Good Gig, Bad Gig.

Thanks Gary.
Just for you then mate, here's my review of this weekend....

Friday night was one of the best I have done at my local and it was my last one until Christmas Eve. It was an 80s, 90s, 00s night. Once again there was a lot going on elsewhere around the town because it was the second and final week of CD launch gigs organised by a friend of mine whose released a CD of Basingstoke bands (it's great, 78 tracks covering 4 CDs and all proceeds going to a local charity. It's only £5.00 and I am featured on it too) so a number of venues were hosting the gigs. Once again we weren't too sure what our night would be like but it was a classic. A couple of regulars were celebrating birthdays and another couple of regulars were having their last night at the pub because they're going off travelling to Vietnam. It was a messy one (I didn't touch a drop) with lots of great requests and I should imagine lots of headaches the next day.

Saturday night, well Saturday altogether was a bit of a strange one...
Nothing wrong with my gig at all and more on that in a second. It was during the day actually. I had a couple of calls from people that were worrying. One of them was for a birthday party. They couldn't get in touch with their DJ having tried for the past couple of days and they were looking at a back up plan. I said I wasn't available but as always, tried to help. Made a call and got it sorted. The price the customer originally agreed to pay was a lot less than what I would have charged personally. They said that they hadn't paid a deposit / booking fee and didn't have a booking form and despite calls, there were getting no response from whoever it was.... (this is becoming a regular thing this year). Anyway, as I said...it got sorted and the customer paid by online transfer. Later on in the afternoon I received another call which was almost a carbon copy of the first one. Sadly this time I couldn't help. I tried a couple of numbers but nobody had availability. I directed the customer to NAD. I'd done my bit. I have to say though that it was very late in the day and I didn't post in the jobs offered section as I still had stuff to organise for my booking.

My gig was a 13th birthday party for the grand daughter of the owner of one of my residencies out of town. Easy gig really, I turned up at 6.30pm to set up a nice compact set up (only 40 of them, mainly girls) for a 7.30pm start. It was chucking it down with rain but access is really easy so it wasn't a problem. The birthday girl was very excited when I turned up and started asking for various songs (even though I'd received a song request sheet from her days before). She screamed every time I said I had a song that she asked me if I'd play and I hadn't even set up yet. I was all done by 7.00pm and it was then whilst I was in the van having a cigarette that I received a call from my other DJ. She said that she'd turned up at the venue and another DJ was there outside. I've yet to speak to her about what was said but apparently he wasn't very happy at all. He had apparently turned up around 5 minutes before my DJ had turned up (8.00pm start) and was told in no uncertain terms to clear off by the customer. I told my DJ to just ignore him and speak to the customer and to start loading in. Apparently the other DJ hung around outside for a while before actually doing what the customer had asked and cleared off. I texted the customer to ask if all was ok and he said there were no problems and my DJ was setting up so that was cool. Bit of a nightmare though and not what I needed before doing my gig.

So, I get started and instantly everyone is on the Dance Floor. I mention (as I usually do) that if anyone has any requests, just let me know. At these gigs you only have to ask once because they always request tracks and I played everything they asked for. Once again and I hate saying this), the most popular track was Gangnam Style. It's hilarious watching everyone doing the moves. Everything was going really well and they were all loving it. The handful of boys in attendance would run around hitting eachother with balloons but would then dance if something they liked came on. The girls were all dancing to everything. The birthday girl would come over every now and then and ask for a song and then say "This is so cool, I'm loving it!". Around 8.45pm I was asked to stop the music so that they could all sit down and have hot dogs and burgers. I was asked if I would like to join them so I sat down at a table with the boys and had a glass of coke. I didn't have anything to eat. I politely declined and said "I'm fat enough!" to which they all laughed. It was really nice actually because the boys genuinely seemed interested in what I did for a living. It was like an interview and I was asked lots of questions. One little kid (smallest out the lot) said he really wanted to be a DJ.

