Snap!Quote:
Originally Posted by Corabar Steve
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Snap!Quote:
Originally Posted by Corabar Steve
Ditto on Saturday night.
RBL club on Hayling island , fancy dress 80`s night , well it looked good on paper....lol.
Grand entrance of the birthday girl
Attachment 15987
er , that's where they stayed for the rest of the evening.....:(
I was lucky!
I DJ'd on Friday. It was an 80s themed joint birthday party at my local which had literally hundreds of pre-requests and I'm glad to say that there were a lot on the list that were a bit more obscurer than usual which made it a great night.
Everyone was up for it and I had Saturday night off so I had a few drinks myself and joined in. Loads of people stayed inside because they wanted to hear their requests but they were all very sweaty!
I actually played on for an additional hour too.
I'll keep this brief....
Thursday night - Leavers disco for 7/8yr olds
Great night and the kids were all well and truly in the mood to party, joining in all of the games.
Fri night - End of year party for my childrens' teachers!
This was a bit of a favour for the teachers as I know most of them and they'd had a bit of fun with their venue. They'd booked a Chinese restaurant for their meal and thought they were getting dance floor and disco included, then at the last minute discovered that they got the dance floor free if they had over 100 attending and they got the disco free if they had over 120. They had 80, so they had to pay the restaurant a subsidy for the dance floor and me to do the disco, so I gave them a stupidly low price on the basis that I'd bring a very small rig (as I only had 30mins to set up) and I only had to play from 9:30 - 11:00! They failed to mention that the restaurant was on the 2nd floor of the building so it's good job I did bring a small rig and I was in and ready within 20mins. The dance floor was pretty busy from the off as I started by announcing that they only had 90mins, so they should make every minute and every request count. Started off with chart and a bit of 90's (as requested by the smokers who gave me a hand in with my kit) and rapidly moved into cheese (Grease) and slightly "older" music (Stones, Quo, etc).
The night was only marred by two things: Firstly, the restaurant had divided a quarter of the room off for other diners using a hanging partition and I was set up next to the partition. When I started I asked if they could fade the lights down and they did... in the half of the room were the diners were, not where the dance floor was. I asked if they could fade down the dance floor end - no, because the lights were linked to the quarter of the room filled with other diners. At 10:40, they finally cut the lights and the atmosphere improved no end. Secondly, at 10:45 (5 mins after getting the house lights off) the manager comes over and tells me to start making announcements to make sure that they know that the music will be finishing soon, and then hovers for the last 5mins to make sure I finish on time. I finish at 10:59 (1min early) to keep them happy, but the teachers are really only just getting started. It was one of those parties where the crowd were properly up for it (for a change) and we had to stop :(
They've asked for help choosing the venue for their Xmas party - specifically somewhere with a 1am music license :D
Sat pm - 5yr olds birthday party
In complete contrast to Thur's school disco, the kids were hot, tired and subdued, but compliant. They did everything they were asked to do absolutely brilliantly, but I don't think I've ever heard such complete and utter silence from the kids throughout the party!!
Sat eve/Sun - My fortnightly walk up gig at a local club
Roasting hot and sweaty - especially since this club has a budget install and I have to stand in front of the amp rack while I DJ. Guy comes over half way through the night and tells me to turn it up and I have to reply that I'm keeping it down so I don't fry any of the kit (or me). Two amps are stacked on top of each other in this place with a Berry crossover on top of the stack (and no air gaps inbetween) and I could have fried an egg on the crossover. Good evening non the less. I took the approach of "exercising my judgement" on the requests (after the thread I started on the subject a few weeks ago) and (as predicted) got much more movement on the dance floor. One of the bouncers confirmed what I thought on the subject, quote: "Don't take any notice of their requests in here - they're :censored:, they've never been in a proper club in their lives"
Mon eve - Year R/1 end of term school disco
Again in complete contrast to the other two kids parties, the children are just hot and somewhere between restless and listless. I reckon I got about third of them joining in the dances and about half of them in the games. I did a competition where the kids sat down and watched and I took to the stage with a couple of volunteers to do some games and this got the biggest reaction with ALL of the kids sat down to watch, cheering on their friends. The rest of the time a good number of them were just restlessly hanging around the edges of the school hall (where some Year R parents were sat down). By the end it was roasting in there and I have never, ever seen parents collect their children and exit so quickly in my life.
I'm now half way through my manic period (9 gigs in 10 days) and just have one more leavers disco tonight, one family night (Fri), one kids party (Sat pm) and a wedding with requests for 40's/50's swing (Sat eve) before I can chill out for a couple of weeks (and hopefully get back on my bike before summer is over!!) as my August is currently empty.
Julian
Last nights booking for me was an 18th Birthday party in a venue around 5 minutes away from me.
I've done loads of bookings at this venue before and have actually refused to provide a Disco there on the last few occasions as a few years ago they had sound limiters installed in the downstairs section.
