Good Gig, Bad Gig.

That's a real rollercoaster you got there. Hope you get your van sorted quickly.

So, to last night's wedding..

This video about sums it up... it was like this from the first dance onwards even with the room full of daylight from the glass roof & my lights barely hitting anything.

https://www.youtube.com/edit?video_i...referrer=watch (slightly wobbly video taken on my phone) - this was around 11.30pm

Outrageous fun from start to finish - even the staff were blown away by how nice all the guests were.

The photographer switched to DSLR video mode for the first of the night's peaks just after the first dance.. I can't wait to see the huge dance-off again... everybody, and I mean everybody had a go.. the vibe in that room was off the scale.

No dissection.. just brilliant from start to finish.

Another busy one for me :)

Friday night wasn't my best. It was a 10 year old party with a twist....they wanted karaoke included.
Avid followers will know this is something I've been toying with for a little while so I thought....why not?

My normal party for this age group includes dancing, a few challenging games (I make 'em think about what they need to do!), and a good time is had by all....hard work but worth it.

I was asked for this one if I could include some karaoke, but mum wasn't expecting it to do much.....WRONG!
Armed with my 50" screen and my whole current collection of karaoke tracks, which in real life amounts to the Zoom Pop Box collection of around 300 tracks.....off I went.

It was horrible (for me....the kids loved it). It was wall to wall karaoke which the kids lapped up. I've now decided that it's not something I want to persue as a service anymore.

The worst bit was, birthday girl (and this was sanctioned/insisted on by mum) wanted to finish with that well known floor filler by the Kings of Leon (you know....the one you'd NEVER play at a 10 year old party). Unfortunately it was a NeedADisco gig, so feedback counts and it got played (much to my embarrassment).

I know kids of that age don't understand their sex being on fire....but to me, professionally, it was a new low. Feedback is however king on those gigs so.....

Moving on to more positive stuff....a private booking for a village feast weekend on Saturday.
The brief for this one, a kids party from 4-6pm, followed off with the main event of a Saturday Night Fever themed party in the evening. It was the dream job :)

Turned up an 90 minutes early (it was in a "marquee", which actually consisted of 5 very large gazebos joined together). I didn't know what the office was going to be like so took several configurations of kit along including my 1980's Showtec screens (the only bits of my kit I still own from the first time round at doing this).

As it happened, the Showtecs were the order of the day. Rules stipulated nothing on poles (I was based on the grass of a sports field) and the height of the tents meant that there wasn't enough height for anything up high anyway. Parked 10 feet behind where I was setting up and left the van there for an early exit....best load in/out I've ever had :)

So first off, the kids party. My usual mix of games and fun, loads of Haribo and medal giveaways....in temperatures inside the tents which must have gone above 30 degrees....I was soaked by the end of it.

Then it's a 90 minute break whilst the tents are decorated for the evening party, the bar's wheeled in etc. Off to see the Colonel down the road for some chicken type refreshment and a coffee :)

Now, the evening was themed Saturday Night Fever (please feel free to dress up....okey dokey....purple frilly shirt, afro wig, a medallion you could receive Sky on - I'm always up for the part :) ). I was wearing more nylon than was healthy and actually considered fitting an earthing bracelet like I use at work due to the amount of static shocks going through my fingers!

Started off on a little light 70's (well....I stuck the Mastermix 70's on for background), and went and started chatting to guests to get their preferences/requests. 8:30 - a professional dancing couple turned up and did a twirl (actually very good), and then BOOM!

Neither myself or the organiser knew what to expect from this one. Only 40 tickets had been sold this year as opposed to 150 in previous years (there was a political thing going on and someone had arranged another party on the same night). So....40 odd guests it is then, on a 12x`16 dance floor, it was never going to be packed.

How wrong I was. Kept in the 70's (with a little early 80's for good measure) until 10pm and then the Procsetto kicked in. Oops upside your head, Cha Cha Slide & Macarena (they asked for those and then dragged me out onto the dance floor to join them/show them how to do them!), and then the low point.....Agadoo......agggghhhhhh!!!!!!!

