Good Gig, Bad Gig.

Oh Steve, what a comedy ( comedy? :zip: ) of errors indeed. I feel for you. At least not being solo means help, and helpful advice.

OK, my weekend- well, purely by chance, two 80th birthdays. First one gave me a playlist, which was a two edged sword. I loved it to bits ( as did birthday boy, and his daughter ) but it wasn't overly dancefloor friendly. Add that to a crowd with two requests all night, and we didn't wear out the dancefloor. Birthday boy was delighted, I was happy ( and full of pie and peas, followed by gateau ) as well, so a win. Perfect access too.

Saturday, well that was " interesting". Very good access, tiny room, and if I ever went there again, I'd rejig the kit totally. I could have done it better with what I had, if I'd set up " sidesaddle". There was an alcove near the bar for the DJ, but I couldn't get a 4ft booth in crossways, as per normal. I went in front of it, and took up space intended for supper tables. The staff worked round it, with no ill feeling, well done staff.

My musical remit was " 60s, 70s, and 80s, she loves dancing". Well, absolutely true, but not the whole truth. She was Scottish, and loved line dancing. Here we had a dichotomy. I have a Line Dance folder on the laptop, but those songs don't necessarily tally with the ones they know. They ended up dancing spontaneously to songs not in that folder, which often happens. As an aside, line dancing seems to be popular at a lot of gigs, I've had Cupid Shuffle and the like at a couple lately.

So, we were down for an 11pm finish, but guests drifted away quickly, and I was released early. Birthday girl came to thank and congratulate me for my efforts, so another win.

Two gigs with happy clients/guests of honour, good access, but a DJ leaving both with a feeling that he hadn't really done his job properly. It's an old saying that you're only as good as your crowd. I reckon it's true.

Friday was a case of fearing the worst, and being pleasantly surprised. Short notice cover for a Multi op, who had a hospital appointment with his wife, and expected to be too late away from it to cover this engagement gig.

I hadn't expected it to be where it was, a less than salubrious area in the West Riding, probably no early access, on street parking only if you're lucky, not even close by, and the dreaded stairs. :(:(

Well dear reader, it wasn't ( quite ) as bad. I did get parked on the street, further away than I'd have liked, but workable. The venue answered the phone and were open in good time to get in ( mainly due I think to the family wanting to be in to dress the venue. I've never seen such effort go into an engagement, it was more like a wedding itself! ) and I got a cut down rig in fairly easily. I was on a yard high stage, with a balloon circle on one side with me, and a selfie pod on the other, on the floor.
Guests were lovely, venue staff were even nicer, I was invited to the buffet ( which was excellent ) and the end of the night was down to some serious cheese/anthems. My chop mix ( hardly a mix, there was actually no overlap, but it worked soooo well ) from Sex on Fire to Jump Around received whoops of delight, followed with Apache to similar joy. ( no, not The Shadows Apache ) Out in half an hour, and I would have been home in good time, if only Ronald's emporia didn't seem hell bent on having either no coffee, or no milk products when I visit. Grrr. :mad:

Saturday was good access, but a poor layout. I was in a conservatory, through an arch, and effectively cut off from guests. It was a 40th birthday, and many young children were present. I ended up really doing a sort of kids disco for a while, and while Friday's gig built to a rousing climax, this one just fizzled slowly out as guest took children home. We'd started early, so the 11pm finish time was just about right. Happy customer, so another win, even though it didn't feel so much that way.

How often do you miss taking something you actually wanted? Last night was a Karaoke in a small club, at the end of a 100yd plus path! When you arrive, it's good news, bad news. The good news is that when they push the pool table behind you, it becomes a bonus bag storage space and extra shelving. The bad news is that the overhead lights for it can be in the way of your lights, even when they lift them up.

