Printable View
I hear what you say, Wayne.(Actually, I see what you type, but that's nitpicking). In all cases so far, I've had 240v of some description within easy reach, but the 5 Go was considered long ago. My celebrants have usually accepted the offer of a Mic, and some have said they'd bring their own if I couldn't provide one!Quote:
Originally Posted by Imagine
Gavin, I'll look into something like that. Cheers, g4music are quite near me.
Anyway oads, back on topic please. Thanks.
Well if you measure it as freezing your bits off in a tent, being largely ignored by guests, who are intermittently coming up and asking " what do we need to get this started properly ", then I had a corker last night.
Small house party last night, near Scarborough. Garden on many levels, disco tent at the highest point, furthest away from house, heat, bar, and food. Every time I thought I'd hit a rich seam, it was the old three song dancefloor. Full for three, empty for six, full for three, empty for eight..............
Some very diverse requests, including some oddball ones from mainstream artists, such as Pretenders and Eurythmics. The token two under twelves wanting R'n'Bilge constantly, and me trying ( unsuccessfully ) to fit tunes into a semblance of order.
Finished the night with a full* floor, customer in raptures, and a £10 tip. Go figure. :daft:
* Full floor. Since a Micron Booth and one Maui 11 effectively took up a quarter of the tent, in this case, a full floor was anything over five people. :D
I had this last year. The couple put me facing out of their garage onto their driveway, which would have been fine except that the house and patio was about 200m to my hard left so the guests up there could barely here me (or see me!) The customer came up to me at the end... "in hindsight it might have been better if we'd put you with the guests by the house" :daft:Quote:
Originally Posted by Excalibur
Wedding in a monastery, on the day of record breaking heat. I think I could have got away with bermuda shorts and flip flops, but settled for the suit for first dance, then ditched the jacket once that was done. Immense thanks must go to the inimitable Davesounds, for assisting load in and setup, despite being in agony from a troublesome knee. Ouch! Also, for lending me a fan which I think was a 747 turbine in a former life!! :D Genius, Dave.
The night was uneventful, as I didn't see meany guests after the first dance. At times, they were all outside on the grass, as the bar ( in another distant room ) was hot as well. Seems I played the right songs, as the paymaster ( Groom's Mum, lovely Lady ) shook my hand at the end, and thanked me, as did the bride. Just too damn hot. Everybody was flaking by 9pm, and hadn't much left for the expected late rush.
All in all, a good gig, due in no small part to Dave, thanks mate, I owe you. :bowdown:
Last night consisted of taking my QTX battery speaker outside (dunno why it was in the van but hey ho) plugging laptop in and having disco and karaoke.
Groom even insisted not bothering setting up inside and said everything was perfect and they had an amazing time.
Wish I could do more like that :D:D
Well that went better than expected :o
Those that are members of the private forum will know I was a little worried about tonight. The hotel apparently has been likened to Fawlty Towers in the national newspapers (I didn't know this until last night)....hmmmm....no comment ;)
Anyhoo....marquee in the back garden on the wettest day of the year so far. No easy access - everything had to be manhandled around the side of the building (even a trolley wasn't going to work on this one) and into said tent.....in the rain.
Very small setup area on a very dubious floor. I do wish marquee companies would think to put something solid at least under where we or a band set up....it'd make life sooooo much more stable.
As happens, things overran.....a LOT. My 7pm first dance quickly became an 8:30 first dance, with a lot of the 77 assembled guests disappearing before that, and many more just after. Bets were on to see if we'd make it to the midnight finish.
I should also mention, I had a playlist for this one, well....more of a suggestion list, which totalled 26.2 hours of music! Now I'm one of those who loves playlists, and when they're this long, surely there must be some gems to select from.
Yes, there were!
Buried between the entire back catalogues of Beyonce, Rihanna, Sheeran and Paramore, one of the songs I had to play early on (customer's wishes and all that) was the Conga.
This was shortly followed by some of the many Abba songs on the list, Take That, S Club 7.....can you see where this is going?
Oh yes, Macarena, YMCA and the Cha Cha slide made appearances tonight as well.....all requested by guests and all actually within the list.
The result? Only about 40 guests in a big marquee and most of them filling the 12x12 patch of wood in front of me for most of it :)
Happy DJ :)
The last conversation of the night was actually with one of the venue staff. Turns out her daughter is a wedding coordinator at one of the big local venues and is in desperate need of a decent DJ to recommend to couples. "Here's my card" came the reply :)
Week of next week, then back to all day in a Tepee - I hope the weather's better than this!
Must have been the day for " better than expected". :) I was out with the FFN for my least favourite crowd. :( " Boisterous and enthusiastic " is the polite description. I've had to create a special rig for them just to keep my kit fairly safe. Sub under the deckstand, tops on gravity poles with the plates partly under the booth, and lights on poles from the booth. Might even refine it to lash the Gravity poles to the booth, and stick the Powerbar behind me. Either that, or erect a fence a couple of metres in front of me.
FFN love them, as they're so responsive. I'm less impressed, but I'd have to say they were better than usual. Ah well, don't care now, off on hols shortly. Meeting some Forum Legends with a bit of luck, staying in a Wetherspoons, it doesn't get much better than that. :D:beer1:
have you got a piccie of such a set up, Pete?
Ask, and ye shall receive. Should be in Gallery, I'll move it when I get home. Speakers on gravity poles, lights on home made Ultimax split poles. Compact and simple, as folk commented last night.Quote:
Originally Posted by mbp
Did you run a sub under the booth?
Nice little set up...what lighting did you use?
Ah, I didn't say, did I? Oops. :o Yes, there was a Db 612 under the booth, helping out the RCF 710s. Although they're compact, I don't think I can get two under there, along with my rack case of radio mics and lighting controllers. This venue and crowd pose issues, I haven't sorted them all yet, but I'm on the way there with this.Quote:
Originally Posted by DJColsie
I wanted simple, and on the tops of the poles are the trusty Hadron 4 in 1 lights ( poor man's Chauvet wash fx ) which really are the swiss army knife of lights. Can do colour wash, derby effect, laser and strobe. Below them are the room fillers, Crossfire XP. I can run them master slave easily, I'll have to look at putting them under DMX control as well.Quote:
Originally Posted by mbp
Quite a busy week last week... Thursday saw me 'celebrate' my birthday by djing a wedding where I was included as part of a package..
It started well but by 10pm not a soul was left in the room bar myself & barstaff. People came in occasionally to get drinks & they apologised for leaving me in the lurch.. I wasn't too bothered... It could've easily been worse.. A room full of people not looking like they're enjoying the music, for example..
Then Saturday I had a wedding at a venue new to me
Ooo, dead easy loadin a colleague told me. Yeah.. Dead easy.. Just a 100m jaunt down a path, turn left go up a wee ramp for 20m, into the first double doors, then turn right & through another set of doors then you're in! Doddle.. I was supremely glad of my rock n roller.. Though it took 3 trips to get everything in.
When i showed my face the venue had just got started building the stage. The MC, who by the way was a really nice guy, suggested I set up next to the stage. He was pleased I didn't have a six footer..
Speakers were intended to go either side of the stage on the floor, as were the lights. The stage itself was reserved for the band. I met with the band's main man who was a thoroughly lovely bloke. Then came the 'can we just plug into your PA?" line. Oh my dear boy, one does not simply' just plug in' to my PA..." but your speakers have xlrs.. We could just swap leads.. ". " Ah! ", said I..." but it'll make things much smoother if I go to my van & bring in my little mixer... You can sling me a pair of xlrs, which I'll take into my mixer line inputs via jack tails I've got & we'll be in business". Consider him flabbergasted!
Sadly no kind of sound check of the band was possible before they started beyond checking the signal path from their desk to mine because the rest of the band weren't to arrive til after the 1st dance... Hmmmkay then...
