Good Gig, Bad Gig.

Tonights booking was a wedding at my town residency and it would be easy to say it was a typical midweek wedding but I've had some really good midweek weddings over the years, including this year.......BUT, this wasn't that great. I'll probably go and contradict myself now and describe what went on and it will indeed be one of those typical midweek weddings.

I set up yesterday, Disco + Static Uplighting. The Bride & Groom were there too as they were dressing the room and they did a brilliant job, it looked stunning.
Small affair during the day with 25 guests and supposedly another 50 guests attending the evening reception. After a quick look around I'd say there were probably around 50 guests in total.

Background / Chilled tunes to start off with and nobody in the room at all (7.30pm start). Around 7.50pm the Bride & Groom and a handful of guests which included toddlers and pensioners, enter the room. One older lady sits down in the far corner miles away from the speakers and instantly sticks her fingers in her ears and turns her nose up. Kids jumping around and dancing on the dance floor. 8.10pm and it's cake cutting time. I make an announcement and I get a luke warm response. I can hear one guy talking whilst I am and he has possibly the loudest voice on earth! (More on him shortly!).
Cake cut, photos taken and then I announce the first dance... The Ordinary Boys - Can't Take My Eyes Off You. Big round of applause and more photos and then I kick in to party mode with a whole bunch of tunes from the request list. Not one person gets up. Old granny in the corner STILL has her fingers in her ears and is STILL looking like a bulldog chewing a wasp.

All of the tunes that would more or less guarantee movement (most of them were requests) didn't have any kind of reaction. Once more (this is getting a common occurence now), I let people know that they can give me their requests and yet again hardly anyone bothers until around 9.45pm when an older gentleman comes over with a piece of paper. He's come over from the same table as Mrs fingers in her ears. There are 2 requests on there.... Islands in the Stream by Kenny Rogers & Dolly Parton and also Stayin' Alive by Bee Gees.
I put on Islands in the Stream and within 2 seconds the older brigade are up and dancing. I can't believe my eyes when Mrs Fingers in her ears actually takes her fingers out of her ears and not only gets on the dance floor but stands almost directly in front of one of the speakers and starts dancing away!!!! I actually had to laugh when she looked over and smiled at me and I laughed harder as I couldn't believe it when around 20 minutes later after some Rock n Roll and 60s etc, she went back to her table and guess what she did......YEP!!! She stuck her fingers in her ears and the face of thunder returned! (maybe she just didn't want to listen to her husband or something?).

It was a pretty quiet dance floor again for a while and on/off/on/off dancing through to the end of the night.
I was supposed to finish at Midnight but the Bride & Groom said to me that they were leaving to go to their room at 11.00pm. By 10.45pm there were around 20 people left so I played the last couple of songs for them, got everyone that was there on the dance floor and that was about it.

I mentioned the bloke with the loudest voice on earth earlier on. He was around 25 years old I reckon and I could hear him shouting and swearing throughout the night. One of the staff said to me to keep an eye on him. I didn't make it obvious though. He didn't seem that drunk but he'd been there all day apparently. He came over during the night and asked for Gangnam Style which I played. He also came back a bit later and asked for YMCA. I watched him go outside so I played something else that a girl had asked for (Backstreet Boys). It was when Five was playing that I saw him walk in and as he walked towards me he was clenching his fist at me and screwing his face up. I saw him mouth the words "What the **** is this ****?".

I won't go into detail (phew! you all go) but he was threatening towards me. It was strange because I've not had any grief for a long, long time. I dealt with the situation as best as I could and in the end he shook hands with me but I did feel uncomfortable at the time.

Kind of glad that booking is out of the way which is a shame really as the Bride & Groom were really nice people.

Quite a busy weekend for me which started on Friday with some lighting for an Am Dram performance by my local upstairs in the function room. It was really good actually.
I was also DJing downstairs as it was the landlady's birthday too and she had requested a 'Cheese' fest night. The place was busy, the requests were great and a good night was had by all.