It was a bloody good night if I'm honest and a change from what seems to be a constant flow of weddings at the moment. They enjoyed themselves (that's my job done then), they were singing New York New York and 500 miles on the way home, I was loaded up and engine running in 20 minutes, and I'm likely to be back next year.

So....this week, primary school discos on Wednesday and Friday, followed by a complicated juggling act on Saturday of setting up for a wedding at 10am, doing a kids party (different rig) from 4pm to 6pm 20 miles down the road, then back for 7:30 to do the wedding. At what point do you go from being part time to full time????

Pretty much a walk in gig for me on Saturday night.

Venue with it's own sound and lighting system. To be honest, the only reason I took the van last night was because I wanted to use my LiteConsole and not one of their tables (after all, their tables don't have my branding on them!).

Arrived at 6:30 for a 7pm start. Turns out that it'll be another hour before i get in. Thats fine - break out the tablet and watch a film. Got into the room at 7:45 and was set up in ten minutes (decided to take my time, y'know?).

The venue has it's own MC and he is a nice guy, but there was a couple of things that were really irking me. The MC organised a 'summit' with me, him, the bride and groom to ensure that we were on the same page. Translation: we've had plenty of cowboys here who didn't know what they were doing, so I'm going to assume you're one of them. I actually think that he was genuinely surprised at the fact that this was not the first time that I have met the bride and groom. Anyway, I usually chat to the happy couple before things start to ask them how their day has gone and such.

The MC introduces the cake cutting and first dance. On top of that, the venue will be playing the first dance through their system as there is a video to be played too. Why am I here again? Was going to do my usual 'strictly' intro, but then I thought 'too many cooks'. I just stayed out of it until the first dance was complete. I know the MC is part of the package with the venue but as soon as the evening entertainment starts, let me do my job. The DJ''s first words to the audience shouldn't have to come AFTER the first dance. Maybe that's my ego talking, I don't know.

Very lively crowd on the night, with a mixed bag of genres to get through. Garage, speed garage, drum and bass, house, r&b, motown, 60s, 80s, 90s dance, charty stuff. One of my favourite photographers was there on the night so it was great to catch up with him and he was on call when I pulled off my dance-off thing to take some snaps. The guy is actually a fantastic photographer and would be my first pick to photograph my wedding, so I'm looking forward to these snaps.

Finished at 12:15, and was packed down and in the van by 12:19. Not bad going! The venue was impressed and have said that I'll be added to their list of recommended suppliers, which is great.

The best part of the whole experience though happened today when the very horse sounding bride phoned me to thank me for last night. Not emailed, but actually phoned me. I've had emails before, obviously, but never a phone call the very next day after the event. I was actually touched by the fact that it was important enough for her to phone me, especially since her voice was on it's way out.

It's moments like that which makes my job worthwhile. :thumbs_up:

Saturday night was a gig I'd been waiting for, for a while now. My first direct booking from NAD and something i'd gone all out on to try and impress.

Shortly after submitting the quote the young lady for who it would be 21 years on the planet called me and advised she like the quote but needed some very specific music which she could provide and it would be of a very specific style. So I arranged a meeting as she lives close to work and more became apparent. Her family were big into bounce, wigan pier and new monkey style of party, all I could think about was how much Scooter I had. Not to be shaken however I liked her and her ideas and went ahead. In came her uncle Mark who was to be the main MC... once less job for me.

Essentially all they wanted was control over the music and two mics and me to mix. I was fine with this all. I managed to sell her a projector package so that was a bonus and the contract was signed. As her music was all on CD bought and purchased I didn't seen an issue in using it - please tell me if i'm wrong as it could affect future choices and it was all returned with the photos at the end of the night.