So I played background music as people filed in. The bride & groom came to see me & we ran through a couple of changes to the order of things. The 1st dance ended up being delayed slightly on account of the incredible heat & humidity of the day.
Come the time I was given the nod & I got everyone standing up around the dancefloor as planned. A huge apllause rang out as they started & I felt pleased it'd all gone to plan. FoB dance next & that was well received too.. Then it was on with my tunes to a packed floor. The band, my friend the MC told me, were running very late & would I be so kind as to continue until they were ready? Of course!
As members arrived I saw the main man juggling levels & swapping cables around.. I filled yet more time & by 830pm they were good to go. "it's now time for tonight's band so please give a very warm Miles wedding welcome to Basement Jazz!". Colour James the band leader gobsmacked... Heh.
They got their very warm welcome & started their set. Problem was I couldn't hear the lead singer. I popped out front & still couldn't hear her. I jumped back to my booth, set my headphones to listen to their channel & couldn't hear her much there either. So I picked up my spare radio mic, took a punt on a level & walked onto the stage & handed it to the singer. She sang. We all heard her. Marvellous.
The arrival of the evening's food was also late which meant the cake cut was also going to be delayed so.. Yet more filling...
I played bg music for the food, keeping it upbeat until it was the band's 2nd set. This time they sounded MUCH better though their new levels meant I had a troublesome feedback if I cranked their level any. A couple of tries on my desk's graphic sorted that out.. Needed a slight dip at 150hz.. Who'da thunk it!
Rammed floors followed & the band did the best cover of Wonderwall ever to grace my ears... In a jazz swing style... Oh my god it was divine! Their last song came.. I bigged them up again & waited a sec.. James looked at me as if to say go on, now you... I got back on the mic & said "wait a sec.. Isn't there an encore?" :lol: which started yells of one more song from the crowd. Oops :rofl:
Oddly they hadn't intended to play one more but did a great one anyway..
Then me for the remaining 90 minutes, into which I crammed all the unplayed pre-requests including a mini set of German pop music the bride had asked me to do my best with. She needn't have had reservations... Everyone played along. I still have Mama Laudda ringing in my ears!
We ended the night with Shut Up & Dance... Then it was my turn for screams of one more. I walked onto the stage, took a slightly mocking bow & started derigging.
By the time I'd finished wrapping cables I was a sweating mess. To say I had a very happy customer would be an understatement... James the band leader came back full of thanks & praise too.. A bit of a result!
I'll post about last night's wedding later..
What are the Equinox MicronBooths like?......cons/pro?
Oh, are the crossfires any good as being 3W only??
Ta
Crossfire XP are the only ones worth considering IMHO.Quote:
Originally Posted by mbp
As for the Micron.. I had one for a couple of years.. used it a fair bit, and grew to HATE it. I suppose what you'll think of it initially will depend on what you're used to. I came to the micron from an Ultimax 4ft stand which was hell with too many handwheel bolts (its bits don't stack & its best transported fully assembled), so I naturally loved the relative ease of putting up the micron. For a while. I grew to hate the scrim, the fiddliness of the overhead upright bars (and their fixed height) and putting it all together in its bag at the end of the night. I've never actually needed a booth as narrow as the micron in fairness. My trussbooth has been everywhere with me since I got it & I simply don't miss the micron at all. I am however considering going to something as narrow as the micron but less of a barricade...
Here's the lowdown on Sunday's wedding then..
It started out as a classic case of.. are they gonna get in touch? Why haven't they got in touch? Then a frantic message from the venue on the day asking me to call the groom. Well of course.. if only I had his number.. Anyway we got all that sorted out & the all important 1st dance was discussed - off I went to buy it in good time for the gig. This er... shall we say.. slippage is being addressed & hopefully will be absolutely nixed very soon!!
Got there, set up & met singularly the most likeable photographer I've ever met at a wedding. In came the groom, we discussed some minor details & at 7pm guests piled into the room. Man, it was gonna be a busy one. Being a Sunday I thought, let's hope it stays that way..
Cake & 1st dance time came around quickly enough & after a brief stall to locate a missing VIP the happy couple entered the room to huge applause. I love the look on the couple's faces when they come in & see their guests going on like that for them..
1st dance done, off we went & it looked very much like the crowd were only going to shake their stuff to generic wedding disco fayre. There was a very energetic dance off which started during Blurred Lines which I ran away with, incorporating It's Tricky, U Can't Touch This, Sexy & I Know it, We No Speak Americano & Timber.. . I think I was the winner of that round lol. More standard fayre followed - I just couldn't get much off the beaten track to stick. Meh, que sera I suppose.. Luckily, the bride popped over & asked me if I had any Foo Fighters. Well! On went Everlong & didn't that just open a doorway to something way more interesting! And so that & the tunes that followed prompted ever more interesting requests from guests - so I joined the dots as you do & we weaved a merry path down the less trodden road with alternative hits from the 2000s. The crowd tired of that stuff so I slunk back slightly into more classic rock like ACDC - You Shook Me All Night Long.. Mrs Bride took a break from jumping up & down to request No Diggity & that in turn led to more, and similar gear until...
A guest requested Lauryn Hill - Doo Wop That Thing.. eek! I didn't have it! As luck would have it, the wedding had been deemed an unplugged affair so my connection to ILikeMusic was unfettered, so down came a lovely fat WAV nice & quick & I played it next, right after Fatman scoop. Another guest requested FloRida & Tpain - Low, so I banged that on & it was last orders time.. I reached for CeeLo Green - Forget You which brought people hurriedly back from the bar. Not much time for many more songs I said, which brought the groom over to request Mr Boombastic - his Dad's favourite song apparently... Mysterious Girl followed, to guffaws & whoops of delight & then we finished on Bohemian Rhapsody - a choice which the groom later admitted gave him pause, but he soon realised it was genius. His words folks, not mine. It was either gonna be that or Mr Brightside..
In the post mortem chat, the groom asked me how I did all that.. considering they'd only given me the first dance info. Well, I said.. I just play stuff & watch how people react to it, and I listen.. and I also took a few requests and er.. join the dots.. . The guests being great, up for it people really helped of course!
In summary, an absolutely brilliant couple of gigs at the weekend. Right now I feel blessed to have a job I (mostly) enjoy so much. Feedback from gigs has been largely unprompted this year & the other week I got a picture message from my wife featuring an actual thankyou card from a customer whose wedding I thought had been a near deserted dancefloor all night long. Just goes to show. I was, I don't mind admitting, quite moved when I saw the card though. I hope I never become immune to that.
I love a good playlist. They make excellent fire lighters! :DQuote:
Originally Posted by Imagine
Seriously though.. 26.5 hours long?! You can call that customer service if you like.. I call it torture! For them as well as you. I've sat down before & made lists to cover a 5 hour gig (it was for a theme night) - and even coming up with 6 hours of danceable material which you could be reasonably sure of succeeding was pretty time consuming. 26.5 hours seems more like they just dumped their entire recent play history on you.
I have mixed feelings about playlists in truth. On the one hand, they can be a brilliant pointer towards where you can head (this is mostly my sentiment on the matter these days). On the other, they can be a millstone around your neck & can crucify an event to death. The key, if there really is one, is to try to manage things so they don't get out of hand. Thanks to me not having a fuzzy search based custom built app - and none being generally available (at a reasonable price) it takes roughly 10-20 minutes per hour of tracklisting for me to collate. NOT fun if the list is 4 or more hours long.
No Wayne, rather you than me mate, honestly. I ask for an outline - a breakdown of genres, artists & a smattering of must-play tracks & it's working for me very well now - and I'm MUCH happier in my work as a result :) My feedback seems to be coming up roses more often too.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mbp
Yes, the Crossfire XP's are the uprated model with 8 x 10W LEDs. They are the ones Peter has and, having seen his in operation, they look damn fine too.
Got a couple of ADJ Quad Phase 10W effect lights from another set up....
Are they worth keeping and using instead of the Crossfires, or shall I rehome them and buy two crossfires?....mmmmm!!
Crossfires? XP all the way, no question. Believe Quad Phase are good, don't know if there's a high power version.
Micron booth? Been looking at the Equinox Combi, which is wider than the Micron, but narrower than the full size. Got all excited about it, but it's not going to replace either of those, and I can't justify three booths, plus my Rustic. Sadly, Mr Neen will have to sell his combi to someone else. Genuine shame, cos I thought it was going to replace the micron, but it's not .
I used to have a pair of quad phase hps. They're great in haze. Not so hot if you're not a fan of swarms of dots though. Bright as heck. Shards are similar but can't move as smoothly at slower speeds
Wedding at a lovely Golf Club/Health Spa near me. Upstairs via the slowest goods lift ever, which requires a " dead man's Hand", so you can't load it up and run off while it changes floors. Shame.
Wedding running late, so spent a long time chatting to the Photographer, who was a lovely bloke. Old School. Smart suit, not the current " homeless/surfer dude " look favoured by most.
Mainly a younger crowd, so it was about an even split between Modern and Cheese. Basically a good gig, everybody happy, everything roughly according to plan. Job done.
Flying solo on Karaoke tonight in the West Riding. Fancy Dress, and lots of singers, apparently. I'll keep you posted.
I'm at the usual place tonight, a wedding for a lovely couple. But the band!!!!!!
They are a 4 piece guitar / drum band but in their words, they don't do all rock songs, they do pop songs. Very loudly it seems.
Most of the guests have repaired outside and, at the minute, we've got their version of Mamma Mia being pummelled to death by Arctic Monkey wannabees.
A lot of the guests should probably be tucked up by now with cocoa and bikkies and there is a small group of 6 be-suited teenage lads who have drunk enough to empty the Derbyshire reservoir, but sadly, they don't have the experience to carry it off. Carry them out, I think in the near future, or there's going to be trouble. Mind you, they are the only people brave (or drunk) enough to venture on to the dancefloor.
Excuse me now, while I go and rest my eardrums as they try to Call Mr Vain, who will hear them if he's on the moon.
1am finish too. Oh joy.
While I shouldn't take pleasure from the misfortunes of others, ( and I definitely shouldn't use the word " Schadenfreude", cos that's against my beloved Rule 23, so of course I won't ) , that has absolutely tickled me pink. Bet your night didn't get a lot better when you found out they'd closed the M180 between you and home!! :(Quote:
Originally Posted by mattydj50
The reason being that I was enduring what I expected to be my own personal circle of Hell. Karaoke in a WMC in the West Riding, and all my little helpers were not available to help. Oh joy, indeed, Matthew. :(:( Well I'd have to say that everyone involved in the event was absolutely lovely, particularly venue staff on arrival, who couldn't have been nicer, or more helpful.:) A little rejigging of kit took place, and another time, I might have made use of the DJ booth beside me, aka the Pool Table!
It's taking time, but the kit is beginning to work for this. Screen on an upright from the Equinox, two dual radio mics into the VMS mic channels, giving me three handheld, and a headset, and while it didn't have the functionality of the full FOH Peavey mixer, it was perfectly adequate for purpose.
The Karaoke was well taken up initially, and kept me very busy, especially when I had to download the half a dozen requests I'd never even heard of!!
The event was a little special. A fancy dress birthday party for a lovely Lady ( if she was sixty, I want some of the tablets she's on!! ) who had remarried. Both their former spouses had died of Cancer, so we were fundraising for MacMillan, as well as having fun. When I say " fun", the poor soul who had his chest waxed to raise money might have queried the definition, but the rest of the pub loved it. This was one of those nights when the requirement for the DJ was definitely not to stand behind the booth, pressing buttons. No, it was to get up close and personal with guests, parting them from money, and somehow trying to help with the Raffle. The layout of the venue, with an L-shape in my room, and another room completely separate was a nightmare, and I don't see how it could have been improved much, but we coped.
One of those gigs where you leave with a warm glow, for many reasons. Mind you, I still hate Karaoke single handed! :mad:
Not posted in here for ages but yesterday was BY FAR the druggiest wedding I've ever done in the 11 odd years I've done this.
All day wedding, I did MC and it went great, the disco was excellent too considering how many of them were completely off their face - coke, ket, blues, mdma, weed - all of it was getting battered hard plus the bar was taking a smashing.
Lots of hardstyle dance asked for and the lapped it up but so from an actual performance point of view, it was great, apart from Christmas party nights, I've never been so on edge at a gig.
The venue had to draft in security and they'd have been well within their rights to shut the whole thing down by 8pm - I'm pretty open minded to decriminalisation but the amount of blatant drug taking by 100+ of the guests was incredible and you're talking to a guy who grew up in a scheme in Glasgow here... I'm pretty sure some dick spiked one of the elderly relatives too.
I got great feedback from various family members, friends and the groom but when they're so out of it you take it with a pinch of salt.
The bride went tonto at the venue near the end of the night for wanting to shut off the music 10 minutes before the bar closed - the idea being people would have time to get another drink in once I was done as opposed to going nuts when finding out the bar was shut once the music finished - this was 12:45 btw so not exactly shutting it down early.
17 hour day all said and done from me. I got home, put their video montage and photos together, text them this morning to say it was all online and wished them well - I'm not even sending them a feedback request because I doubt I'll get a response and tbh I just want to put the day behind me.
Bonus time. The buffet was a barbecue style, with burgers, sausages, lamb & pork chops, chicken, corn on the cob, potato wedgies, salad, coleslaw, bread..... enough to feed a small town for a week. I decided that, as the band were coming straight back on after the buffet, I would indulge as I could eat it leisurely. Wrong. The band were due back on at 9.45pm finally showed up at 9.55 and asked me if I could line up another one or two while they got everything checked. Why?? You've already done one set, surely the acoustics and laws of physics haven't changed in the last hour. Hang on though, maybe the volume needed turning up to 12. So it was gone 10 when they fired up again, leaving me to sample the buffet and dessert table. MMmmmm.Quote:
Originally Posted by Excalibur
Well, the second set proved no better and I counted 14 people in the room and around 50 outside at one point. The band then dissected "Boom boom boom boom - let me hear you say 'way-o'", "Ooh aaa, just a little bit" and The Cartoon's "Witch Doctor". For an encore (I didn't hear any shouts for one more - maybe that's why they did two), they did Abba - Dancing Queen (er, yes) and Proclaimers - 500 miles, which wasn't too bad. I came in with Shotgun - George Ezra and Shut up and dance and, within 2 minutes, it was like there had been a fire alarm in reverse. Band looked agog at the now heaving dancefloor and slunk off to get changed (or smash up the dressing room).
Bride and groom then reappeared and the bride was on and off the dancefloor all night. The groom was "socialising" with his mates and the alcoholometer was rising nicely. They had told me that they were BIG Foo Fighters fans (their First Dance was by them) so I blew several feet of dust off Mastermix Issue 234 which contains a Foo Fighters Triple Track, 3 songs mixed together (by a very good friend I discovered) so I decided that would be a perfect come out of a Journey /Bon Jovi / Bryan Adams triple. Well, I've never seen a dancefloor empty so quick and you thought that the B&G had never heard the Foo tracks in their life. After about 2 minutes of the 9 minute mix, I succumbed to the EDF* syndrome and opened the gorgonzola. Come on Eileen had been requested so on it came and it was like the first two tracks all over again. And there they remained, save for the obligatory half hourly taxi departures until 1am when, as if by magic, the house lights come on as I finish the last tune and they made a dash for the door (only to carry on drinking on the terrace outside). Not my problem anymore!
Sad to say, no thank you's from the guests nor B&G. Neither did the staff or manager receive any thanks. Nice couple then.
