Good Gig, Bad Gig.

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Originally Posted by Excalibur

Emails don't always convey personality. My chats with the venue seemed to imply that the owner was less than flexible, and less than friendly. How wrong could I be? :o She was lovely. The main issue was that my clients had booked me to provide their desired version of a day, and it was impossible to provide it there. Would have worked elsewhere, but not there, mainly due to space issues.

So, I arrived early, set up the wonderful Prime GO, a Maui GO, and linked them with an XVIVE. Look, no wires. :) That already got the venue onside, as well as the visual aspect of a white Maui 5. Sadly, my efforts were fairly pointless, due to the venue layout, but it did mean that I got to chat with guests as they mingled round the bar, plus I got a Roast Beef dinner as well. Very nice, and much appreciated.

The batteries in the Prime didn't do the full four hours claimed, which doesn't amaze me, but I could get mains to top it up easily. The XVIVE made it by the skin of its teeth, but I had a second one on standby. By then we'd got to room turn round, and that was "interesting", mainly due to me trying to pinch time, and space to get set up quickly. Until I'm set up and ready, I'm just a bundle of stress. Once set up, I'm as chilled as can be.

We moved into the limbo between afternoon meal and evening disco, and finally it was time for cake cut and first dance, which we managed easily enough. With an 11am wedding, and an older bride and groom, many of the day guests left around this time, and the evening only ones arrived to fill the void. There were many very young children, and thus many other early departures. The night never really caught fire, but at the end ( half an hour early, and perfectly timed ) there were thanks and compliments from bride, groom, and many guests, so another one for the win column, even though it was hard won at times.

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Problems eh?

I had a big posh garden party event booked. But my van failed its MOT on serious suspension matters. It had already been loaded for the trip. So I had to hire a van. All the gear was transferred onto the hire van. Before I set off for the long journey I checked the fluids. The coolant level was below minimum and the coolant was not visible in the header tank. I filled it up. Half way on the trip I checked it again and it had disappeared. I topped it up again. That was worrying.

I got to the venue and starting to set up. I was greeted by a "micro-managing" event organiser. (moany git). "When will you move your van?" he asked. "I am setting up" I said. It was about 1.30 pm. The start time was 7.00pm. "The ground is soft and you will make dents in the lawn." he said. (Not as bad as your marquee poles and pegs I thought) That was not actually the case and their van was much bigger and heavier. "No speaker poles?" he said. "No, a small speaker placed on top of a larger speaker is safer" I replied.
I was needled endlessly.

Anyway after playing background music while the guests arrived "turn the music down a bit" said Mr. Grumpy.(It wasn't loud anyway) Later I ramped up the music and people danced. My speakers were placed where I had been instructed in the marquee facing the dance floor. But as the guests arrived and had their drinks outside the hubbub of just talking drowned out the music. "Turn the music up" said Mr. Grumpy, which I did.

The dance floor was used well, and I played suitable music for the 20-25 year olds as requested, plus some old classics as well.

I had to strip down at about 1.0am and took about two hours to pack the van and find a farmer's field gate entrance in which to park up and get some rest in the van

All in all a very enjoyable event with some exceptions. I think that I made a mistake with this one as it was too far away.

Zog.

So yesterday was my last all-dayer of the year (still plenty of evening only's to go), and what a way to end the longer shifts :)

A tent at a venue that only hosts 15 weddings a year, nice easy access, lovely couple, lovely suppliers....absolute bliss.
Now dear readers I was a little apprehensive of this one to begin with. The couple had seen a link to my blog post about happily accepting "do not play" lists on the 'gram and were very keen to know more. I was worried that come the day I'd have a list as long as a telephone directory. In the event, it was only half a dozen including Brightside, Sex on Fire and Chelsea Dagger.

Another reason for booking me was the retro show. Now this has never been in a marquee before and I was worried about level floors and the general wobbliness you get in those places. I spent a bit of time during the week adding French cleats to the screens to effectively lock them together. With this plus sticking all my flight cases behind them (I LOVE how sloppy you can be when working behind those things), it worked a treat :)

Why the retro setup? It certainly wasn't anything to do with the music (although quite a bit of Motown and Northern Soul was played). It was more to do with the decor. You see folks, I spent my afternoon and evening in something akin to a gentlemen's club of the Victorian era with lovely stuffed sofas and armchairs, standard lights, one of those screens people used to get changed behind....it felt something like how I've always imagined the living room of a certain Mr S Jones esq. to be :coat:

Musically, apart from the Motown and NS, it was predominantly 90s/00s rock and indie. Plenty of outdoor attractions such as a fire pit and lovely woodland walks kept the dance floor action minimal until the last couple of hours but once they ventured in out of the chill, BOY did they go for it :)

So, another definite win in my book :)

Now if I could just get at least the happy couple's married names and first dance track for next weekend....I'd be a happier bunny.

