Oh I didn't say. How many requests did I get through the whole night? FIVE. And two of those were from the bride.
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Oh I didn't say. How many requests did I get through the whole night? FIVE. And two of those were from the bride.
I'm back :)
After several weeks of empty dance floors due to stupidly hot weather and halls where the windows and doors must be kept shut tighter than a gnat's chuff.....a result.
It wasn't what I was expecting either.
The hotel I was in have a resident....and the B&G didn't want him. They've seen him before, didn't like his style and booked me instead. No problem....except the wedding coordinator made life as difficult as possible for me in the lead up to the big day (wanting copies of this, proof of that and not even prepared to reserve a space for me to unload). To say I arrived just a little nervous and expecting somebody to be checking kit in against my PAT schedule was an understatement.
Arrived at the venue....wohoooo....the coordinator isn't there (they never are on the day, are they ;) )
So, introduced myself to the DM, friendly enough chap who told me to unload, park up, and then sort out a get out of jail free parking ticket (this hotel charges through the nostrils for a little bit of tarmac for the night and the wedding coordinator had insisted I was going to pay for it...just one more of the hurdles she tried to throw in).
Wedding is running around an hour late. Ho hum. The 8:30 first dance actually turns into a 9:30 first dance after setting up in record time.....and then the party started!
The bride was of Irish descent and I knew there'd be a fair few of her long lost relatives there. Well, there were a LOT actually. The bride had given guidance on some Irish music (really NOT my strong point....we're talking Dubliners and Foster & Allen as opposed to U2 and The Corrs here....although they were played too). The plan was to slow things down for the last 20 mins or so, and that's when I planned to unleash the Irish tracks.
I'd already had a rammed floor for the evening (a really nice change of late), but BOY do the Irish country tracks work! I've never seen anything like it!
And another change from the norm.....NO CHEESE. Not even the faintest whiff of Whitney from Houston or the people from the village....does this make me a bad DJ? :daft:
Finished dead on the dot of midnight, no complaints from hotel residents (I was warned to be careful of volume/bass levels in no uncertain terms), and back in the van within half an hour of switching off. Out of my comfort zone for a while this evening but you know what....I really enjoyed that one :)
Time for a well earned beer, then bed :)
Strange one tonight.
To say there was a bit of an overrun is an understatement. We got into the room an hour and fourth five minutes late, so we hauled ass so we can be up as quick as we can. The videographer is my new best mate, and is asking for regular updates as to when we'd be ready. Ask me again, see if that'll make things go quicker. :rolleyes: Or even better, just :Censored: off. Amazing how everyone pressures the entertainment when everything else is running late. The DM was lovely though. I think she could see that we were going as fast as we could.
So after setting up, there were some gremlins in the lights which took a quick trouble shoot to suss out, and I'm playing background music for five minutes and sound checking at the same time where all of a sudden there is an awful screech. Crikey...never had feedback that loud before. I turn the mic off, but the noise is still going. Checked the backup mic...that's off. Turned the mic receiver off and it's still going. The hell is that?
Oh. It's the fire alarm. :rolleyes:
So we do exactly what Brits do in the event of a fire alarm - stare at each other and wonder do we really have to go outside? Some guide from the venue would certainly be helpful about now. A chap finally comes in to announce that we do need to leave and as soon as he said that, the alarm stopped. Do we still go out? I just get a shrug of the shoulders.
We stayed. Did the cake cut and first dance...then pretty much immediately announced the buffet. The venue is like a rabbit's warren with the disco in one room, the bar in another and the buffet in a third room. Plus there are other locations for guests to chill and converse. The Gods have decided to make me earn my money tonight.
Long periods of playing to an empty room. I'm trying to read a room that doesn't exist and I don't have the experience of seeing the reactions to background music or the post first dance excitement, so I'm onto a loser here. The groom doesn't look happy, so I focus on playing the stuff he specifically asked for during the consultation. Still no smile. He came over after a while to apologise for guests being elsewhere. Don't worry, says I. Guests are eating, there's a photo booth and lots of places to sit and talk but they'll be back. I ask him if he's OK with everything, and he tells me that he's loving it and having a great time. Still no smile though.
So I try a bit of poppy dance. We have signs of life. A few tracks of that and let's morph into some 90s dance...result! I'm keeping it like this for a bit. Requests for Sean Paul, Carly Rae Jepsen and Little Mix come in. I suspect I know what'll happen here and oh look, I'm right. People quickly leave the room as if the DJ let off a nuclear fart. All good though, as I now know what will bring them back. I'll keep that in the bag for now and save that for the last hour, which is quickly approaching anyway.