Saturday morning saw me go to my town residency and install uplighting for a Wedding that Daryll (thanks mate) was covering for me. I was booked for another wedding in Christchurch for a girl that used to work at the town residency.

Firstly, for the first time in a very long time I will be adding the Christchurch venue to the Venue Discussion section of the forum because it was a bit of a pain in the backside (to put it politely). I'd been in touch with the venue to arrange access & set up times and I asked all of the usual questions when I called them so I knew what to expect. Let's just say that whoever I spoke to didn't really have a clue because when I got there it was nowhere as easy as it should have been.

I left early to give myself plenty of time to set up just incase there were traffic problems (air show in Bournemouth yesterday) but all was cool. When I got there I had 90 minutes to set up for a 7.30pm start or so I thought. On arrival at the venue I realised that there was nowhere to park or unload. There were traffic lights right outside the venue and a bridge that was one single track going over the river. I waited at the traffic lights whilst the cars came from the other direction for what seemed like ages before I moved and then found somewhere to turn around and go back. I chucked on the hazard lights, parked up over the road on double yellows and darted inside the venue. There was nobody about and I looked around for about 5 minutes before I saw a member of staff. They advised me to go to reception which was in the building next door.

I won't go into too much detail (you'll be glad to hear) but lets just say that the 'lady' on reception was the most unhelpful, rudest jobsworth I have ever had the misfortune to meet.
She gave me a look of disgust when I seemingly interrupted her (even though she wasn't doing anything) by introducing myself. I asked where I could unload the equipment to set up for the wedding and she told me to drive around the back of the venue. She gave me directions.... "Right, Right, Left and then follow the road round to the black gates" she said. She seemed annoyed when I asked her to repeat it as I didn't know the area and then she tutted and jumped down my throat saying "I'm far too busy" (yeah right!) when I asked if it were possible for her to jump in with me.

It gets worse!

By now I am getting slightly narked. It's hot and I am bothered. It's 6.20pm and I haven't even unloaded anything as yet. I eventually find the black gates and I wait there. They don't open so I am sat there. I ring the hotel and speak to her and she says she'll open them. 5 minutes later she appears and points a remote control at them and they open. I drive to the back of the hotel where there are lots of cars parked and she's standing there. She tells me I will have to be quick just incase the wedding party come down early (I didn't know what she meant but said I would be as quick as I could be). She also told me that she didn't want equipment allover the place if they did come down early. I started thinking to myself "Here we go!". She goes back inside to her desk. I follow her and say "Excuse me, can you show me the way in and let me know where I am supposed to set up please"... She tutts again!
Rather than actually show me (because she's far too busy remember!), she points the directions and I kind of work it out myself. The last words she says push me over the edge....
"As soon as you are set up, please move your van to one of the car parks away from the hotel as the parking here is reserved for residents and people staying at the hotel". I didn't have a problem with that and replied "Ok, can you let me know where the nearest car park is please?" It is now getting on for 6.30pm and I still haven't unloaded anything as yet.
She simply says "No" and I stand there amazed..."Excuse me?" I reply..."I don't know the area. Where's the nearest car park?"..... "I'm far too busy" she says and starts walking away.

I didn't have time to stand there and argue with her so I started getting my equipment unloaded and made a few journeys back and forth to where the Disco was being held. Once I'd got my equipment in the place and started to set up, she appeared again and said "Could you move your van please like I asked you to". I was in the middle of setting up and I advised her that I would move it once I had everything set up and was happy that it was working as it should be. She didn't like this at all and tutted again!!! That was it for me I'm afraid so I told her what I thought. "Sorry but ever since I arrived here you have not been very helpful at all. I have travelled nearly 60 miles to get here to do a wedding for a friend and I gave myself plenty of time to set up yet I could be starting late". She replied with the classic line "Not my problem". I shook my head and carried on setting up as she stood there watching me and once again she asked the same question "Can you move your van?". I replied "Yes, when I am set up no problem". She tutted, shook her head again and then walked off. One of the staff standing behind the bar was grinning as she left and made their way over to me. "Don't worry about her" he said..."She has an attitude problem".... "Tell me about it" I replied.