So the night came and go their early to have a relaxed setup, first time I've worked in Walker Jubilee club and the stage was high and the room very grand for somewhere in the Newcastle Bronx. Made special attention to the stage area as having two people jumping around I needed to ensure it was safe so the projector was put far to the side and I used my rubber wire covers taped down. Not used a CD mixer in a while and it was a pain to get connected but just as well as my RMX wouldn't connect so will need to look at that.

Then the dreaded PC restart - my fault messing with the RMX drivers but thankfully not many in the Hall, I started to worry that it was going to be one of those nights. Then the barrel drops out my Inno Pocket. Grrr

Attachment 17322 Attachment 17323

The fault seems to be in the retaining bolt which is allen key fitting not going tight enough. But that can be fixed so not the end of the world.

The night goes on and we have some chart dance to the buffet and then the announcements. The buffet was fab and if I ever have another party i'll be giving them a ring as food was top notch. Shortly after the food it was time for the bounce to start. Chantelle had been a darling writing me a list of the tempo so I could start with slow tracks and build up to the MC's. Dance floor filled and I had to start refusing the requests (fixed playlist sorry). I was offered £20 by her bezzie for a request and turned it down flat. Integrity...

Before I knew it Mark and his Mate were on the stage and off they went. It was actually pretty cool and very different to what I'd normally be playing. Yes not my thing but a change is as good as a rest they say. There were several switch overs and even a few ladies giving it a go. Before I knew it the night was nearly over. One of the MC's had been a right mic diva constantly complaining about the set up but just found this funny. Then it was time for DJ John to come in. DJ John if you don't know is a local fella who works on the local radio stations and does a wee bit of charity work for the homeless. He is more famous for his appearance on BGT last year.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zltlmuvEqYU

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He's a good lad albeit a bit mad and has never actually DJ'd in his life - he is more just an announcer on the radio. In the end the Birthday Girl loved it, promised me a good review and thanked me for letting her have full control. I told her it had been different but fun and packed away.

Now the wait do I get the golden review I put so much into.

Andy, that's the kind of gig I live in mortal fear of.

In my 20s I had the 'pleasure' of doing that kind of set in a club with MCs including Tekno T. I swore never again & I meant it. As a resident though, I sometimes have no idea who I'm going to end up playing for so in theory it could happen at any time. Wahhhh!

It was very much to do with the client - if the original quote had said "I WONT WIGAN PIER ALL NITE AND HAVE MC's" there would have been no quote sent.

She was very much open from her first email however and seemed very genuine about getting a DJ who was happy to let her have the reigns but at the same time use my talents and not be just a juke box. It was also a tick in a box that I could work outside the comfort zone and in a very restrictive genre. If I can get a happy client in this domain I can get one anywhere.

In the end I actually enjoyed it and might even do one again down the line.

Btw I have some great news for fans of Agadoo. It's going to escape again.. I mean be released again. Apparently.

https://twitter.com/denemichael/stat...10083314020352

Quote:

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Originally Posted by juski

Btw I have some great news for fans of Agadoo. It's going to be released again. Apparently.

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About time too, I say. :thumbs_up: I've nearly worn my copy out. Let's hope there are some good remixes as well.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Excalibur

About time too, I say. :thumbs_up: I've nearly worn my copy out. Let's hope there are some good remixes as well.

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:agree:

I know it's cheesy, but there's some parties where they just lap it up....and so long as the punters are happy to dance to it, I'm more than happy to play it :sofa:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Imagine

:agree:

I know it's cheesy, but there's some parties where they just lap it up....and so long as the punters are happy to dance to it, I'm more than happy to play it :sofa:

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It IS cheesy, but people say the word cheese like it's a bad thing a lot of the time, and it ain't (IMHO). People go on & on about how they don't want 'cheese' because every wedding they've ever been to had the classics & yet their playlists feature the same core tracks as I'm asked for at any other gig. Where's the consistency? Next time somebody tells me 'no cheese' I'm going to reply "right. no Mr Brightside, Journey or Uptown Funk then. Gotcha!" ;)