Few more urban and pop tracks before I play Prodigy Out Of Space. Call me Hugo Strange, as I have bought these people back to life. Followed it up with Set You Free, Born Slippy, Sandstorm and Silence and they're bouncing around. Back to up to date commercial dance like Alone No More, Perfect Strangers and No Money and I'm winning this fight. Dare I try to go full house music? Why not? I played remix of I Took A Pill In Ibiza which is quite housey, but still not too much. A good testing of the water track. The Arctic Monkeys equivalent of deciding whether to go from indie to something a bit harder.
It didn't work. Darn. Still dancing, but they're not feeling it. Never mind, I tried.
Ended the night with some hip hop anthems before playing the first dance again. Got the crowd to give a cheer to the B&G before playing the final song and as that faded out, no applause. Righto...
Couple of guests later commented that they had a good night and thanked me. The bride was very happy and thanked me. Overall it was a decent gig, but bloody hell it was tricky.
Absolutely. :mad: As I was leaving last night after playing loads of The Usual Suspects, including the wind down ending I could do in my sleep, I got told " My wife says that's the best wedding disco she's ever heard". Either she's seen some real :Rob James:, or she doesn't get out much. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Imagine
Wayne, I've played a lot of Foster and Allen, Fureys et al, good stuff. Works well with the right crowd. And I've been " persona non grata " in identical circumstances before. Oh yes. ;) Makes a good night all the more rewarding, doesn't it? :D
So then, my gig. Actually, Dave Jackson's really, but he was at Yorkshire's answer to Glastonbury, so I covered his hotel wedding. Setting up the day before was needed, due to access issues, so Dave put in everything except playout. The trusting little soul let me use his Yamaha DSR12s. :eek::eek: I was more expecting something in the lower end of the market, so that was very nice. :)
So, I wander in with laptop slung casually over my shoulder, and plug in. We're still on speeches, then dessert, so no rush. Eventually, we're ready to Rock and Roll, and we have the first dance nice and early, all good so far. Gentle start, and then ( take note Wayne ) bring on the cheese board. One request for Saturday Night is all it takes, and at the bride's behest, we're knee deep in fromage. Floor's packed, worst rowing to oops I've seen in years due to the hilarity, and we're doing a hundred miles an hour fun and frivolity.
Those of you who've already guessed the possible pitfalls are about to be proved right. Tiredness, lots of outdoor spaces, multi roomed venue and nice weather meant that by eleven o'clock I'm playing to a virtually empty room. Ah well. :( Quarter to twelve and folk drift back in for a final dance, and we finish in good style. Pick up my laptop and go home. I could get used to this. :D
Big thanks go to Dave for his help, much appreciated. He's an absolute Gentleman.
Festival style wedding yesterday (the third in a row in fact) - had an excellent band line-up, heading were the New Town Kings
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEKaxRdNH6s
nice to see a band doing all their own material at a wedding.
And a few pictures of my lighting...
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Martin, I know you don't post many pics but when you do... !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Awesome!
Me, I had a wedding do tonight. 80 were expected, but with it being a Sunday I chanced my arm & took a minimal rig. Just Mackies without the bin, gigabar & Quad Phase HP. I rolled up at 6pm just as the speeches were starting, and half of their 60 or so guests upped & left. It was a very sorry state of affairs by the time everybody came into the function room for the evening reception. I could only feel sympathy for the bride & groom but tried my damndest to create some kind of atmosphere anyway. We had dancers. We had DJ Cammy & similar dross, and a fair bit besides. 10.45pm arrived & we were down to just the B&G, sat down opening their cards. From there it was just a case of marking time for another hour. A sad state of affairs that invited guests don't show, and those who do - well most of them diddle off with poor excuses like they've got work the next day. Hum.
Ah well. Next week sees gigs for me on Thursday, Friday & a cancellation (known about for a few weeks) means I can subcontract myself out for another wedding - details as yet unknown. Sunday night I'm leaving in the very capable hands of my good friend Andy P, then back for just one more wedding on Bank Holiday Monday.
Roll on BPM. I'm a gonna let my hair down something serious. Though I had a good crack at that last night with a night in front of the telly & a bottle of wine.
You go completely over the top. :p Haven't you heard of minimalist? :D:DQuote:
Originally Posted by juski
Rose tinted glasses mode engaged> Sigh. I remember when we used to stand and marvel at oil wheels and the like. And lightscreens. And infinity tunnels. Strobes, smoke machines, and the like. Happy days. < Rose tinted glasses removed. :(:(
It's alright for some. :( Us follically challenged folk can't do that. :cry:Quote:
Originally Posted by juski
Amen to that one :) :beer1::beer1::beer1:Quote:
Originally Posted by juski
Happy days :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Excalibur
Thankfully on retro bookings....I still do :)
Looks like us older and folically challenged ones will be sitting in the corner with a proper pint pot full of real beer then Peter ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by Excalibur
Got my press pass, so you'll find me in the VIP section of BPM drinking the free beers. ;)