I was eventually set up by 7.00pm and unfortunately had to go and see her again to get the gates opened so I could go and find a car park. I asked once more where the nearest one was but got the silent treatment so I gave up. I found a council car park up the road with a pay & display which was a 5 minute walk from the venue so that was lucky. It cost me £1.00 as it was after 7.00pm. Had I been there earlier it would have cost around £6.00.

So, I'm all ready to go. I'm set up in the corner opposite the bar. I chat to the staff who are the total opposite to dodgy reception woman. They are very nice and very helpful. I also meet the photographer and she is very nice too and she tells me that she has had the exact same reaction from the reception woman too. It was a bit of a strange set up as I was downstairs on road level but the wedding party were all upstairs. I decide to put some background music on and it's then that the whole experience gets worse. Up on the wall above the bar is a sound limiter!! I go to the bar and ask what the level is set at and they don't have a clue. They don't even know what it is! This makes me feel uncomfortable to be honest.
I tell them that I am going to do a proper sound check and test it so I up the volume and notice that the red light flickers. A bit more volume and amber comes on and stays but that's it?? Very strange! The guy behind the bar tells me that it's been a lot louder with no problems so I just go with the flow and keep my eye on it.

Eventually the wedding party make their way to where I am and it's about 7.45pm. Lots of older people, toddlers and mid 20 somethings. First dance is supposed to be at 8.00pm but eventually happens at 8.30pm. It goes down well. I go into the requests and people get dancing straight away. At 9.00pm I announce that the buffet is available yet I can't see it. That's because it's upstairs so the entire place empties out as everyone goes back upstairs!! They are gone for around 30 minutes and I am left alone with the bar staff and every now and then someone will come down and go to the bar before going back upstairs. It must be about 9.30pm before they start appearing again. A few more dancers and then I notice that bit by bit, the number of guests is going down because the older lot are leaving and the people with children are leaving too. The younger crowd are dancing to current chart stuff though and it's all going ok. At 10.30pm the Bride (my mate) approaches me and says "Do you mind if we finish at 11.00pm, everyone is leaving as it's been a long day and everyone is tired"... The Bride used to be the Conference & Banqueting person at my town residency and she knows the score. She said she didn't want to string it out just for the sake of it and wanted everyone to just enjoy the night and end on a high. I was fine with this and agreed. I might have had a really bad experience with the reception lady but apart from that, everything else was cool. The sound limiter was not a problem to me at all and the Bride didn't even know there was one installed.

I finished at 11.00pm with the last song of the night Bruno Mars - Marry You, as requested and those that were left clapped and cheered.
I packed down the equipment, legged it up the road to the car park and this time parked right outside the venue with my hazard lights on which made access 100 times easier. I could never have done it earlier on arrival due to busy traffic and pedestrians but this was ok. I was away in no time at all and back in my house by 12.45am.
I know that was a bit long winded but I wanted to put the whole story across. I have NEVER had to deal with such a jobsworth before and if I could be bothered, I'd make a complaint but I'm not that bothered.

I received a text message earlier from the Bride saying she had a great time and that's all that matters to me.
Phew!

Nice one Gary. I know you say you're not bothered but I would put in a complaint about the receptionist's attitude. If her employers aren't informed about how she deals with people, she has no reason to change.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by dj foureyes

Nice one Gary. I know you say you're not bothered but I would put in a complaint about the receptionist's attitude. If her employers aren't informed about how she deals with people, she has no reason to change.

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+1 :like:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by dj foureyes

Nice one Gary. I know you say you're not bothered but I would put in a complaint about the receptionist's attitude. If her employers aren't informed about how she deals with people, she has no reason to change.

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Agreed. I might just do that. In fact, I'll do that now.

Good one last night though there was the odd pest:

I was going around during the buffet asking for requests.