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Originally Posted by Imagine

So yesterday was my last all-dayer of the year (still plenty of evening only's to go), and what a way to end the longer shifts :)

A tent at a venue that only hosts 15 weddings a year, nice easy access, lovely couple, lovely suppliers....absolute bliss.
Now dear readers I was a little apprehensive of this one to begin with. The couple had seen a link to my blog post about happily accepting "do not play" lists on the 'gram and were very keen to know more. I was worried that come the day I'd have a list as long as a telephone directory. In the event, it was only half a dozen including Brightside, Sex on Fire and Chelsea Dagger.

Another reason for booking me was the retro show. Now this has never been in a marquee before and I was worried about level floors and the general wobbliness you get in those places. I spent a bit of time during the week adding French cleats to the screens to effectively lock them together. With this plus sticking all my flight cases behind them (I LOVE how sloppy you can be when working behind those things), it worked a treat :)

Why the retro setup? It certainly wasn't anything to do with the music (although quite a bit of Motown and Northern Soul was played). It was more to do with the decor. You see folks, I spent my afternoon and evening in something akin to a gentlemen's club of the Victorian era with lovely stuffed sofas and armchairs, standard lights, one of those screens people used to get changed behind....it felt something like how I've always imagined the living room of a certain Mr S Jones esq. to be :coat:

Musically, apart from the Motown and NS, it was predominantly 90s/00s rock and indie. Plenty of outdoor attractions such as a fire pit and lovely woodland walks kept the dance floor action minimal until the last couple of hours but once they ventured in out of the chill, BOY did they go for it :)

So, another definite win in my book :)

Now if I could just get at least the happy couple's married names and first dance track for next weekend....I'd be a happier bunny.

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I know what you mean about tent floors. They can be less then level. My last tent floor event had me just placing a larger pair of speakers under two small speakers directly onto the coconut matting with no speaker stands used at all. This was done for stability and safety. The event organiser critically mentioned to me, "No speakers stands then?" He was micro-managing everything. Despite his criticism the sound was still good.
Why don't they just let us get on with things without their input. We know what we are doing and why.
Zog.

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Originally Posted by Zog

IWhy don't they just let us get on with things without their input. We know what we are doing and why.
Zog.

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It's mostly because they encounter an awful lot of DJs who know absolutely nothing about what they're doing or why.

Julian

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Originally Posted by Imagine

I spent my afternoon and evening in something akin to a gentlemen's club of the Victorian era with lovely stuffed sofas and armchairs, standard lights, one of those screens people used to get changed behind....it felt something like how I've always imagined the living room of a certain Mr S Jones esq. to be :coat:

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If we didn't have multiple cats. Did have a leather sofa once. (It didn't last long)

Our living room (at the time) was referred to by friends as the Barnet wing of the British Museum. Largely on account of the numerous ornaments that resembled ancient Egyptian & Chinese artefacts.

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Originally Posted by DJ Jules

It's mostly because they encounter an awful lot of DJs who know absolutely nothing about what they're doing or why.

Julian

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I've met one or two of those myself. :zip: :D

OK, my day. A trip to the Peak District, in a very remote centre for an all day wedding, a blank canvas job. I was to provide battery powered gear for the ( mock ) ceremony, as they'd tied the knot the week before in a registry office. On arrival, I got the evening rig in place, and almost fully set up, before heading into the field. I had lots of help and advice from a couple of lovely guests, which was much appreciated.

The weather held, and we got the ceremony done soon after midday, whereupon I and a guest moved it over to the buildings for the afternoon's fun. I had a lovely balcony here, and power, so was able to keep the Prime GO running for more than a couple of hours, and use the Karaoke radio mics too. They're a cheap quad pack, but they seem to be surprisingly good and reliable. ( Apart from the red one, with the intermittent fault :().

I played background music from the splendid playlist, announced the buffet ( some of which was brought to me by the bride's sister. Amazingly, I'd done her wedding last year, at a lovely venue near Retford, and it was pure chance that I'd been booked for this. They thought I might not travel as far as the Peak District. The lovely Tog who had done that one recognised me too, which was nice ). Guests and bar staff ensured I was well watered, which was nice too.