I was flying solo, as Mr Jackson had bagged a local gig at the last minute. Thus, I removed as much surplus kit as I could, but sadly, that included a distance pole I normally lash the monitor to, and a couple of USB sticks for downloading karaoke requests I don't have. By dint of careful stacking, I got the gear up in two trolley runs, and one walk with laptops over my shoulder. To be fair, as it's all dead flat, I've had far worse access.

I got set up early, and put the monitor on the lighting stand, which had two problems. One, it was a tad high, and two, I couldn't remove it early when I stopped Karaoke. I was set up early, and when the footy finished, I could get going. The Karaoke was well taken up, and I must admit to cheating a little bit. The Prime was there as fill, and I loaded quite a few early night tracks on Automix on the laptop. The Karaoke got so popular that I ended up letting Automix run on one deck, and Karaoke on the other, partly because I couldn't get Karaoke to display on the monitor from the other deck. :confused: The Smart crossfader didn't seem very smart at all.

The evening actually went very well, we got to midnight effortlessly. Seems that I'm The Special One here as well, in the eyes of the Club Supremo Lady. She was scathing about some of the DJs booked by guests. I got loaded up without incident, and made my way home through the end of Storm Bert, again without incident. More Karaoke next week, I may try not using the big mixer, as I can run two karaoke mics through the Prime, and one through the Roland, all with FX. Worth a try, I feel.

I'm a miserable old curmudgeon - I don't tend to do too many Christmas parties and those that I DO do, are carefully hand picked regular clients.

Last night though......WOW!

I've done this one for around 10 years now. It's a local medical centre with around 80 staff and it's always a ball. It's even better these days since I've got to know most of them quite well and done birthdays etc. during the years for them as well.

For the second year in a row it's been in a leisure centre. The easiest load-in in the world. Literally back up to the front door, a 100yd sprint down a corridor with the trolley, and into position. Ten minutes from van to my corner of the room.

As for the journey there and back.....I'm in need of new underwear now I'm home. Storm Darragh's really enjoying the flat fenland which I inhabit. 60mph cross winds on country roads isn't a pleasant experience at the best of times but when it's absolutely belting it down with rain as well :o

Anyway - back to the plot. It's a 7 to midnight booking, and they spend until 9:30 eating and doing speeches. Easy 3 hour Xmas megamix and retire to the bar to chat with the venue staff. Then it's party time...and there's a plot twist.

The head honcho went to a kid's party of mine a couple of years ago and she fell in love with the snow machine. The venue they'd booked that year wouldn't allow it, and last year it was forgotten. This year however.......it was like a load of school kids squealing with glee to Mariah and a snow machine! Another Brownie point scored :)

Unusually one of the practice nurses had also sent a playlist in advance. I was never going to fit 7 hours into a 2.5 hour slot and that wasn't a problem. What also wasn't a problem is that it was absolutely rammed with cheerfully choonful cheddary delights. Result = full dance floor for the duration and chants for a certain Spaniard at the end of the night.

Already booked for next year's re-run and possibly a couple of birthdays during the coming year as well. Not a bad night in my book.

Tomorrow is going to be a day of clearing the devastation left by the storm - my gutter icicle lights are already swinging wildly against the downstairs window. School disco on Wednesday, another NHS party on Thursday along with being the local primary school's Santa on Thursday and Friday. No rest for the wicked

I know how you felt Wayne, my trips out were more hampered by hills than vast sweeping plains, but it still wasn't funny. OK, what happened?

Friday: A story we've all seen before, you turn up hours early for a wedding, wait to be granted admission, get in late, and the venue want to get back to the schedule they fell behind.

There are phrases that scare me, one from the day job is " while you're here ", meaning that your carefully planned day now has at least six extra jobs to fit in. :mad:

The one for DJs is " are you ready yet"? No need to explain that. It really bothers me.

Anyway, not only did I have a short request list of fabulous ( Cheese/Indy) songs, but I was given a wodge of request slips as I arrived, from the guests. Some good, some illegible, some rubbish, and some with the wrong titles.
Also in my list was this: DJ's from Mars 2010 EDM https://youtu.be/BChzoI1W8jA
I had no idea where I was going to fit it, but having listened to it, I quite fancied it. Well, between my list, my slips, requests from the floor and my own ideas, we got to about twelve or fifteen minutes from the end. I had the nine minute mix, a four minute Coldplay song from the list as my last one set in stone by the B&G, and I found a classic from the list to feed into the mix. It worked really well, floor full of guests to the end, and a round of applause. The journey home was not terrible, but needed concentration. I chickened out of crossing the Ouse Bridge, it wasn't the night for this.

Saturday:
Oh Dear Lord, why did it have to be so hard? Fifty bodies, three course meal, drive the van up to the doors, and two whole hours to set up. What could possibly go wrong? :whistle: Well, when I'd parked up, meeting a sparky coming out of the venue set the tone for the night. Turns out, an extractor fan had died, meaning no gas cookers, and no electric point near me, cos the caterers were sucking as many amps as they could out of it. While I'm contemplating the best course of action, enter Karen, stage left! I'm wearing a tie, so I'm obviously the man in charge, aren't I? I have no idea at all as to what's grinding her gears, but it turns out to have been Sparky blocking her drive. Threats, insults, and " a frank exchange of views " ensue, and by this time, Mr Jackson has turned up, and is given a 25metre cable, and the task of finding 240v for me. He gets it from the furthest corner of the room, and this will be important later!

Anyway, I get all set up, by cutting the wedding rig from last night down, and two Helix and two par cans are perfect for the small room. In all the fuss, I put my hat, coat, sweater and phone on a side table, and when I move them out of the way, I don't realise that my phone has slid right under the bags under the booth, and spend most of the night fretting about it, as I can't hear it when folk ring it.

We're down for an 11.30pm finish ( from a 9.30 kick off after the food ) and once we've established the rules of engagement, my tiny dancefloor is looking healthy. The night goes well musically, but in light of the horrible weather, guests drift away early. Soon after 11pm, organisers are packing up, and around 11.20pm, house lights come up. I hit blackout on my DMX, and the laptop dims, music fades out, and I'm crapping myself! :eek:

You remember I said about that power cable in the furthest corner? Oh yuss, the dear lady had killed my supply, and was mortified :o:o:o The Polar came back to life, and I decided this was a good time to finish. I was out by midnight, and went across town to help Mr Jackson pack up his rig. We managed that without problems, and then my journey home began. High winds, unexpected gusts, flooded valleys, and the odd escaped bit of shrubbery made it a cautious experience.

Ah well, made it safely, very busy weekend next week, and a day in Hull for a drinkypoos, if I can stay awake long enough.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Excalibur

... Mr Jackson has turned up, and is given a 25metre cable, and the task of finding 240v for me. He gets it from the furthest corner of the room, and this will be important later!

went across town to help Mr Jackson pack up his rig. We managed that without problems, and then my journey home began. High winds, unexpected gusts, flooded valleys, and the odd escaped bit of shrubbery made it a cautious experience.

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Always like to give Peter a challenge when He ventures into Driffield. Glad he made it home in one piece it was a little wild during the night!

What a week!

Bear with....this is a long one

Two school discos (actually 4 because they split them into KS1 and KS2) and an adult Xmas party, plus 4 appearances as the fella in a big red boiling hot suit so far this week. I'm really past caring what Ms Carey wants for Christmas anymore.

School discos: Both local, both like shooting fish in a barrel, and both blimmin' hard work.15-20 mins allowed to get in because the previous activity in the hall/gym has overrun and safeguarding rules dictate I can't go in until the children are out, despite the fact I'm going to be blinding and deafening them for the next couple of hours. Ho hum.

In both cases lots of requests for 70s, 80s and 90s were coming through - a LOT of fun when they started singing along to them! There's something about a school disco when the kids are just enjoying themselves in front of you that makes them more than worthwhile.