Guest "You need better patter mate. Just saying 1,2 over and over? What's that all about?" He said this in a fairly rude manner there was no joking or anyting like that.

Me: "Well that was the sound check as a guest was going to be using the mic before I started. It's a weird shaped room so I needed to make sure everyone could hear her clearly for her announcement."

Guest: "Yeah but you don't just need to say 1,2 all the time"

Me: "There's a technical reason why you soundcheck a mic like that" (which there is)

Guest: "That's rubbish. Listen mate I've been a roadie for 30 years..." (have we found the "I'm a DJ too mate"'s ginger step brother?)


This was 2 hours into the gig so why he was still bothered about me sound checking mics I've no clue. I wonder exactly what he wanted me to sound check with? Maybe next time I'll crack out a Manilow tune or 2.:muppet:

The annoying part is that I otherwise smashed it last night. I had a good dancefloor all night considering it was such a varied crowd with a massive range of tastes, I was putting together some great song combinations that worked brilliantly, got a lot of compliments and a few cards asked for and the bride and groom were delighted with the turn I put in yet this morning all I'm thinking about is this dude and his attitude.

Strange how we can let 1 or 2 stupid coments from drunk folk take the shine off of an other wise really good night.

I've had that before too Jim (the old "Why do you say 1, 2?" question) and I've tried to explain a couple of times that the '1' is for the bottom end and the '2' is for the top end but they still don't get it so I don't bother explaining anymore.

I had a reply from the hotel manager regarding my email about the receptionist.
I didn't know what to expect but she was very grateful that I had bought it to her attention (I didn't email her so the email must have been forwarded).
She said that the matter is being dealt with and said that they hope that if I returned in the future I'd have a better experience of the venue.

Fair enough.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Shakermaker Promotions

I've had that before too Jim (the old "Why do you say 1, 2?" question) and I've tried to explain a couple of times that the '1' is for the bottom end and the '2' is for the top end but they still don't get it so I don't bother explaining anymore.

I had a reply from the hotel manager regarding my email about the receptionist.
I didn't know what to expect but she was very grateful that I had bought it to her attention (I didn't email her so the email must have been forwarded).
She said that the matter is being dealt with and said that they hope that if I returned in the future I'd have a better experience of the venue.

Fair enough.

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Yup but this guy carries guitars for folk so he obviously knows more about the technical intricacies of this sort of stuff. :rolleyes:

After dwelling on it a bit more it got me round to thinking: If this guy has roadied for 30 years he must have heard it being done thousands of times. Surely the penny has dropped that there's a reason every vocal tech in the world does it or does he think they're just numerically challenged?


That's good that the venue are at least looking into the situation with that woman. The way things are these days, businesses can't afford to have shiftless wasters on their staff so hopefully she'll get a dressing down and rethink her manner in future or find more suitable employment.

Saturday saw me pointing Thunderbird 2 into the Peak District, starting with motorway, and ending up travelling along some goat tracks! Blimey!

Function was a 21st, with the musical remit of 80's. The guests had gone to town with the outfits, we had ZZ Top, Michael Jackson, Blues Brothers, Super Mario, Pac Man, Jean Luc Picard and Deanna Troi, and the guest of honour as a stunningly accurate Adam Ant. ( Apart from the gender, cos this one was female. )

The venue had been decorated with the same attention to detail, and they'd even got a sweets table replete with all manner of delectables I hadn't seen for many years, including Coltsfoot Rock. That's well pre 80's actually, but hey ho.

Then did five hours of 80's without any serious problems, and the guests were an absolute pleasure to deal with. Lovely. Loaded up at nearly 1am for another scenic tour of the highways and byways of Yorkshire, before a leisurely trundle along the motorway home, in readiness for the saga that is BPM.

After a recent run of "so-so" nights, mine was a Silver wedding anniversary last night in a large social club. They totally rammed the place with a very mixed age group, probably 200 of them, all with a really great party attitude! Absolute pleasure to do with promises of plenty more bookings to come. Really looking forward to working for that crowd again!