Nice venue - shame about the limiter
I went into this one dangerously tired. Even the drive to the venue was a struggle.
I'd been on a Scout camp on Friday night which in itself isn't too bad....apart from the pub down the road playing loud music until 2:30am coupled with being on breakfast duty cooking full English for 80 people at 6am didn't really go down too well. I'd tried to nap during the day but I'm not good at that and ended up catching an hour on the sofa before setting off....I didn't feel brilliant to say the least.
Got to a gorgeous barn venue I'd never been to before to find that they're running late (don't they always), and that I was going up a small flight of uneven stone steps....oh joy!
Add to this that this was one of those rare events where I haven't previously met the happy couple beforehand and it had everything it needed to be a disaster (for some reason, those where I don't meet and greet beforehand just don't seem to go as well).
How wrong could I be?
The night was mainly 90s dance/trance with a LOT of 80s pop thrown in for good measure and just a couple of recent ones (literally....it wasn't asked for so it didn't happen).The rest were rock favourites. It was a brilliant night and despite running on fumes for the duration.....I think I made a pretty good job of that one with a full floor for most of the night.
The only other downer? Yup - your friend and mine the sound sentry. At least this time I'd been warned about it by the venue and it wasn't even hidden from view. The big problem was it's sensitivity. Just the crowd stamping, clapping, a confetti cannon and a female guest that insisted on whooping at high volume had me sweating as it rapidly threatened to cut me off in my prime. You could barely hear the music from my PA during the likes of Livin' on a Prayer and Chelsea Dagger as I reached to keep my levels down whilst the guests sang at full pelt. How I managed the evening without tripping the thing is beyond me.
Time for some well earned shut eye for a couple of hours now before returning to the Scout campsite tomorrow morning to help clear everything away, then it's just a school disco and a wedding before a well earned break :)
We need a bigger dancefloor!
Are you reading this Wayne? Told you I was due a good one. :p:D
OK, whimsy over. That one's a running gag at the moment. This one was soooo nearly a perfect gig. I'd recced the venue midweek, and met the lovely birthday girl. The layout as described to me was very workable, since the venue had no stage. There was to be a big surprise as well of a live act, more of that later.
We ( Jeanette came along, as she wanted to see the live act ) turned up nice and early to be greeted with effectively an unworkable setup area. The " bar " ( long table, covered in glasses ) took up almost all the back wall where we'd planned to be, and our revised setup area would see us working across the room, performing basically to a bar table. :mad:
A quick chat with my mate Procrustes ( Google it, you philistines ) and we fitted the micromax and powerbar on a tripod into the corner, next to the drinks fridge and our two chairs. The live act would run his mixer into a channel on mine, and his kit was arranged near mine as if it belonged to me. The soundcheck with the Mauis impressed him no end.
Guests arrived in fancy dress, we had a stunning Sandy and Danny from Grease, Clint Eastwood, Rod Stewart, Calamity Jane, and an assortment of other outfits. I struck up with some 60's fare which was well received, especially by the birthday girl, who was already doing a fair impression of the Duracell Bunny already. Don't know what she was on, but I want a pint of it! :D Time came to unveil the live act, and birthday girl was led back in to find her hero Billy Fury. She was staggered, it was a complete surprise, and every other person in the room breathed a huge sigh of relief.
The live act. Now some of us believe we travel for our art, but this lad was something else! :eek::eek:Where had he come from? How far had he, his wife and toddler driven?
Great Yarmouth, 200 miles away!! Blimey. He was a polished and accomplished performer, if not the world's finest singer. He also doubles as Elvis Presley, and threw in a few of the king's for good measure. The lack of a stage hampered his theatrical moves somewhat, but he bunged them in anyway. Performed a lot longer than he was booked for, too. He took his encore and well deserved applause, packed up and headed home, after saying goodbye to us.
My turn next, and the most modern track I played was Grease Megamix. At times the ( admittedly less than vast ) dancefloor was too small. They'd been dancing on and off from the very start, and by the end, numbers had dwindled, but we limped over the finish line with everyone in the room on the floor for a track I've not played for years, but I used to finish with for many many years. " You'll never walk alone ".
So, a great night, well enjoyed by all present ( especially by a DJ who had dusted off tracks which last saw the light of day forty years ago ) but: us DJs are never truly happy, are we? If only they'd laid the room out properly. :whistle: Ah well, after recent gigs, I'll take this with both hands, especially as Jeanette had had a good time too.