Something of concern though....the KS1 kids (5-7 yr olds) seem to be becoming "entitled". Lots of "my song next", "I asked for my song 5 minutes ago and you still haven't played it yet" type of conversations were had. God help the wedding DJ of 20 odd years' time :lol:

Being Santa - hell of a lot of fun despite the heat of the schools and the weight of the costume. It sort of goes along the lines of kids eating school Xmas dinner, Santa walks in towards the end, waits for the screams of delight to abate and hands out wrapped books supplied by the PTA whilst all the time trying to be PC not make any of them cry whilst talking in my best Brian Blessed voice. I really enjoy these gigs and although I do it FOC, it gives me a warm and fuzzy feeling that I'm helping to make memories they're going to remember for a while. I have the final two stints tomorrow lunchtime and then the Santa suit thankfully gets put away.

Last night - an adult Xmas party I've been a part of for years. They're part of the University of Cambridge somewhere along the line, which means we basically go to a different college every year. That in itself can present challenges with various bus traps in central Cambridge (only been caught once) , access restrictions, and massively difficult load-ins (as in a decent sub won't even go through the doors of the older buildings!). Last night, one of the grand old ladies of the Cambridge colleges and they've somehow managed to build an underground car park. My little NV200 barely squeezed in under the ceiling (eek! Anything bigger like a Transit/Vivaro doesn't stand a chance!) and guess what? Park next to the fire door from the room I'm setting up in. I'm literally 10 feet from van to dance floor.....result.

Got in at 7:30 (logistics on this one dictate being there fairly early), setup in 20 minutes, and then wait until 9:45 for the dinner in another part of the building to finish.

But that's where the good bits (in my book) ended.

For starters, the HVAC units on the ceiling were pumping out tropical temperatures. Even the students running the bar insisted the door to the car park was kept open to allow a little fresh air in. It was like doing a wedding in the height of a heatwave in a village hall.

The rooms in recent years have been cavernous, so I loaded up a big PA and booth and lots of lighting. When I walked through the fire door I soon realised this was a job for the school disco setup (still in the van luckily), powered by Maui 5 GO's. Height was severely limited with utility service ducts to the college above in the way and the 28's I'd planned on using wouldn't have stood upright. Those little 5's still bring a tingling sensation when you crank them up in the right sized room, plus it's a couple less cables at the end of the night.

As for the venue, a "C" shaped room with me at one end, and the bar at t'other. Can you see the warning signs? I did :(

What's normally a fairly lively affair saw tumbleweed on the dance floor for most of the night, with the guests at the bar end of the room and all mentioning that it was too hot to partake of moves in front of my booth.

That said, this is going down as a tick in the win column. Last couple of songs of the night got them on the floor, cheers and applause at the end (apparently they'd enjoyed the music despite not dancing) and a 12 minute egress from last song fading out to starting the van.

Today, the last couple of stints at "being the beard" as I've come to call it. Tonight's joiner party was cancelled a while ago and I'd planned to take Saturday and Sunday off as I have the last wedding of the year on Monday.

After that, a youth group Xmas party in the local hall with a playlist VERY heavily weighted in the direction of ACDC, Black Sabbath and G&R....go figure.

Just two more gigs to Chrisssssssstttttmasssssss!!!!!

A midweek join a party at a hotel I often cover for a Multi Op. You get to park the van on a severe slope next to the doors for a lumber room, which is ( usually the best access.

But not when it's a very small party, and they've shoved all the spare furniture in there, blocking the main access doors.......................:mad:

I arrived early and got set up, my guests weren't sent in to me promptly, so no pressure then. Background during the meal, and we kicked off the dancing with Red Light. What is it with that song? :confused: I get asked for it at every function lately.

Requests were slow, and somewhat varied. Classic Disco, an Arctic Monkeys track, Sheeran -APT, an Eminem one, ( totally undanceable ) Sean Paul - Temperature, and at the death, Summer of '69 and Livin on a Prayer, which had a good response. Could have done with those requests earlier perhaps.

For a midweek join a party, more than good enough.