We had some ( long but humorous) speeches, more music, then a quiz, run by two bridesmaids, who were lovely, and excellent quiz hostesses. Shortly after that, I switched that gear off, and put it in the van. I then went inside, and had a chat with the splendid band, who had arrived for a slot of theoretically 6-8pm. It was soon decided that they would break halfway, and get a burger from the van before resuming. They were really good and professional, but very loud. We managed to get the first dance done in the interval ( just ) and once they'd finished, I had about two and a half hours to fill.

Requests started to come in later on, and we got easily to the end, all in all a good event. I had however been on site from 10am till midnight! As I said, a long day. The highways department decided to force me to go the long way home, and I couldn't get a coffee from Ronald where I'd planned, as the machine had broken! Eventually, I got home eighteen hours after I'd left. Long day.

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Originally Posted by DJ Jules

It's mostly because they encounter an awful lot of DJs who know absolutely nothing about what they're doing or why.

Julian

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Yes that may be the case OR the organisers do not think through the event details and thus cause problems. I had set up my speakers in the tent facing the dancefloor, but, at the start of the event when over 100 guests arrived and congregated outside the tent, the sound of their talking drowned out the introductory music from me. Speaker repositioning had to be made. Us seasoned D.J.s can adapt and change as required. It is all down to experience. Sometimes situations occur that can not be anticipated but we overcome. Plus, backup equipment is essential if something breaks down.

Zog.

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Originally Posted by Excalibur

I couldn't get a coffee from Ronald where I'd planned.

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I stumbled on such a genius solution last night that I'm staggered I'd not thought of it before.
Flask of hot water left in the van, and a lidded mug with one of those coffee bag things in it. Worked an absolute treat :)

I seem to be on a run of good 'un's at the moment :)

So last night, village hall and rescheduled from last year. I don't normally do too many village hall weddings because they rarely work for me for some reason. I sort of went into last night half hearted and not expecting too much.

Turns out I was wrong.

Lovely hall, easy access (makes a nice change), one of those magical Emcee fella's running the day who's actually on the same course as me so a bit of a catch up there whilst setting up. And then into action.

I had a very small request list and couldn't really fathom where the night was going. Started off nice and up-beat and quickly descended into a cheezy-weezy kind of night for a while. The dance floor's full.....I'm going to keep mining until they tire :)

Eventually ended up going through all the standards and as is becoming the norm, a lot of indie stuff. Down to just a dozen guests by the end of the night and got a round of applause for my efforts. A couple of guests were tasked with locking up the hall after I left and were generous enough to lug the kit out to the van for me (having first determined that they were sober enough to assist).

Another definite win for me.

The next two however could well be appearing in the members version of this thread. The venue for the next two weeks appeared in a mahusive thread on MDJN last night having had an overly sensitive limiter fitted. The chap who was there last night is so concerned about it (it knocked him out 7 times during the evening and at very minimal volumes) that he actually called me this morning to let me know how bad it is. Seem's the Maui5 Go's and a UPS will be the order of the day for the next couple then.

Unusual weekend for me, Friday but no Saturday. Good for me as Jeanette is recovering from surgery, so I'm in Florence Nightingale mode ( and if you've read about her, there may be parallels) :D.

OK, Friday: A venue I've played before years ago. It's a doddle to get to ( theoretically ), M62, M18, one junction down M1, and it's on a roundabout a mile away. Simples, even with delays on M18 and M1 feeder. More later.

Access is good from a side road into the delivery area, and straight into a newly refurbed function room. It was a 30th Birthday party for folk from Cornwall. Fancy dress too, and if I'd remembered, I might have dived into the dressing up box.

Got there early, set up, and started off with Baby Shark for the young person in the shark costume. Good start to the night, and requests came in for stuff I don't play a lot, including one I've only played once before and one I've never played : Hole in my shoe - Traffic. The night carried on in a similar vein, and I arrived at my 11pm finish a happy bunny, guests too were pleased. Packed up and in the van quickly, life is good.

Until I disregard the sat nav. I know I'm a mile from the M1, so I head that way. Sat nav says differently, and I have an idea why now. Turns out that access to M18 from M1 is closed on a night, so it's trying to turn me round, and back to where it started. I overrule it, and follow M1 North till I hit M62 near Leeds, and head home that way. I've missed Ronald's coffee two miles from the gig because they closed the road, so I end up at the one on Junction 32, and make my order there on the app, to get my rewards. Order goes through, but the voice on the tannoy says no wrap of the day, and no large coffee cups!

After a discussion, I get a different wrap, and small coffee, safe in the knowledge that I pass another one where I can get fuel, cash and coffee nine miles from home. I arrive there, order a free reward coffee, only to see folk reversing out of the drive thru! :eek:

" Can you wait fifteen minutes, the system's crashed )? How difficult can it be to actually buy a large coffee? At times, very. :mad: