presently I dont do midweeks as I work still, but not looking forward to when I do
Printable View
presently I dont do midweeks as I work still, but not looking forward to when I do
I wouldn't let my experience from last night put doubts in your mind. I have had some really good midweek bookings. I have another next Thursday which is a wedding and I am sure that will be a lot better too. I think it was the occasion really. I don't think they needed a Disco as such but I am glad they did because it was extra.
I dreaded my first midweek bookings, but a lot of them have turned out to be belters that'd give some Saturday nights a run for their money. The rest of them were merely 'good' :) Or maybe they just seemed that way because I feared the worst before I got there. Meh. Same difference innit.Quote:
Originally Posted by Shakermaker Promotions
There's a higher chance of them falling flat but midweeks can be belters too. I've got one next Thursday which is just up the road for a nice change, a short but great list of requests and then my own judgement to run with.
Not done a good gig bad gig for ages (they're all good :p ) but I'm REALLY looking forward to tomorrow's as the first thing the couple asked for when we met up was for me to play some Tom Petty and it just got better from there. Even if the night is rubbish, I'll have a nice night listening to the tunes :D
Ahh a difficult customer. It's been quite a while since I had one of those. Hey ho. Tonight's wedding wasn't strong on people - out of 60 guests only 40 turned up . The B&G were great, easy going people but the head bridesmaid.. erm... had an amazing opening gambit when she came to see me.
Having been unable to get any kind of musical compass from the hosts, I had to resort to testing the water early on. Feet were tapping, people were singing along. Everything was just fine, or so I thought. Hahaha.
"Stop playing this <censored> generic <censored> wedding garbage. You're a proper <censored> (the c word) generic wedding DJ you are... Get some rock on...". Photographer, spendidly decked out in a smart suit standing nearby caught the whole exchange. His jaw dropped in shock. I defused the situation & prised some artists & titles I could work with out of her & she went away a happier bunny. She happened to be right though.. what the party needed was exactly what she'd suggested.. recentish guitary indieish music which made the floor catch alight like magic.
It wasn't too many years ago she'd have got both barrels from me but somewhere along the way I learned that some battles just aren't worth having.
The most ironic thing though, after a few more jars she came up repeatedly - to ask for the very kind of stuff she was accusing me of playing earlier: Generic wedding fodder. During Mr Brightside I happened to glance across the dancefloor & saw a most spectacular wardrobe malfunction. The dress was short to start with but it'd ridden up over her waist. I'm only guessing she was wearing a thong... and no points for guessing who it was.
I'm off to wash my eyes out with a strong soap now in the vain hope I can unsee what I've seen.
Oh the rest of the gig.. considering the numbers in attendance it didn't go too badly at all.
They drunk a vodka drink, then another vodka drink. And then another.. from the bottles under their tables.
If you were to look up the word 'messy' in one of those dictionaries with pictures, there'd be a photo of tonight's party right beside it. Wow.
When I arrived at 6pm the room wasn't cleared yet, but I could tell a lot of people were already steaming. There was to be a female vocalist perform the first dance song. By the time I was all ready it was 6.45 & there was no sign of the singer. Cutting it a bit fine, I thought. Then she came over & mentioned she was about to bring in her PA but... Could she just plug into mine & sing on my radio mike, I offered? Yes of course she could. Less hassle for her, less hassle for me & way less clutter in the room for everybody. We did a soundcheck - she played 'Somewhere over the rainbow' from her iPad into my mixer & OMG her voice! There are wedding singers, and there are singers who perform at weddings. This lady had a beautiful voice & could fair belt it out. Amazing.
So, time rolled on as guests arrived & milled around.. Cake cut & first dance were supposed to be at 8pm but with one thing or another this got pushed back & pushed back til 8.45. Yay I just love filling! First dance done, I played some smoochy ones since we were encroaching on buffet time - at which point I had to defuse another difficult lady customer effing & blinding. Refreshingly she was cussing about things I hadn't yet done, like go into a 2 hour club set full of trance bangers. "Oh I'm sorry madam, you seem to have me confused with a very young & trendy DJ". She laughed & went on her merry way. Wobbling.
Background music during the buffet wasn't really a goer because some people were more interested in dancing than eating at first, til the bride got me to announce the buffet was open again (and this time make sure I go into background music mode). The floor was empty for all of 10 minutes & off we went again.
Such debauchery at a wedding I've never clapped eyes on. Women in long dresses hoiking them right up revealing they'd gone commando. Then somebody came up to me demanding the use of my mic because she's "a brilliant songer". Songer? Yeah that's what she said. No, you can't have it I said. Ah, apparently I'm a prize knob & am going to be reported. "ok", said I. "Goodnight. See you later" said I. I'm really proud of how I'm able to keep my cool in these situations these days. Long may it continue.
Photographer was smartly dressed again (that's 3 in a row now!) but completely blanked me. Oh well, be like that then.
End of the night, despite it being quite a good gig, couldn't come soon enough for me. Very appreciative crowd though, especially the bride & groom who were just ace. Her kissing my hand was a first for me.. Heh.
Today I got an email from a bride whose wedding is in September at my venue begging me not to open the night with T-Spoon 'Sex on the beach' or 'Barbie Girl' like she's seen at other weddings lately. I was tempted to mail her back asking where is this happening so I can go & have a look for myself but nah... merely tried to allay her concerns with "it's absolutely fine to ban those songs. if there are any others you'd like to cross off, for whatever reason you see fit please let me know". The gist of things I've got is that somewhere's resident DJ is doing the ultracheese kickoff as standard & brides are getting upset over it. Very naughty.
s.I think she must have seen me recently. :whistle:Quote:
Originally Posted by juski
It happens. Don't forget that we aren't Professionals, just button pushing monkeys. :sarc::sarc:Quote:
Originally Posted by juski
I contemplated sooo many witty and humorous replies to this, and after due consideration, I think the most appropriate of these responses is:Quote:
Originally Posted by juski
:zip:
( Actually, the pills are kicking in. While I'm one of the most likely to slot these classics into my set when appropriate, opening with them is virtually impossible to condone. )
OK, to my own gig. Friday night was a last minute NaD one, covering another DJ. A pub gig, but unusually for me from 9pm till 2am!! Hey ho.
Anyway, set off in good time, and got within a few yards of the venue to have my sat nav circle the blasted thing, and miss it completely. Eventually found it, after a long long detour, and got set up. Not a huge venue, so Micromax with overhead was appropriate.
It's perhaps worth describing a couple of my recent lighting rigs. The one which drew effusive compliments from the Owner/ Manager/ Whatever was my beloved Chauvet Storm cluster laser, an EFX500 ( which was awesome in the enclosed space ) and four tripars. The EFX and laser together were simply stunning.
The other one which I was so impressed by was in effect a DIY Deluxe Gigbar. Two tripars, Chauvet laser, and two Cheetahs. What a combination! Beautifully balanced, the cluster isn't overpowered by just two pars, and the Cheetahs give movement on the dancefloor. Absolutely magic.
OK, back to the gig. Curious crowd, as I'd been told, not all eighteen year olds, which surprised me with music and a 2am finish. :confused: Middle aged is probably harsh, considering they were younger than me, and I'm not middle aged yet. :whistle::D:D
Requests were varied, mainly for R & Bilge, modern chart, a touch of Mod, and NS, and the Landlord/Owner/Manager/ ( who had partaken of no small amount of falling over water ) was absolutely adamant that 70's and 80's disco/party was the required fare. ( It wasn't, but hey ho )
Judicious selection of the cast iron winners from these categories meant I didn't look like a total :muppet:, nor alienate large slices of my audience. Can't have been too bad, Head Man offered me a residency on the spot.
Unlike Juski, I didn't have lots of Ladies displaying their undercarriages, but I did have the traditional :handbag: at twenty paces at the end, between the bar manager and a punter. Started with half the crowd involved, threats of serious physical harm, was moved outside by the door staff ( might be the first time I've ever had those :confused: ) was livened up by two ladies coming back in and really laying into the aforementioned Head Honcho for his conduct ( and if I'm honest, they could easily have been right ) and ended with a kiss and make up. Storm in a teacup really, but annoying when you're trying to get the kit out at 2am, and there's a lynch mob waiting outside.
I had a residency once. Don't think I fancy another one anytime soon.
Funny enough Peter I took my own home made GigBar out yesterday instead of the real thing and looking for something different on it. Never done lasers personally but might consider one now (mine's four TriPars, two Inno Pocketspots and a gobo projector at the moment).Quote:
It's perhaps worth describing a couple of my recent lighting rigs. The one which drew effusive compliments from the Owner/ Manager/ Whatever was my beloved Chauvet Storm cluster laser, an EFX500 ( which was awesome in the enclosed space ) and four tripars. The EFX and laser together were simply stunning.
The other one which I was so impressed by was in effect a DIY Deluxe Gigbar. Two tripars, Chauvet laser, and two Cheetahs. What a combination! Beautifully balanced, the cluster isn't overpowered by just two pars, and the Cheetahs give movement on the dancefloor. Absolutely magic.
Anyways - to business (and I've done a lot of business this week for a part timer).
Wednesday: Local year 6 leaver's do at the village primary. I do this one every year as I know the kids (most of them go to Cubs/Scouts where I'm a leader), so there's always a little banter (much to the shock of the head teacher at times ;) ). Inflatable Limbo, Space hopper racing, Cha Cha Slide which gets stuck at the "reverse" bit (yes....they do try to keep going through the back wall).
Saturday: a 17 hour shift!
I'd initially booked up to do a couple of hours on a kids party thinking it'd be a nice early finish for a change. Then two weeks ago an SOS comes in from a bride who's seen the light and has realised that using an iPod after the jazz band have gone might not work (well actually with hindsight it might well have done the job but hey ho).
Rocked up at 10am to set up as agreed and this was the first time I actually met the B&G. They weren't into meetings etc. and saw me as just an evening disco. Until Friday night, I didn't even know the first dance, or whether it was me or the jazz band doing it. They were 2nd-time-rounders and so laid back it was unbelievable. Really friendly and at ease with themselves.
They knew I'd already got the kids party and knew my travel plans were tight, and told me before I left that morning to arrive when I arrive....there's no hurry.
So, went off to do the kids party. The woman who has the keys to the very hot and humid village hall has gone on holiday and forgotten about the booking (several frantic and stressed mums outside the hall with me shouting into mobile phones!). Eventually found someone with a spare set with 20 mins to the start of the party....action stations! (and yes, I did get the gear in, rigged and tested with seconds to spare.....lots of young mums saw me as a hero :) ).
Usual kiddies fayre for the afternoon, 40+ knackered hot and sweaty 8 year olds later and I was into stealth mode....I've got 90 minutes to tear down, load the van and get 40 miles down the road, hopefully via McDonalds. SatNav informed me there were traffic problems ahead and my arrival at the wedding would be 4 minutes before I was due to start (eek!) and I still had to plug in the playout and move a couple of bits. No dinner for me then :(
Got to the wedding....law of Sod they're running about 90 minutes behind. The jazz band still haven't done their first set! (so I could have stopped for a burger after all). Never mind, I had a couple of emergency choc bars in the van, scoffed those and got back to work.
This venue was HOT! Really HOT!
Most of the guests were outside on the balcony in the evening sunshine whilst the jazz band were on....it's going to be one of those evenings.
First dance, everyone comes in to watch (phew!). Cracked into a couple of uptown numbers and had half a dozen on the floor but they then dwindled outside leaving me alone. OK - we'll go through the less obvious stuff the bride's asked for then.
9pm, the jazz band are doing a second set (I didn't know about this until a couple of minutes before hand). A welcome break of an hour then (although not long enough to get to anywhere selling food), so a couple of crafty smokes with the guests to find out who they were. They really weren't up for a party from talking to them, and were more than happy to sit outside for the evening.
Jazz band finished their last set with Stevie Wonder - Superstition, which actually had a few on the floor. OK - I take over with a couple of Stevie numbers of my own...they stayed there. Into other Motown, a little 60's and 70's....same people still on floor....fantastic (although there were only about a dozen. Most of the guests had dwindled after the speeches and as the evening went on, more and more were abandoning ship!).
Then, a little old lady who was well on her way to not being able to speak properly came over and told me that what I was playing was excrement and started demanding modern stuff! She then went to the dance floor and started dancing. The bride had put a load of 90's stuff on the limited playlist so I decided now was the time to get it out of the way. 6 on the floor! (including the obnoxious one). Sneaked back into the older stuff, back up to a dozen.
Sighed with relief at the midnight hour when I put on 500 miles and finished with Ole Blue Eyes.....and got a round of applause???!!!!!
Lots of thanks as I heaved the gear down the small service lift and into the van at the end of a very long day. Apparently people had been asking the bride to send them my contact details, lots of the guests shook hands and said it was a good night.....I don't get it - I thought it was a bad one (and certainly hard work). Maybe it was the heat, hunger and tiredness clouding my judgement....maybe they really did enjoy it despite the lack of dancing.
Just a couple of bride meetings next week and a teen disco midweek - then it's holiday time :)
Friday's gig was uninspiring.
Was at a venue where I'm a recommended supplier. Love the place and the people and until Friday, never had a bad gig there.
Did my introductions, and no cheers for anything. Not even after the second try.
1am finish but by 11pm there was 5 people left. And they stayed until the end. I had the four plinths with me that night. By midnight, I took down and packed away two of the plinths. By half 12, I packed away the other two. Only lighting I had left was my moving head washes. What else could I pack away? Power for the controller, check. Power for both laptops, check. Monitor speaker, check. Bye bye hazer, I shan't be needing you for the rest of the evening. Headphones? No point in them. I'm just playing one after the other. I'll pack those too. LED bar for the Liteconsole, that'll go in its bag too. Can I get away with packing down one sub and top, leaving the other sub and top for the remainder of the evening? Nah, that's probably just pushing it a bit.
Needless to say, I had everything in the van pretty quick that night. Venue staff thought it was hilarious.
Got a wedding tonight. Sunday night weddings are rarely epic events but I definitely hope it's better than Friday's.
Good gig on Saturday night , in a pub in Preston Candover.
Did this one for gary , it was a wedding with all modern music, got there at 8:00pm (gig was 9 till 1 in the morning), they had only just sat down to the wedding breakfast
Finally got set up at 9:45 , dancing from the off , including the sound check song :) , full floor most of the night , it was not a large pub , so a full floor was between 10 and 15 people.
There was a no cheese policy, and nothing older than 5 years, apart from the last hour , sing along indie :confused:, well Chelsea dagger , ruby , parklife , sex on fire,etc.
Last song on the night was Oasis , wonderwall, finished at 01:01 and home by 02:30.
Only down side were my sat nav , which I had set to the shortest distance , hence 12 miles of single track road ( seemed like a farm track), bit quicker on the way back , had it set to fastest time.
I believe the bride was Danish, mainly because of her accent ,and the abundance of danish flags everywhere....:) , top songs of the night were anything by Avici, dont you worry child, starships (clean version)
All in all a cracking night.
Cheers
Daryll