It's an unpredictable life being a Supersub. Thursday at a ( fairly ) regular hotel, tonight I'm going to see Mr Jackson in Driffield, where I hope to have electricity in the same postcode as me, and no Karens crashing through the door before I've even unloaded.

Friday: Well, I'm glad you asked about Friday. Another cover job for a Multi op, and I should have been reasonably local at Doncaster race course. However, at the last minute, the client asked for karaoke, and we had an impasse. I don't do Karaoke for free, and the budget didn't stretch to a surcharge, so I was sent miles up the A1 to a lovely place I've worked once years before. The staff there are absolutely lovely, and it's a small room, decent access.

After a hard slog up the aforementioned A1, I arrived theoretically an hour and a half before kick off. Turned out to be only half an hour early, as they were letting the fifty or so guests in at 6pm for a 7pm sit down, so although they weren't stressing me at all, I was against a little time pressure. I was running at 6.15pm on background duties, so pretty damn good in my book.

Three course meal, which looked very nice, and must have been very filling, cos I couldn't shift them onto the floor for ages, then once we'd got going, it was all systems go. I played all sorts of stuff, and ended bang on time with my four Xmas must haves. Wham, Slade, Mariah and Kirsty/Pogues. I got loaded up, and then set off home. There are two ways to get to this venue, and the Motorway run is fairly grim.
However, as I was desperate to get some of Ronald's pick me up inside me, I opted for visiting one of his emporia close by, which would put me on the old road, which is a lot shorter run home, and far more pleasant, although due to lower speeds, it may be a tad slower.

So, I arrived here, and using the technology on my phone, ordered coffee.

Except I couldn't.

So, undaunted, I walked in to order my goods personally. No chance pal, the system's down, it thinks it's still Friday, and it's gone on strike. No computer, no coffee. I joined the group of resigned folk by the counter, and we all waited eagerly for the system restore. Once my life support system had been purchased, I set off home, and it seemed far quicker this way, even though it probably wasn't.

Just a party in Driffield tonight, and I can have a train ride into Hull on Sunday for a bit of shopping, an perhaps a small libation.

Or two. :beer1::beer1::beer1::beer1::beer1::beer1::beer1:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Imagine

What a week!

...

Something of concern though....the KS1 kids (5-7 yr olds) seem to be becoming "entitled". Lots of "my song next", "I asked for my song 5 minutes ago and you still haven't played it yet" type of conversations were had. God help the wedding DJ of 20 odd years' time :lol:

....
Just two more gigs to Chrisssssssstttttmasssssss!!!!!

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God bless the little cherubs who think requests can come with a timeslot. No dear that's not how it works. To these I just smile sweetly & explain I'm not Mr Spotify. Sometimes a request would fit right in & it will go on next, but not all the time. Not sorry.

Though at the wedding last Saturday I 'had' to derail a perfectly lit clubland set for the groom's request of American Pie. It couldn't have given the guests a bad impression of me because an email I got from the bride this morning uses words like "I'm literally not exaggerating, the sheer amount of people who've told us our DJ was MINT, you would not believe!" (why, because it was only one person? :lol: No, that's imposter syndrome talking). The email from last Saturday's couple was glowing red hot with praise. And yet...

So an 1980s themed Christmas party last night & much fun was had until 11pm when the largest party in the room had to leave to catch their coach back. "Oh you don't finish at 11 here?" some lady asked... "no, it's midnight finishes here & always has been." I said. "OH". yes OH dear. We limped over the line at midnight with the people that remained & having seen some trying to re-enact a chorus line thought ending on Ole Blue Eyes would be a good call. It was, apparently.

Just two more parties left this year (unless a lucrative walk-in spot lands in my lap for NYE) & it seems in the last of the bunch I'll be going out with a whimper rather than a bang. Up to 40 guests expected & the theme is 'songs from the musicals'. Hold me. I may need a stiff drink or two to recover. You never know - the last 2 gigs might give me a solution to my... existential crisis? Who knows ;)