The booking was the 3rd booking this year for the same customer. I had done his wife's 50th Birthday in February, his 50th in May and now it was the turn of his son who was 18 a couple of days ago. When the customer told me the party was to be held at this particular venue I did advise him of the sound limiter and what it did and what could potentially happen.
In the end he opted to have the party upstairs which has never been a problem apart from the stairs!
So, yesterday afternoon I set up as arranged with the venue. I walk in and I get a really nice welcome from the lady that runs it. She remembers me from a number of Discos I have provided at the venue but also because I provided the Disco for the chairman's daughters wedding a couple of years ago and his sons 40th in the same year.
It was very hot setting up and going up and down the stairs was a bit of a task. You can imagine my surprise (to put it mildly) when I had finished lugging all of the gear upstairs to turn around and see.............a sound limiter unit on the wall ":Censored:!" I thought to myself. To be honest there wasn't a lot I could do now but I did ask about it and was told "Don't worry" ;)
Anyway, all set up and I return at 7.15pm for a 7.30pm start and DJing until 11.30pm.
The pre-request list was as you'd imagine with an 18th, pretty upfront. Lots of Dance, RnB, Dubstep etc but there were also some cheese tunes on there. At the previous parties I had done for the parents, the younger ones had asked for some cheese and action songs as they loved them.
Everything went really well. The adults were dancing to the more mainstream current chart stuff along with the teenagers and when it came to some of the harder stuff, the dance floor was packed. Everyone seemed to be really enjoying themselves....................apart from one bloke who was sat with his wife and 2 kids a few feet away from me. Every now and then I'd look round and see that they were all sat there not even talking to eachother with proper gloomy faces on them whilst everyone else had a great time.
There were a couple of occasions where I thought I could hear shouting in my direction but I couldn't see where it was coming from and I was concentrating on mixing.
Then I suddenly realised where it was coming from. It was the Dad of the gloomsters who were sat nearby. His timing was hilarious. I'd just been playing a kind of current Chart / RnB / Dance section and decided to go a bit harder as the requests were coming in. I look over and the guy is shouting in my direction. I can almost lip read what he's saying (and it isn't nice) but I make out I can't hear him. He comes over and blasts me with a load of abuse, more or less saying that what I am playing is rubbish (that's me being polite again).
The song playing at this moment is now Skrillex - Bangarang. "What is this :Censored:? he shouts. I advise him (pointing at the dance floor too to where the birthday boy is dancing with a packed dance floor), that it's what the birthday boy wants and although it wasn't my cup of tea either, he gets what he wants. The bloke shakes his head and no word of a lie, he shouts at the rest of the gloomsters and they get up and leave! The wife gave me a look as if to say that she didn't want to go. The two kids (teenagers) didn't even crack a smile. They really were the gloomiest of gloomsters from gloomsville.
Birthday cake comes out. Everybody sings a long and then I ask everyone if they want the birthday boy to do a speech. The response is deafening. He gets on the mic, says his thank you's and as he is finishing I start Mr Brightside. There are screams and clapping and nearly everyone in the venue packs the dance floor. After that it's packed for the last hour with cheese and action songs before the last couple of songs Rudimental - Feel The Love and Chase & Status - End Credits.
Round of applause, lots of cheering and lots of very wobbly guests.
It was mega hot in there and I am glad I took my clip on fan. That has really come in handy lately. I was packed down and home as the clock struck midnight.
(and that was with a couple of teens snogging on the stairs and getting in my way)
Well last night I took on a pub gig at what I thought was a nice family pub....
Constant grief from half a dozen different people, there was no dancefloor area as such, the lights weren't turned off and the customers were really rude, the worst bit was at the end the 'one more song' got totally out of control with a man actually shouting abuse in my face (I couldn't play one more song as I'd already done so, and the pub has to stop music at midnight), I lost my temper and went over to the bloke and we exchanged words, after realising I wouldn't tolerate his behaviour he decided to try it with my brother, who calmly offered the man out to the car park, the man swiftly declined. To conclude it was a horrible night, horrible people, makes me wonder if i want to carry on. Thats the first time I've had a gig like that.
One thing I'd like to get your opinion on is this, when the trouble started I saw out of the corner of my eye the landlord and bar staff go and hide down the other side of the pub, surely its their job to deal with rude idiots?!
Got asked if I'd consider DJing at a wedding in Greece.
Unsure as to whether it was the offer of a job or the distance from where I was that they actually wanted to hear me from.
Actually they did take a card first. :)
Could be a nice little urner.....Quote:
Originally Posted by Corabar Steve
<GROAN> <GROAN> and again <GROAN>Quote:
Originally Posted by funkymook
:taxi::coat:
Best gig of the year last night. Full floor, lots of mixing and friendly people.
:thumbsup: