Ducks, Drunks, and Disinterest.
I have been remiss in posting details of my exploits, and perhaps with the first one, that's no surprise! :o
Ducks:
Surprise 30th Birthday, in a Rugby Club. I arrived early, and was granted access. I didn't check everything, as there was a TV running behind me. It was a surprise birthday, and once I started playing, for the life of me, I couldn't sort the sound out. It was up and down like something possessed. I checked everything, even bringing in a replacement Polar, to no avail. Everything was going wrong, and I foresaw a disaster. :(
Did I mention the ducks?
I work with a cabled mic permanently switched on, mounted on a gooseneck affair. Mic channel 1 on the Roland 707 has a ducking feature. :doh::doh::doh:
Once I'd pressed the offending button again, the sound was fine, and the night went from strength to strength. I received a very good reaction at the end of the night, and left feeling relieved, happy, embarrassed for my error, and thankful for getting out of jail.
Drunks:
Effectively the same function, in a " Marquee " ( aka Frame Tent ). I could drive right up to the corner of the tent, and roll up my own access door, lovely. I was to be working alongside a Sax player, I had a playlist to use with him, and another one for the rest of the night. Both were eminently workable, and the night was going well, my lights in particular were the only lighting in the tent, and were giving an excellent effect. The sax player was excellent, he did over an hour straight off the bat, and I was left to finish.
Now here, we come to the necessary evil: The Demon Drink. We have a free bar, we're in a farmyard miles from anywhere, and can I do an extra hour? Some guests were " merry ", and the birthday boy was legless. He clattered into the Equinox booth, and it doesn't repel boarders like the DSB. :(
Fortunately, he hit it amidships, missed Polars and lighting stands, and simply shoved everything into me, without any significant damage. A definite win on that one, and close to home to boot.
Disinterest:
Covering for the resident at a Holiday Inn, which is always a pleasure to work at. Wedding this time, and a minimal playlist, no first dance. It was planned to be early start, early finish. The function manager was first class, efficient, informative, and amenable. She effectively babysat the happy couple ( and me ) the whole night. She suggested having a first dance immediately after the cake cut, on the basis that I would call everyone on to the floor after one minute. That worked well, as it often does.
The only downside was the lack of bodies, and the fact that I was playing across the pitch again, instead of along it. That does bring a bit of a disconnect, sadly, and although the evening went well, the dance floor never filled, and we finished an hour early. Although that sounds bad, in fact the bride and groom came to thank me, many guests showed appreciation as they left, and this definitely goes in the win column, despite the apparent lack of interest.
I wish this'd been MY 50th do....
I was passed an enquiry from a venue for a birthday party the other week. The client had a spot of bother finding somebody willing to take on 3 hours of house, dance & trance. Oh rahhhhly? Anyway, after a quick chat with the venue coordinator I got booked in. I was asked to send an invoice, which was paid the next day - some 3 weeks before the event (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1111!!!!!!!!!). I KNOW, RIGHT?!
The client, a nice lady who was just about to turn 50 rang me & asked if it'd be ok if she gave me a playlist for early doors background music & dancing ideas. Just a couple of hours worth. I said absolutely no problem!
Of course when the spotify link came I saw over 5 hours & 20 minutes worth. No, calm down dear it's just a playlist.
The remit for last night was to cherry pick from the list til 9pm when everyone had been sufficiently fed & watered, then start digging into various genres of house, starting cheesy & commercial if I have to. Roger that. Some of the list was really interesting & a bit of a departure for me (Mr Scruff, Green Jelly etc) so I kinda had fun with that. Then at 8:45 I found the pulse of the room & we got going. I'd been asked not to deviate from dance music after 9 at all costs. All good, so long as the crowd are into it.... and they were.
When things really got going guests made requests for absolute belters which got lapped up by the crowd. I saw crowd - it wasn't busy as such but everybody was on the dancefloor most of the time. What were the requests? Oh just things like
Shades of Rhythm - Sounds Of Eden
Praga Khan - Injected With a Poison
Gat Decor - Passion
Bizarre Inc - Playing With Knives
Prodigy - No Good (which took me off on a little prodge minimix ending on Outer Space)
Talisman - Only You (Ok Mr "I had this on vinyl" LOL!)
Orbital - Chime
Chemical Brothers - Hey Boy Hey Girl
Fatboy Slim - Right Here Right Now
etc
The birthday girl's husband asked me to end the night on Faithless - God Is A DJ. So I did, after getting on the mic, thanking everybody for being lovely and of course bigging up the client.
After finishing there were calls for Mr Moore but I just shrugged. The client hugged me & said she couldn't have hoped for a better night. She loved my setup apparently too especially the console (now with working podium light again). Guests thanked me for an amazing night as they filed past too which was nice.
I got packed down & everything back into my car in half an hour, then headed through a very quiet looking Newcastle city centre towards the motorway only to find the southbound A1 was closed :mad:
Will there be more recommendations from the venue? I really wouldn't mind!
My legs are gonna ache tomorrow....
Yesterday, another 12 hour on-site job providing hosting/MC and DJ services in a venue I love working in, just about on the boundaries of how far I'll travel these days.
After a white knuckle journey there (I honestly thought the van was going to go over a couple of times), the first part of the day involves nothing more than lugging the Maui5's in, linking them together and connecting the iPad via bluetooth. Oh, and setting up the projector for the custom gobo. All of 10 mins and I'm in and ready to roll.
A quick catch up with the coordinator to make sure we're singing from the same hymn sheet (she wasn't actually aware that I was there to do the intros etc and thought I was leaving to return later for the evening). See the warning signs....
Big napkin waving entrance for the bride and groom, speeches done and dusted, and it's onto background duties via a playlist curated by the bride and groom. In other words, I pressed play and sat down. The unfortunate part here is that I'm right opposite the kitchen door and having been asked about any dietary requirements a couple of weeks ago was looking forward to my helping of roast beef dinner appearing once the guests were tucking into theirs (it looked absolutely gorgeous and I was starving).
Here's the warning sign.....I was forgotten by the venue. Luckily I always take sustenance with me so rather than cause any fuss, tucked into a feast of chocolate hobnobs :rofl:
The breakfast overruns by half an hour.....can you be ready in 20 mins ask the venue. Erm.....nope. I'm starving hungry, I've got the gear to navigate in through various right-angled corridors plus take the afternoon kit out.....I'll be ready when I'm ready (and yes that means I'm taking a leak and going for a cheeky ciggy before the first dance).
Eventually it's time to crack on with the evening shenanigans. I have to introduce the B&G back into the room for cake cutting, but I've not been given a choon to play for this. Luckily I'm observant during the speeches and let's just say, the bride was a fan of Postman Pat growing up (an anecdote of which had the guests rolling on the floor during the FOB's speech). Can you seen what's coming next, dear reader?
Yup.....please welcome to the room the very new MR & MRS (postman pat, postman pat and his black and white cat). A hell of a risk but it paid off :)
First dance was a custom mix they'd asked for starting with an acoustic rendition of Still into you and ending with the Paramore original. From there, it's game on. A very small list of pre-requests, nothing off limits, and guest requests more than welcome.
Even better, the evening buffet was fish and chips and yes, I was there for double helpings! Evening buffet has never been so welcome!
I was blessed with a full floor for the duration, LOTS of requests for a change and calls for that Spanish chap at the end of the night. Lots of hugs and handshakes and I'm back in the van for the white knuckle drive home just 30 minutes later.
Next week, my final wedding of the season. It's another all-dayer and I have so little information that it's quite scary :o
Fraudulent! ( And tired ).
Well done to the lads above for working hard and having great nights, earned through their own efforts.
I've just had a fabulous, but tiring night, due almost entirely to someone else. :o
Sixteen years ago, young Penfold's wife had an accident with a power tool, and I covered a gig with a charitable organisation he christened " The Legslappers ".
Their real title is the FFN. ( Here you go )They organise wine tastings of a style not available anywhere else. Basically, it's a wine tasting in the style of a Bier Keller, with dances varying from authentic styled ones, to beating out The Radetsky March on the legs of men standing on chairs, hence The Legslappers! ;:eek::eek:
Well this one is nearly as far South as they regularly go, Coningsby. Between 80 and 100 miles from me, depending on whether you go by the good roads, ( M18, A1, A17 ) or the awful ones which abound in Lincolnshire. I left home, in challenging weather conditions mid afternoon, and having filled up the van with diesel, and me with coffee, arrived in Coningsby around 4.30pm
It's a lovely Community Hall, in the middle of the village, and if you park in the car park at the correct side, decent access. ( The other side is still decent access, not quite as good, and also you block access to the smaller, awkward car park, and can get fenced in at the end ).
Well, imagine if you will, a hundred guests arriving virtually simultaneously, already in good spirits, who are then royally entertained for over three hours, fuelled up with considerable mounts of alcohol, and you have the onerous task of playing music to them for about 50 minutes! :whistle:
One of the best crowds I think we've ever had, totally up for a good time. Also, due to me knowing the venue, and some recent kit changes, ( the Roland 707M lets me run laptop into two channels, Numark DDS into two more, and as a bonus, the Prime GO into an auxiliary, allowing me ample time to change over to my music from theirs) having the best possible setup I can imagine for the venue ( a not overly large, fairly high stage, shared with the FFN )
The only downside then is heading home such a long distance. Perhaps the clue's in the name, Excalibur MOBILE Disco? :confused:
Forgive me, for I have sinned.
A twofer here, in reverse order.
Last night, I should have been at Mr Western's residency, for a nice wedding, while he sunned himself on a tropical beach. Been in the book all year.
Until a couple of weeks ago, when after he asked for the first dance, he was told that the singing waiters would cover my part in the proceedings. :eek::eek: ( I'm waiting eagerly to find out how it went, Matthew has been asked to investigate )
So, I'm a gig down, but holding a reasonable cancellation fee. A chap I have worked for in the past offered an 18th fairly locally, at a lower than ideal fee, but coupled with the cancellation fee, more than the original whole, so very acceptable. I arrived at the venue early, to find a small car park almost full, and an upstairs function room.
OK, One Polar, one spot bar, one Crossfire it is then. Parents of the birthday girl were lovely folk, who never batted an eyelid when I told them that although I'd been told midnight finish, in actual fact, the bar would close at 11pm, and I would stop at 11.20pm.
Breaking with tradition, we had a small room with lots of guests, rather than a vast venue with few guests. It started steadily, and we eventually had a few requests, some of which were vetoed by the birthday girl as being too leftfield. We wanted more " party " songs.
Dear reader, I did a terrible thing. I played them. Without a thought for my credibility, or musical integrity. :o:o:o
All were grist to the mill, Reach, Macarena ( twice ), DJ Otzi, Cha Cha Slide, Tragedy ( Steps version ), and Waka Waka. And then, dear reader, it got worse! Urged on by guests, and the birthday girl's parents, I sank to new depths. Soul Control-Chocolate, Superman, and even the dreaded Oops. They lapped them all up, and come finishing time, they were all in a circle singing along to Don't Look Back In Anger.
My qualms about my lamentable behaviour the moment I finished were diminished by the sight of the Birthday Girl's Mum heading towards me with an ear to ear grin, and a £20 tip! :D
Last week, I was covering a wedding in a hotel in Leeds for a chap I do a few for. I've been here before, access is a long trolley dash for me, as my van can't limbo into the underground car park to get to the lift. It was an older couple, groom was not only an Indie fan, but a Leeds United supporter. I was in and set up in decent time after room turn round, and I set up just off the dancefloor, as it's always a squeeze to fit without actually being on it, if you go in the designated corner.
Cheese, K Pop and Indie made for a very successful evening, and happy guests and DJ.
You're playing the wrong era!
And dear reader, I was! :o:o:o
Last night was covering a wedding at Mr Western's residency, as the main man has been on a restorative and recuperative holiday, and come back unwell. :daft:
I had the bare minimum of info, and the lady photographer was an absolute godsend, as she had everyone's names and info. Thank you my dear, much appreciated.
I got set up a few minutes before the appointed time, and the venue responded by letting guests back early. Thanks lads. :p
We had cake cut, first dance, Father Daughter dances ( four of ) and Bride/Stepfather dance. Time to set the dancefloor alight.
From my viewpoint, I was looking at a crowd of thirty somethings, so I leant towards chart stuff from the last few years. . :Tumble:
A guest came up and told me I was playing to the wrong generation. He was absolutely correct. Once I'd tapped into 70s/80s middle of the road fun/singalong songs, we were away. This venue offers a 1am finish, and there wasn't a snowball in Hades chance of that happening. Weddings can be long days, these lot set off at a pace, and around 11pm, all the energy went out of them. I switched off at 11.30, to thanks and handshakes from guests who identified with the music I'd played. One in the win column, even though it didn't look likely.
P.S. Why is there always a ( usually drunk ) guest, who despite me saying I won't play explicit lyrics because we have children in, comes up and asks for Chavtastic Rap songs with lyrics more suited to a porn channel than a wedding? Telling me it's alright, because the little darlings already know the words, isn't really justification in my eyes. :bang:
