I thought would go down well the floor got busy but he came up and asked me to go back to the list, I did gently try to make him realise his guests weren't altogether happy with his choices but he insisted so I did as he asked. I felt a bit awkward but I think everyone knew what he was like and accepted that it wasn't my fault.