After the food I started up the music again for the final hour (10.00pm finish). The reaction was the same as before. The Cha Cha Slide (requested) got them all up again on the floor and it was like that until the end. I could see the parents standing near the exit waiting to take the kids home so I did something I used to do years ago.
I got everyone to applaud the birthday girl and let her say thank you to everyone on the microphone. Whilst I had their attention I said "Put your hand in the air if you can see your parents"....Lots of hands went up...I then said.."Right, go and get your parents and bring them to the Dance Floor"...In the past some have joined in and others have tried to hide but not this time. Lots of them ended up on the Dance Floor. I then said "We did this earlier and we're going to finish off with everybody doing it" and I played Gangnam Style again (it had been requested loads during the evening...I could've played it on a loop all night and they'd have been happy). To my amazement, everyone joined it. It was great.
Lots of clapping at the end and thank you's and as with most of these types of gigs, some of the parents asked me for cards which was good.
The birthday girl came over and hugged me and said she'd had the "best night ever" (bit of an overstatement?). I was happy and so was the venue owner. He handed me my money in an envelope and I packed up the equipment and was out the door and at home in the warm by 10.45pm.

I opened the envelope this morning and there was £50.00 extra in it. I texted him to make sure it wasn't a mistake and he replied saying "You made my grand daughter very happy, it's a little extra for you".

That was a nice added extra to what was a really good, easy gig.
4 Christmas Parties next week...I hope they're all like this.

Interesting night for me last night at the BAWA club in Filton. A repeat booking from a joint 60th and 80th I did in July, and the first Xmas ball of the season, playing alongside "Serenade" big band who are a full 16 piece brass band! The photo says it all really, but they arrived and grabbed the tiny stage and all of the available space and I got rammed to the side. I had to ask the venue to move the buffet tables (just out of the left of the photo) as with me rammed on the edge of the dance floor I had about 12" between my screen and the buffet!! Also my first outing for the Equinox screen (with starcloth behind it) a new way of organising my kit (with laptops flat on the deck and controllers and mixers OVER them, keeping the screens a lot lower). I definitely prefer this to having elevated laptops.

Attachment 15002

Despite my initial complaints of "oh my god where am I supposed to go?", I've worked with this band before and they're a pleasure, they're very talented and great fun to deal with. They're also great at warming up the guests for me as a lot of the crowd had clearly had dancing lessons and attended quite a few functions that allowed them to practice this skill :D The band leader also regaled me with tales of some of the other DJ's he's met in Bristol who have almost had full on fights with them about setting up....!!!

I filled between the bands three 45min sets and it's always good sign when you get asked to turn it up during the second fill, especially as the buffet had literally only just been cleared. Once the band had finished their third set we actually stopped for 20mins while the band cleared out and did a game of Heads vs Tails. To explain, as the guests had arrived they were all sold a raffle ticket for £1 and the money was put in a pot. When the game kicked off they all had to stand up and place their hands on their heads or their tales, a coin was tossed, and if you guessed wrong you had to sit down. Last one standing got £100 to take home for Xmas, the runner up got £50.00. Worked brilliantly, except the organiser tossed the coin and it came up tails 12 times out of 14 which almost lead to a riot!

Anyway, once the games (and the band) were out of the way, I played from 10:45 through to 1:00am with a packed floor throughout despite very few requests. One of those nights where I learnt a few things about 60's and 70's music from the few requests I did get from the guests, and also a little bit more challenging for me in that I didn't play a single chart track (guests ranged from late 20's through to 80's!) so I had to work a bit harder to pick the right tracks from "older" tunes.

The biggest hits of the night:

Wham - Wake me up
Bad manners - Lip up fatty
Mud - Tiger Feet
The Jam - Town called Malice (closely followed by One Step Beyond)
Jackson 5 - ABC

On a different note - in the afternoon I went to a party with my kids and met a cracking entertainer who did a 30min set and was a true professional. He was very good and had the kids rooted for the full 30mins, and then when his wife picked him up afterwards - went straight to A&E!! Apparently he hadn't been well at all that day, but didn't want to let the kids down, so did the show before going in!! Talk about dedication???

Julian

Feeling it today blimey!
Did Friday, Saturday & Sunday at one of my residencies and was full of cold too.
I have to say, if the rest of the parties are like the 3 I have just done, it will be a great run of parties.
Friday was a party for Morrisons and they were all up for it from the first song until finish.
Saturday was a party for various groups and it was all women. I knew it would be a good one and they didn't let me down. 75% of the women there were all there last year too and so I found myself walking around the tables chatting and getting requests. I got a fair few hugs that night too and a lot said "We'll see you next year".
Sunday was one of the easiest gigs I have ever done. It was for Sainsburys and was an 11.00pm finish. They'd all finished eating by 9.00pm so I had 2 hours of music to play and they were all up for every song.

I've had really nice crowds so far and it is has been really nice. I was a bit apprehensive (as I always am) before the first party but once I found my feet and got into a routine I have enjoyed it. The feedback has been great and the reactions to the red uplighting in the room has been great too. I have used my screens and they are set to red too and it looks really nice.

This year I have started off with the same couple of tracks which are Maroon 5 (Moves like Jagger) first song followed by Rihanna (We Found Love) and they have both worked very well. The PSY track has been the most requested track every night and it's been hilarious watching some of the middle aged women attempt the dance. For example, last night everyone was on the dance floor doing it and there were all ages, shapes and sizes. (I mix it with 'Sexy & I know it').

Another 4 parties this week so trying to chill out as much as I can during the day. Wednesdays party should be interesting. I have received around 200 requests that cover everything from Jazz to Chart, Rock to Cheese. It's a big party too so I reckon I will have around 2.5hrs to pick and choose which songs I play.

Hope everyone else is enjoying the Chrimbo gigs too.

I was working Friday and last night and to say they were "difficult" is an understatemeant. Friday night I did a joint 40th/50th birthday at the Bell pub in Hampton (thank you Martin/Funkymook for your early reccy mission) and it was on the first floor. I was told that because it was on a main road I could park temporaily on the pavement while I unloaded but because it was a cold day, I wasn't allowed to prop the two doors open. Anyway, it took me 20 minutes to get all my gear in and at the end of it, I was knackered. The room was quite small (50 people and it is a tight fit) and finding some space to store my boxes/cases was a mission. See picture below
http://i1311.photobucket.com/albums/...inso1/40th.png

I set up and was asked by the lady whose 40th it was if I could keep the volume down at the start of the evening while people caught up with each other, which I did. After 15 minutes of background music a bloke, who I found out was a work colleague of the birthday boy, came over and told me to turn up the music. I explained that I’d been instructed to keep it down while people were talking and he seemed to accept this.
10 minutes later he came back and TOLD me,
“Turn it up or I’ll break it!”
I couldn’t believe what I heard so I asked him to repeat himself.
He said, “Turn it up or it gets smashed”
All the time he was talking to me he was smiling, so I wasn’t sure if he was being serious or on a wind up but I was furious so I said,
“You can try mate but it won’t be the only thing getting broken”
He could see that he over stepped the mark so he beat a retreat and stayed by the bar the whole night. It really played on my mind for a while because it was so unnecessary but fortunately they were a good crowd and I got lots of good requests and was able to provide a good atmosphere. It ended up a good night and I got two enquiries for future dates (including the barman’s girlfriend’s 21st).
I packed up and thought, at least I’m bringing the stuff downstairs, so shouldn’t be too much of a problem……….WRONG! The front door that I originally brought the gear through was locked and I was told that I had to bring it through the backdoor, into the small car park. This meant going through THREE doors this time and again I couldn’t wedge them open, as it was brass monkeys weather. On top of that, there were two mini-cabs parked really close to the car park backdoor, which made it difficult to get pass even without carrying any gear. I asked the drivers if they could either swap places with me or give me more space to get out of the building. One pleaded ignorance, he didn’t understand what I was asking him to do and I gave up on him and the other one refused to swap places but did move his car three foot, so that I didn’t have to lift my equipment over his bonnet. Whoopee doo.
In summary, a bad start and finish to the evening but a fantastic middle bit.

Now for Saturday.
I had a wedding reception for a couple, who had got married on a cruise ship a couple of weeks before, at Hanworth Royal Naval club. I got the job because the couple had been to two other friends’ weddings that I had performed at and booked me on the strength of that. We didn’t have much communication before hand because they really didn’t want too many formalities. No first dance, announcements, speeches………even the playlist was 3 songs long! It was booked for 7-30 till midnight and I arrived at 6-15 and started setting up. I usually use 2 or 4 ADJ Mega Tri par cans but as I had a stage I thought I would put a couple more behind me, for uplighting. As I was setting up I noticed a projector screen behind me but didn’t pay any attention to it (more about that later). I got everything set up by 7-00 but for some reason I couldn’t get all the par cans to react together. I could get four working or three working together. I wasted 20 minutes changing/swapping units and dmx cables and I would have carried on testing when at 7-20 two guys turned up and said that they were there to provide a photobooth. As I thought I was the only supplier I had monopolized the access route. I had to take all my bags and cases out of the gang way and moved my van from the back door, so that they could bring the booth in. I just returned to my position and then the Best man appeared, introduced himself and said that the B&G would like their wedding pictures displayed on the screen behind me and could I take down the couple of lights on my overhead, which was blocking the projector?Picture below

http://i1311.photobucket.com/albums/.../wedding1t.png

No problem I said but thought it would have been nice to have been fore-warned about it.
I took the laser down and moved it to the end of the bar and placed the Impossibled on the floor, pointing to the ceiling and I don’t know how it happened but the front cover on the light came loose. By now it was 7-30, so I introduced myself and started playing music and then took the cover off the Impossibled and put it back in place……..gee, what a start.
The night turned out to be a good one, quite a few requests but not as much dancing as I would have liked but I from the feedback I got, everyone enjoyed themselves.

Oh, one more thing. Because of the hectic start of the evening, I didn’t get paid at the beginning, because I was rushing around and it was only when I had packed all my stuff away in my van, I realised that the B&G had gone home and not paid me! After a quick phone call from a relative, they returned 15 minutes later, full of apologies and with my money!

Worst gig ~ A while ago i was booked to play in pub 7.30pm till 11pm so thats what i quoted for....On the day of event i set out in plenty of time and had 3 missed calls and tex messages......Strange i thought but found venue on time and started to set up,when i saw everyone standing around drinking lots and then a cheer as i turned up,which i didn't like but carried on setting up,odd night to say the least,lots of pumping dance music no classics like other gigs,then thought i have not been paid yet as i see the groom drinking heavy at the bar so i approach him about payment,then he says he will have to go to the bank!! So i leave it for 20 minutes as the night is getting on,he then asks for a huge discount.......Then it comes to light he told all family etc the disco starts 6.30pm...... Then on top of that no first dance was done as they said their night was ruined and the bride really was gunning me and very drunk at this stage......And on top of that they insist i play on to 11.30pm.....I was hoping to get away from this gig but did play till 11.30pm then finished and packed up and then had to battle it with the groom who underpaid me...........

Quote:

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Originally Posted by alphawave

Worst gig ~ A while ago i was booked to play in pub 7.30pm till 11pm so thats what i quoted for....

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What did you get in writing re:start and finish times prior to the gig?

Julian

I had it in black and white 7.30pm till 11pm but got the booking through a friend and the dairy was at home....His word against mine....

No contract?

How much communication did you have with the B&G before the event?

Wedding reception disco at Rowley Manor on Saturday 1st December

I was already looking forward to this one as it's got to be one of my most favorite venues - never had a bad night there.

It was a couple who cam e to one of my local quiz nights back in March 2012 and I casually said I take bookings for wedding disco's over the mic.

They came up to me at the end of the night and asked if I would do their wedding reception - obviously I said 'yes'!
The following day I put a contract together and sent it via echosign - they promptly signed and paid the £75 deposit into my bank - all good...

Anyway onto the disco...

The wedding breakfast was in a separate room so I was able to set up in plenty of time and went and (re)introduced myself - they are such a lovely couple. The brides father took this opportunity to pay me the balance which is nice not having to ask for it.
The first dance was 'Greatest Day' by 'Take That' and I took this opportunity (having agreed beforehand) to take some pictures as the photographer had left before the disco (never heard of that one).

The disco went really well, the dancefloor was pretty much packed all night bar maybe 1 or 2 songs but this was during the buffet to be honest so kind of expected.

I thoroughly enjoyed the night and it really was a pleasure to play to such nice and enthusiastic guests. I even played an extra 20 minutes as I was having so much fun lol.

Everyone thanked me on the way out and the bride came over and hugged and kissed me (on the cheek). The father of the bride also commended me on my work and said he would book me for his other daughter who is getting married in April 2013 - I told him to book sooner rather than later and he said he would book me when he got back from his holiday (he was leaving the following day for 2 weeks). So already looking forward to that one too.

All in all it was one of the best if not THE best disco I have ever done.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by dj foureyes

I usually use 2 or 4 ADJ Mega Tri par cans but as I had a stage I thought I would put a couple more behind me, for uplighting. As I was setting up I noticed a projector screen behind me but didn’t pay any attention to it (more about that later). I got everything set up by 7-00 but for some reason I couldn’t get all the par cans to react together. I could get four working or three working together. I wasted 20 minutes changing/swapping units and dmx cables

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Had this problem before, took me ages to figure it out! Anyway, all ''Slave units need to be set at A001 and you do all your control with the one at the start of the line (the Master) unless you have a designated controller, in wich case - all at A001.

Hope this helps!