As usual, the staff carried on around me stripping chair covers, table cloths, stacking chairs, peeling up the dancefloor and hoovering merrily. We had a chat about the next two weddings, one is in the rarely used upstairs room.Why, Sean didn't know either as they hate weddings up there. There is a lift but its a right pain getting in and up during down time. Anyway, they finished before me (5 of them, 1 of me), so as I'm "in" there now I am entrusted ti turn the lights off when I had done and pushed the door shut behind me, remembering to check I've left nothing inside as all the doors back in are now locked.
Ah, double delight, because the M180 was open last night, though I only discovered when I got to where it normally is closed. Two weeks ago, I checked with the Highways Agency website to see that it was closed and duly went off directly through Scunthorpe on the A18. Imagine my thoughts (and words) when I went to rejoin the M180 at Junction 2 onlt to find traffic was in fact running through from Junction 3. So now, I don't bother checking, I just follow the signs.
Even the M18 which was listed as being closed from Jn 5 to 7 between August 2 and August 5 (2000 until 0600) was admitting traffic freely.
Home at 2.59am with feet like they were on fire. No need for the usual fridge raid, so a quick drink to take my medication with and off to beddy byes.
To the venue staff and those that don't actually give a stuff (trying to be polite there), it's just a job and they don't appear to care that much (well, having spoken to many bar staff, venue staff etc over the years...it really IS JUST another function to them)
WE put everything into it and actually care how the night goes because it is somebody's big day (or should be), and we want to do our part and give them the best we can, but at the end of the day it is just another session to many of them and they don't think like we do. We are in the same position if we're out week in, week out doing weddings every week.
That's why I pick and choose what I am doing these days. I don't need to do it and I will only do what I think is worth my time and is going to be enjoyable. That's not meant to sound egotistic, far from it (for those that know me). I just can't be bothered with the hassle of it all these days. I earn a good wage from what I am doing during the day and I don't need to go out and do something that I think will be a whole lot of hassle when I don't need it. The other side of things though is that I have a lock up full of equipment that is sitting there doing nothing for months on end. It's my choice,I know that.....But, I am finding it very hard at the moment to get motivated again and the longer it goes on, the worse it gets.
Wednesday was a local all day wedding, in a place I'm keen to get a foothold at. The owners are completely switched on to what's needed, and very good to deal with. Since it was a midweek booking, and looked like a gig I'd enjoy a lot, I quoted a keen price. With hindsight, that might have been a mistake for a couple of reasons.
One, it wasn't an easy gig, as a lot of the music requested was stuff I've only got odd tracks of, and two, due to electricity issues, I needed a battery powered speaker for the ceremony. Thus, I had to raid the Rainy Day fund for one, and after a visit to the Crêche* and a meeting with a very unhelpful salesperson, who was determined to sell me anything except what I wanted, I walked out with the same piece of kit as my friend in the Cambridgeshire Fens, a white Maui 5 GO, which is an awesome piece of kit. More on that elsewhere.
Two, contact was sporadic, and music requests were made late, and mainly by Spotify, which was not ideal. I want an email list I can print out and write on.
OK, the day. Well I arrived early, and set up the Rustic Booth with my standard wedding lights, and four box PA. It would likely have been the Mauis, except for the fact that they don't like uneven surfaces, space wasn't an issue, and I wanted the option of a bit more volume if necessary. There was also a pair of passive cabs outside for anyone who wanted to take advantage of the summer weather, but it was unnecessary, as the weather was at times a tad autumnal! :(
The ceremony was to take place in a newly constructed building, a long way from the marquee. And the generator. :( Thus, the need for the battery powered speaker. This all went smoothly ( if a little late, as various small persons were a hindrance to timeliness ) so off to the marquee.
The timings were soon abandoned, and I just got stuck into the Daytime folder. One or two from Enter Shikari, lots from Christine and the Queens, Bombay Bicycle Club, Two Door Cinema Club, Phoenix, The 1975, The xx, and fortunately some more mainstream stuff. Must have worked, as from the start, guests were coming up and saying how good it was. :)
Speeches and Kiddies Corner ( Rik and Nik, Black Lace, Baby Shark, Disney Soundtracks etc ) took us into evening. Much like the Daytime one, except a little harder, with more upbeat stuff, and a fair smattering of stuff I'd slot in at many functions. A nice touch after the first dance was half a dozen tracks introduced by me for special people, friends, and family. That worked well.
The further the evening went, the more guests asked for stuff. Bar one, they were approved by the DJ, and bar one the bride. ( Who doesn't like the Beatles? Answer, my bride. :daft: ) Seems I did a good job overall, and everyone enjoyed it. Job done. :)
I keep hearing about these 'rustic booths'......anyone any piccies?
Will get on it later. Wayne might post piccies of his Mk1 edifice.Quote:
Originally Posted by mbp
That was a very long day.....but also AWESOME!
'twas to be an all-day (ceremony to carriages) wedding for me. New venue (only opened last year) and it's a "blank canvas" jobby....basically you hire the paddocks, lakes, glamping tents and the like and then have either a marquee or a tipi installed.
My couple went for a marquee that Mary Chipperfield would have been envious of....it's certainly the biggest I've ever worked in (and yes....it even had flags on top).
I was also more than a little nervous. I'd not met the couple until the day before (they live in London and were too busy to schedule anything), so everything had been done by email. They'd also furnished me with a couple of playlists:
12 hours for the day/afternoon as background
18 hours for the evening
Now before anyone cuts in and bemoans this, I actually WELCOME these sized lists. I look at it from the point of view that every song they've taken the time to choose has a meaning to them, so I can't go far wrong picking and choosing from said lists. Today was absolutely no exception (in fact I was being complemented by the guests left, right and centre on the background music which I'd actually let VDJ autoplay whilst I assisted with other things).
So, to the day itself. The venue's in the middle of the flatlands of Cambridgeshire (literally 10 minutes from my front door with my lockup conveniently between home and the venue on the same road)....what's not to like?
Well, the 75mph gusts of wind for a start!
I found out yesterday that the celebrant was bringing her own PA system for the talky bits, whilst I was rocking up with a newly acquired Maui5 GO and an iPad for that part. Lucky I did - her QTX Busker failed just as she was starting the ceremony. Also lucky I had a completely wireless mic solution with me. Not so lucky, I haven't got any windshields for that mic yet so it was a little noisy to say the least. It got us out of the doo doo though and worked better than expected.
So, to the afternoon. Background music for a couple of hours whilst the guests enjoyed the outside (and bless them, they actually DID stay outside drinking in the gale force winds). I set about helping the venue with things like setting up the chairs in the marquee (which had been in use elsewhere on the site for the ceremony) and trying to herd people about for photos.....not easy when the sound from your portable PA is being blown in the opposite direction but we got there.
Onto the meal and speeches. Boy did they go on a while (I timed the best man at a little under 40 minutes). One of the speeches involved a carefully planned Karaoke session as well (which got the assembled guests dancing around!)
So....onto the evening.
Rustic booth with two new lights provided by the very efficient Mr Neen (a brace of ADJ Dotz Matrix). By 'eck they're bright, but seeing the size of the tent, actually perfectly matched. I feel most gigs are only going to require one of the beasts mounted on a pole behind me but for this one....they worked.
I also dumped LightRider (it's let me down far too many times now with wireless dropouts) and went back to LightKeyApp (it's £100 pa for the license but it just works and does so flawlessly...I'm happy to pay their license for that sort of reliability.
The first dance was different - don't stop me now by Queen with a coordinated confetti launch (organised by the Groomsmen) after the slow bit just as the beat drops on "I'm a shooting star, leaping through the sky" . AWESOME! No embarrassing wobbling around on the dance floor for this one....the drop and the confetti launch was the invitation for the guests to join in....and they didn't disappoint.
The playlist was already provided with a LOT of music from the 1970s, and just a smattering of 80s/90s/current. Only the 70s really worked (no complaints from me). It was a full (and I mean RAMMED) floor from beginning to end with a very early dummy finish meaning two more "one more song DJ" chants which I was happy to go with (the venue had already seen how things were going and OK'd the plan).
So all in all, a very long, very tiring, very challenging day, but the sort of day I live for!
Even better, I'm now a recommended supplier for the venue. How did that happen?
Simple!
I obeyed the rules (including the 11pm turn-everything-down)
I helped them out with stuff during the day rather than sit on my hands
I provided a party (in fact the entertainment for the whole thing) which they're happy to recommend.
Needless to say, I'm going to be on their website and in their 2020 brochure as soon as I get my logo over to them :)
Oh, and to answer the question about the Rustic booth - see below. It's going out more than any of my other rigs at the moment (I'm doing a LOT of marquee and barn weddings this year). It's even more popular than my Retro Roadshow (eek!)
Attachment 18747
June, July & August has pretty much killed me off. I'm either DJing at Weddings, Photographing Weddings (still in a 'designated bag carrier' role) and on the days I'm not out and about, I'm in the office editing photos, updating the website regularly and trying much harder with the social media stuff. In fact, I've only got two gigs this week (Monday and Saturday) but with the consultations and everything else in between, my head is in my hands just thinking about it.
But I'm not down or grumpy about it. The gigs I have been doing have, on the whole, been very good. Lots of new venues (or venues that I haven't graced for a while) which is the reason why the website is getting lots of new content. Last night was a new venue, so I took the camera with me but while I was there, I realised that with everything else that I'm doing right now, I'm really not that fussed about taking photos of this place, editing them and then creating a Blog and Venue page. Might have something to do with the fact that when I arrived, the barrier was down and I couldn't get in. Is there anyone on site who can lift it? Nope. And that was the end of the conversation. No alternative solution, no brainstorming - just a group of catering staff standing round not giving a single...
After walking around the site for half hour, I found a way to get in that would make The Crystal Maze an absolute breeze - it entailed driving on pavements and grass but short of going under the direction of Michael Bay and crashing through the barrier, it was the best I could do.
The room was a newly built...it's kinda like an assembly hall at your kid's school. Wedding was running 90 minutes behind, so the official 8pm start time was out of the window. With a Ceilidh band doing an hour set as well, this was one of those gigs where I didn't get to do a lot of DJing and I wish I could have done more because I never really got the chance to feel the room. After the first dance, I played maybe 5 songs before the band were due to start and when they finished, I got maybe 45 minutes left. I worked out quite quickly that 80s was the big hitter, so that's pretty much how it stayed for the last half hour. Of course I met the clients beforehand and got to know them and their preferences, so that helped steer me a little. Happy clients and compliments from other suppliers, so this DJ is happy.
Beyond that, it's all been a good run of events with positive responses from clients, guests and venues.
As many of you will know, I don't run a " one size fits all " rig, which means that although in theory I can tailor it exactly to the circumstances, crowd and venue, that depends on me putting the right bits in the van beforehand, and taking the right bits out. Many of us are our own worst critics, and agonise over things guests never even noticed.
Wednesday's wedding was a lot like that, the end result was first class for guests, and the review confirms that. How I got to the end result was a combination of adapting to adversity, technology which infuriates and baffles me, and technology which simply refused to play ball. :( Well on Saturday, everything just fell into place. :D
I was covering an 18th birthday for Dave Jackson, at a venue I've played quite a few times before. I know the layout. Dave was hosting a fundraiser for Cancer charities in memory of his sister Veronica, and in common with many of us, was stressed because he was waiting, not playing. Recalcitrant drummers and dodgy VGA sockets weren't helping his composure a lot, as he only wanted to do the best he possibly could, and needed everyone pulling in the same direction. Needless to say, from what I could see, the lad played a blinder, and I hope it all went well for you and your family at Vee 50.
In addition to doing his own gig, he made sure I had no setbacks for mine, thanks Dave much appreciated. :bowdown:
OK, eventually to my gig. As I said, an 18th in a venue where I've only had weddings with Dave's gear. There's not a lot of spare space, or headroom, so Micron booth was first choice, and I'd always wanted to run my Maui 11s in here, because of setup space, and room size. Not gonna happen at an 18th, the trusty 15" Proels came out of hibernation, and what a job they did. Lights were two Hadrons, two Stagg LED bars and a three colour cluster laser that's not been used for a while. On Wednesday, the lights all refused to work correctly, possibly due to a suspect cable somewhere, and a generator which may have been less than perfect. Saturday, they were flawless.
So, we started with the usual testing of the water with a trawl through the Now albums to select stuff which was well received by all, but I didn't get a single request until after the buffet, and the first couple weren't really indicative of the general mood either. Ah well. Then I got the thing that really grinds my gears. :mad: You will also know that I'll never see 21 again, nor my flowing locks. :( I am however a professional, and I'm signed up to whatever it takes to do that job well.
" Have you got XYZ? It's modern". So :Censored:ing what? It's my job to have modern music. Just cos I don't wear jeans with the crotch at ankle level, doesn't prevent me having chart and pre- release music. :mad::mad:
Well, once the assembled horde of infants found out that I had everything they asked for, was prepared to play it, and could throw some matching bangers of my own, we were rocking and rolling. :D Well, not rocking and rolling exactly, but twerking and similar moves. I found out that I really am a big fan of some Drum and Bass stuff, ( I'm going to give Macky Gee a listen on Spotify when I get a chance ) and I'm not a fan of most chart music. ( Here I suspect I'm not in a minority, from what I see elsewhere ).
With five minutes to go before last orders, somebody threw a switch, and the venue emptied, apparently for pastures new with a late bar. I was thanked and praised by the parents of the birthday girl, paid by the venue, and got packed up with the satisfaction of a job well done, with the right kit. I went to say goodbye to Dave, who was all of a hundred and fifty yards away, and then called to see my old friend Maccy D. ( See what I did there ) ? :D
Consider it done :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Excalibur
http://www.playlist-converter.net/#/
Take the URI from Spotify and the site will spit out the playlist in a format of your choice.
Blimey! The things you young 'uns come up with! That's pure gold, thanks.Quote:
Originally Posted by DJWilson
Great to see you sir, thanks so much for your donation - www.justgiving.com/fundraising/david-jackson99,Quote:
Originally Posted by Excalibur
I will do a full report once I recover!
Two burgers in one day bet you didn't get beer with the second one :beer1:Quote:
Originally Posted by Excalibur
Ooh, heaven forfend! No burger at Ronald's, and no beer either. Just a coffee.Quote:
Originally Posted by djdj
Last night I was covering for Dave Jackson, who was enjoying himself at Yorkshire's answer to Woodstock- Tribfest. The lad's a regular there, and has only missed once. Since it doesn't rain on the righteous, he was enjoying bright sunshine too. :D
While some of us worked his regular haunts. :mad: This one's a gem. The car park is famously Transit unfriendly, and tiny. Enter through a revolving door, into a lift, through two fire doors, across a stage which isn't a stage, but a set of steps, and work in a corner next to a lighting desk designed as the next brain teaser once you've mastered a Rubik's cube. Yes Dave, you can tell how much I love this place. :p
Right, I'm painting it black for comic effect, I parked my Transit where it technically shouldn't be, but smack outside the doors works for me. :) The revolving door was folded flat, so became just a narrow entrance, and the surprisingly efficient lift was only a few paces in from there. Once up a floor, prop open the first door, and park the kit among the general paraphernalia hidden from customer view in the annexe, before taking it into the main room during turn round.
The function was interesting, not a wedding, and not an anniversary, yet both together. A renewal of vows after 25 years, bride in full wedding dress. When I arrived for 5pm, there were children present, but at 7.30pm for the start of the evening do, the little darlings were nowhere to be seen. Good planning in one way, I felt, but perhaps it led to a shortage of bodies, which was borne out by the buffet which seemed to cater for triple the number of guests!
Though they were few in number, they were many in spirit, and took to the dancefloor very early on. Once we'd got some requests coming in, and alcohol down throats, it was a very relaxed atmosphere, and very friendly. A modicum of tasteful DJ banter and witticisms seemed to help things along, with the help of one or two very lively dancers. All in all, a great night, which I enjoyed immensely. Lovely crowd, lovely staff, and the hotel was easier to navigate than it might have been.
Mention must go to the staff, who dimmed the lights and drew curtains early on, were clear and unequivocal about bar closing times, and put the house lights up the instant I said goodnight. If Carlsberg made venue staff.....................:D Superb.
As I alluded to in another thread recently, I had a text from the stepdaughter of Saturday's groom to be last Thursday asking me if it'd be possible to play Yvonne Fair's It Should've Been Me when a certain person came in the room. My initial reaction was "uh-oh.. " & I almost leapt to the conclusion I was going to be asked to be an unwitting pawn in some family politics. I needn't have worried of course.. which I'll get to in a bit.
A lovely parish community centre in Darlington was the venue for Saturday's wedding reception. The day's timeline meant that to make everything silky smooth I'd either have to drop my gear off at the venue & hide it on stage, or just do the whole setup - either option earlier in the day. I opted for setting up early.
At 6pm I arrived at the venue, all decked out to the nines & waited. The meal ended & speeches came - no BG music was requested, nor microphone use.. and then the time came to announce the cutting of the cake. Job done.. when exactly is the first dance going to be again? Ah, it's getting pushed back because the surprise is running slightly late. I padded time out as per, then we witnessed the first dance - Just Like Fred Astaire by James. After that I set the surprise music away & spotted a veiled figure slowly sashaying through the crowd. Ah, this'll be the drag queen who's been hired to surprise the groom then! Her routine was fun, taken in the spirit it was intended (I think) & got a few laughs from the guests.
Moving swiftly on.. for a long time it looked like the guests were going to be immovable, but move they did in varying amounts. Requests came in & the requesters mostly danced to their selections..
There was no half-time or other break for more food, so I patiently persisted trying to get & keep people dancing with some degree of success. Then 10pm came & I noticed people saying their goodbyes. Oh noes! We're sunk!
Nope, not quite.. The remainder were very much up for partying hearty for the last 90 minutes. From the first dance I took the cue that there might be some call for 90s indie, so prepared a cheaty crate (virtual folder) the night before, swotting up on what used to be my bread & butter but is now a mostly unused muscle. It soon came flooding back. Requests came in for some absolute belters.. There's No Other Way by Blur, Primal Scream's Loaded (!), The Cure & plenty of stuff I just don't get to play often enough.
Their married name is White, so temptation got the better of me for the last song.. and Billy Idol indeed went down a storm. 500 miles followed.. not so much because of screams for one more - more the expectant stares from the dancefloor. A nod from the bar said it was alright, so on it went.
Not one for the record books, but a very enjoyable gig & my customers were very happy with what I did for them. Good times.
EDIT: Oh I'll add that at various times I pondered turning off the house lights, or getting staff to turn them down or off, but I seemed to be doing well enough without. That & I didn't think to work out how to change the house lights before I left after setting up. Then it strikes me this is because now I usually play venues where somebody is in charge of all that. It was never like that when I started out. Remembering those huge banks of unmarked switches in WMCs across the North East.. would it have killed them to spend a few quid on a dymo label maker? Apparently it would! :lol:
Glad they looked after you, I left instructions with the manager to ensure your trip was a good one, Both lighting desks are a challenge but once mastered can generate some interesting results.Quote:
Originally Posted by Excalibur
I am back there this week so you better not have broken anything!! :p
:beer1:
Challenge is understating it. I did manage " interesting", but not on purpose. I settled for the ceiling lights on slow fade, rather than constant and blinding. Naff all else responded to pressing the switches, or shouting at it. :daft:Quote:
Originally Posted by djdj
Other aspects of last night will be aired elsewhere, because they don't cast a favourable light on this " profession". :mad: Still, it's an ill wind.
I picked up a late booking after two people had bailed on the job, one the morning before the gig!! :eek::( Setup time was alleged to be tight, and so I delved into the recesses of the equipment store, and brought out the Teutonic Powerbar. I'd forgotten how good it is, and how quick. Extend the tripod, plug it in, and hey presto, you have a light show. Two speakers on tripods too, and with two Crossfire XPs on the overhead, I was ready to go.
I took the 15" Proels out again, after falling in love with them all over again recently. It's always nice when you take old kit out and realise how good it is, and why you bought it. :) Sadly, in this case, the Maui 11s would have been perfect for the venue, but slower to set up. I'd taken the RCF 710s as backup, and if I hadn't packed them behind the Proels, they would have been perfect. Ah well.
I was granted access earlier than promised, and got set up in good time. The overall effect was very pleasing, Powerbar and Crossfires worked really well together, I may try this more often. I was heavily overgunned with the PA, but as we all ( should ) know, volume controls can be turned down, as well as up! :) The guiests took advantage of the weather, and green fields outside the huge glass doors, and dancing wise it was slow, but guests seemed to enjoy it all, whether inside or outside.
11pm finish, five minutes from the motorway access home, five minutes and thirty seconds from Ronald's coffee, and key in the front door at 12.30 am. Fine by me. :)
As with the wizened old git above - other aspects will be aired elsewhere to avoid public embarrassment.
My second birthday of the year (yup....everything else has been weddings and indeed I'm back to weddings next week).
This one, a joint 50th for a lovely husband and wife in the local golf club. Nice simple setup (the Evolve 50s got a rare of recent weeks outing since I wasn't in a marquee for a change), and a playlist brief I could definitely work with - basically bangers from the 60s to the 90s with some Britpop/Indie thrown in. I had a very small playlist provided of around 20 tracks which I could weave in with no problem.
Mixed ages in attendance, with a LOT of younger guests (late teens/early 20s). Now here's a riddle - how in the name of all that's sensible do these young-uns know the entire words to every 80s track I played? More to the point....they filled the floor! I'm not complaining in the least - I have a full floor for the duration (oh boy was it a good 'un apart from one unfortunate part which will be discussed privately an hour before the end).
Twas a good night, and I really should be pleased, but said incident put a sort of damper on proceedings for me and threw me completely out of my rhythm.
Hey ho - next week is going to be an absolute BELTER! It's an 80s wedding (EVERYTHING including the church at 3pm whilst I'm setting up, the 80s food including Black Forest Gateaux which I'm actually being treated as a guest and having a place at a table, the music and the early exit by the bride and groom is being done the way things used to be done before all these new trends came into being).
The only "non traditional" bits are that we're having one of the massive American style "Grand Entrances", and more disappointingly, the bride changed her mind a couple of weeks ago from my Retro setup to my white one.
Yesterday was probably the most 'planned' wedding I've been part of. Lots of intricacies that I had to execute - and every song for the day handpicked by the bride and groom. Being an all day wedding, it meant a lot of prep, and really being on the ball on the day itself.
Sadly, a bit of badly timed rain did mean things needed to change a bit, but didn't cause too many issues.
For drinks reception entertainment, the following was a first for me (and very impressive)...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Ng8xo7dYcI
The evening was a slightly strange mix of music - not what I'd typically play for a bride and groom in their late 20s.
But all went well - a good number of dancers throughout and a great ending. A tiring and long day, but it all came together!
Kodaline - The One (First Dance)
Florence + The Machine - Stand By Me (Father/Daughter Dance)
George Ezra - Shotgun (For Groom's Daughter)
Isaac Gracie - Running On Empty (Groom/Daughter Dance)
Hall & Oates - You Make My Dreams
Frankie Valli n The Four Seasons - December 1963 (Oh What A Night)
Michael Jackson feat. Siedah Garrett - I Just Can't Stop Loving You (Cake Cutting)
Limahl - Never Ending Story (Bouquet Throw)
Dolly Parton - Islands In The Stream
Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons - Working My Way Back to You
The Drifters - Save The Last Dance For Me
Chuck Berry - You Never Can Tell
Van Morrison - Full Force Gale
UB40 - I Cant Help Falling in Love with You
Chaka Demus and Pliers - Twist And Shout
Elvis Presley - Burning Love
Sha-Na-Na - Born To Hand Jive
The Coasters - Yakety Yak
The Beatles - Come Together
Bobby Darin - Mack The Knife
Blanco Brown - The Git Up
Darius Rucker - Wagon Wheel
The T-Birds & The Pink Ladies - Score Tonight
The Drifters - Saturday Night at the Movies
Elvis Presley - All Shook Up
Thurston Harris - Little Bitty Pretty One
Rupert Holmes - Escape The Pina Colada Song
George Harrison - Got My Mind Set On You
Queen & David Bowie - Under Pressure
Diana Ross - Ain't No Mountain High Enough
Belinda Carlisle - Heaven is a Place on Earth
Creedence Clearwater Revival - Bad Moon Rising
Tina Turner - The Best
The Bluebells - Young At Heart
CJ Lewis - Sweets For My Sweet
Pato Banton feat. Ali & Robin Campbell - Baby Come Back
Ritchie Valens - La Bamba
Frankie Valli - Grease
Michelle Pfeiffer - Cool rider
Dion - Runaround Sue
Sha-Na-Na - Rock 'N' Roll Is Here To Stay
Bill Haley & His Comets - Shake, Rattle and Roll
Bill Haley - Rock around the clock
Jackie Wilson - Reet Petite
Jerry Lee Lewis - Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On
Jackie Wilson - Your Love Keeps Lifting Me
Van Morrison - Bright Side of the Road
Boyzone - Picture Of You
Ginuwine - Pony
The Irish Rovers - Drunken Sailor
Dubliners - Seven Drunken Nights
Tina Turner - Proud Mary
Mumford & Sons - I Will Wait
The Killers - Human
Pulp - Common People
Prince - Kiss
Jason Donovan - Too Many Broken Hearts
Whitney Houston - I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)
ABBA - Dancing Queen
Candi Staton - Young Hearts Run Free
David Craig - Rattlin' Bog
Proclaimers - I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)
Frankie Valli & The 4 Seasons - Can't Take My Eyes Off You
Michael Jackson - Man in the Mirror
Kodaline - All I Want
Starship - Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now
The Lumineers - Ho Hey
WOW! AWESOME! BRILLIANT!
Yesterday's wedding was one I'd been looking forward to for a couple of years, and it didn't disappoint.
I did this young lady's 50th a couple of years back in the local Con Club (full on Retro setup 80s night) - it was one of those nights that could have gone on for ever and a day and even looking back on the photos I took of the night during the past week.....well I started to tingle.
She and her partner went on holiday after that party and whilst there, he got on one knee. I got a call shortly after they returned asking me to "hold the date" whilst she went about booking the church (yes....I was booked before anything else). That doesn't happen too often in my world :)
Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago and we met up in a pub after several long Facebook chats and the like. They and I just hit it off as friends. They were having a traditional white wedding followed by a reception back at the Con Club, just the was things used to be done. The theme was to be loosely 80s based again, but no 80s roadshow this time (she'd seen my LOVE letters and her head couldn't be turned).
Whilst at the pre-wedding meeting, I was asked if I could run the background music for the afternoon on autopilot, because they'd like to give me a seat at one of the guest tables for the afternoon. It just gets better and better.
So to today....
This morning, she was the local radio station's "Bride of the Week" whereby they do a telephone interview during the bridal prep. Yours truly was mentioned as her favourite DJ :)
Set up this afternoon in good time (and it's a nightmare load in), and wait for things to start. The background was loaded onto an iPad and played through iTunes via my Maui5 Go (it was easier due to the layout of the room and the fact that I could put it towards the middle of the guests). Music such as Sweet Caroline during the background ensured plenty of singing and dancing between the courses (I like that sort of buy-in from guests :))
The onto cake cut, First Dance, Daddy/Daughter Dance - all executed in good time with lots of thanks believe it or not from the photographer (apparently it' unusual for DJs to work with them on things like lighting). Err? I ALWAYS work with photographers. She was so impressed she took my card :)
And then....a big reveal (no not THAT sort of reveal). There was a sweepstake running through the afternoon to guess the honeymoon location with the winner taking the pot. Now, only the Groom knew the location, and that was inside an envelope entrusted to me. It was like doing the Oscars and all helped to add to the excitement for the guests (it's Sri Lanka by the way).
Then, another big reveal. I got a text at midnight last night from the bride asking me to hide a balloon in a box until needed. She wouldn't say anymore when I texted back other than "no it's not a gender reveal!" (I had to ask). Turns out she's brought the deeds on a binary star in their name. Not a dry eye on the dance floor when that one came out.
Anyhoo...the music. I was prepared for a LOT of 80s which in truth, didn't do as well as I hoped. So, with the brief having anything between the 60s to the 90s as fair game, I stepped back a decade.
BOOM! A full hour of 70s disco classics ensured there were a lot of very happy guests that will remember the night :)
The last "traditional" bit - B&G decided they were leaving 20 mins before the end. For the first time EVER, I managed to get a human archway from the dance floor to the front door without it being like herding cats....they just got it and did it.
Of course as is usual when this happens, the guests start to trickle away too. The venue knew what the last song of the night was and halfway through brought the house fluorescents up (a little earlier than I'd have liked but it had the desired effect....this is a venue where "one more" is definitely not allowed)
I could do with a lot more weddings like this one - it was brilliant.
Next week, something very similar, except that one's in tents in the middle of Thetford Forest (no sound limiters for that one :). )
You had a good one, did you? :whistle::)Quote:
Originally Posted by Imagine
Well, so did I. :p One of those occasions when you can't do anything wrong. :) Leaving party for a young couple having a year out travelling. Big surprise. The room was in darkness when they came in, I hit the button, and the lights came on, to " Leaving On A Jet Plane". I had a short playlist ( given to me two days before :mad: ) with the intention of ending with a load of Tech/House music.
I got all the weird ones out of the way early, we had the buffet, and then the evening became " let's see how many ways we can disrupt the dancefloor". Once the buffet was done, we got the couple up to the front, and because they would be absent for their birthdays, and NYE, we did Happy Birthday, and Auld Lang Syne. :eek:
I got to work on the dancing, and then we had Fireworks outside. The place emptied for a while, and came back to dance. Until they set up a table on the dancefloor, and proceeded to play beer pong with Sambuca, two bottles of it!!!! That's a first for me. Then we danced until we broke for a group photograph.
Then it was around an hour to go, and I was pretending to be a real DJ, you know one that puts the headphones over one ear, twiddles knobs, waves his arm aloft and turns the mic off. I think I got away with it, because all the music was so similar, two of the joins were seamless! As I expected, the Over 21s rebelled, and we had requests for YMCA, Sweet Caroline, Time Warp, Proud Mary, and Oops. Having played these to a packed floor, it was time for the final game of Bingo, sorry House.
Venue staff, who were so laid back they were horizontal had said I could play past my allotted time ( and when they couldn't get the drunken revellers out must have regretted the decision ) which worked perfectly to let me finish the night with the intended House tracks, which had gone up from a steady 125bpm to 130 for the last two. Magic.
Congratulations from client and guests, reverse the van up to the building, load up, and head for the Motorway, which was all of ten minutes away. Hit the limiter, and just head home at warp factor 9 ( approx 68 mph), eschewing my customary trip to Ronald's in my haste. Great night really.
Another Saturday night and, As I wasn't in Zakynthos, it must be Forest Pines.
This week was a Golden Wedding Anniversary party which, unbeknown to the "bride" was to be interrupted by her and her husband of 50 years renewing their Wedding vows. The only people in the know was the "groom", their son and daughter (and other halves) me and Emily form the hotel. All the other guests were simply there on the premise of free nosh and a knees up.
So, with the room laid out for a party, save for a single table placed alongside the dancefloor, the happy couple, along with their immediate family duly arrived at 6.45pm for a 7pm start. Guests had been asked to arrive before 7.30, at which time speeches, presentations and the like would take place. Buffet was timed for 8.30pm.
What they didn't know was, hiding in a cupboard somewhere, were the Superintendant Registrar and her assistant, a bridal bouquet for the bride and buttonhile for the groom. Daughter came over to me and filled me in with some more detail. She had composed a small speech, at the end of which, she would spill the beans and tell her mother and assembled guests what exactly was going on.
Son was tasked with making sure that guests were in and seated for 7.40pm in readiness for the ceremony at 7.45pm. To his credit he did just that but of course, there's always one who HAS to talk to the happy couple about their entire life since they last met, which was probably at the original wedding.
SO, daughter did her piece and announced to one and all that dad had decided that this would be the ideal opportunity to renew their wedding vows. Cue sharp intake of breath from 50 or so guests, so much so that I began to feel faint through lack of oxygen. I did look at the old girl, to make sure that the shock hadn't killed her! After a few seconds, the silence was broken by cheering and applause and a tsunami of tears, mostly from the "bride".
So, everyone in the room then decided to clamour round to offer congratulations to the happy couple and seemed oblivious to the two registrars waiting patiently to do their stuff. I had been asked to play Gerry and the Pacemakers - Walk hand in hand once the announcement had been made, while the couple walked down the aisle to the aforementioned table, at which the two registrars were now located.
Two things spring to mind here. One, the song was about 2.5 minutes long and, given that they couldn't get away from their seats for ages, I decided to hold fire until they actually set sail. I managed to catch the eye of daughter who sensed what I was doing and looked to be in agreement. She later thanked me for that.
Secondly, the bride was actually in a wheelchair, but had transferred to a normal chair. Nevertheless, up she got and with husband and daughter's help off she went towards the table. Unfortunately, that proved to be very strenuous, and I could see it going wrong when the registrar suddenly motioned her to stop and summoned two chairs from the nearest table for them both to sit on.
A lovely ceremony then followed, vows were exchanged and they were, once again declared "husband and wife". I had another Gerry and the Pacemakers track ready to play as they walked away but, again, photographs and well wishers determined that that had to wait. Eventually, that was done and all's well in the world.
By now it was 8.20, so we held fire as the buffet was brought out and opened. You'd think that the guests had been fasting for a fortnight the speed they moved once I had said the words "the buffet is now op....". The lovely groom immediately came over to me to say thank you and told me to make sure that I got something to eat. Thank you sir.
About 15 minutes later, it was realised that they had a cake to cut, so I had to summon the guests to order while this was done. I had The Anniversary Waltz playing in the background whilst this went on.
Food eating was still going strong at around 9.15 but I was beginning to turn my thoughts to pressing the start button. Then I noticed the barman with two trays of champagne flutes being filled, so I asked what was going on. These are for a toast he said. News to me then.
So with glasses distributed, groom decided he ought to make a speech, so I handed him a mic and he stood on the dancefloor with son and daughter and made a very interesting, poignant and, in the right places, amusing speech. Turned out that they had been engaged three times, both having broken it off once each, before the tie-breaker. He never got either of the rings back, so she had three engagement rings!
He finished his speech, but no toast was proffered by anybody. So, I decided that I'd better do it. Picking up my mic, I thanked John for his speech, offered my congratulations to the happy couple and asked that guests be upstanding. "The bride and groom". Applause, applause.
I decided not to invite the couple for a First Dance given the circumstances, but, once we were under way, bride was up and away on the dancefloor. Mainly oldies was the rule of the night, given the age group, but daughter did ask for 90's and "chart" music but, as usual, sat down after one track was played from this century. A request for Gangnam Style from the grandson brought 6 more to the danceflor who just about managed to remember one move each from the dance. I decided to expand the theme with Cha Cha Slide, Macarena etc. and very soon most of the guests had plugged themselves in and were up and running.
I was asked for Rod Stewart - You're in my heart for the groom from all of his family, so I took the opportunity to create a slowdown so as not to kill off any guests, many of which were over 70.
Back to it then and daughter once again asked for (unspecified) 90's, you know, like DJ Sammy who, of course, was not heard of until 2003. So out came some more 90's, which flopped. DJ Sammy's Heaven was introduced, to which she danced alone and I decided to follow it with some similar stuff from the mid 2000's. Well, as soon as I started up Sunset Strippers - Falling Stars, she sat down, so I decided that was it for the night. Soul Banana was introduced and whoosh.... on they came.
Pretty much full on for the rest of the night and at 1220 (finish was 1230), the B&G were seen leaving, so, with only 10 left in the room, I offered my congratulations and goodnights and they took the hint. All 10 offered thank yous and a round of applause and toddled off into the night.
A happy chappie was I. Even better, the two cars parked right next to the loading door had gone, so I moved mine over, saving me a few minutes on the load.
The car temperature-ometer said 6 degrees, so I remembered where the heater was and fired it up Car loaded up, windows demisted and Ana Matronic on the radio, I embarked on the 45 minute ride home along the M180 which, apart from the lane ongoing closures, was open (for a change), so the sights of Scunthorpe were not to be enjoyed this time.
Sadly, once you've enjoyed a motoring tour of Scunthorpe to get a coffee from Ronald, it still brings you on to the motorway before the closures. They usually advertise the road as being closed, when it's normally just lane closures and speed restrictions. :daft:Quote:
Originally Posted by mattydj50
Except the night when it was advertised as closed and was open, or the night when it was advertised as open, but was closed. No signs in advance though, I just usually get kicked off at J3, so its just as easy to swing right out of the hotel and go along the A18.Quote:
Originally Posted by Excalibur
Where do I start? I was due to be in Germany now , visiting my daughter, but events put a stop to that. Serendipity found me a gig tonight, public function in a rugby club in Worksop. Upstairs, and that means the big case of dmx controllers and radio mics isn't going. I agonised over which speakers to take out of the van, and settled for the big Proels. Hmmm. For eleven guests? Turns out there are similar functions on in Skegness and Mansfield, so that explains numbers.
Now here's the bit I was confused by . I thought I'd been booked for a Soul/Disco/Funk night, populated by Soulies. That's what my client, the promoter had ordered. Gizza job, I can do that . Well, actually, it's an over thirties night, with no stated music policy, and of the eleven guests, six would prefer rock and electronic. But they're not paying me. Ah, the eternal conundrum, play to the crowd, or the paymaster?
Fortunately, the funds were already resting in my account, so it wasn't the problem it might have been. Biggest problem was apparently that my lights were bright enough to show the wrinkles on lady guests. ( Well one in particular, anyway ). And my booth wasn't big enough. :daft: My card has been well and truly marked for next time by this Lady. The odds on a next time are slim, as I'm dearer than the guy who let him down, but even such an exorbitant fee wouldn't tempt me on a regular basis. I'm not even sure there will be one next month, after this. Ah well.
I seem to be lucky at the moment and my marketing is hitting the right people - yet another relaxed wedding in a tent for me this weekend with a music policy of pretty much anything but we'd prefer it to be before the turn of the century.
Okey dokey then :)
I actually met the bride a couple of weeks ago for this one. Lovely lady who's been through the mill over the past couple of years. Her and her partner just want an enjoyable day.....and they certainly got that.
The venue? We call it Thetford Forest round these parts. I kid you not.....TWO MILES down a forest track into a field in the middle of nowhere. You could almost here Cpt. Mainwairing shouting at pt Pike to stop being a stupid boy (most of Dad's Army was filmed in these parts).
Eventually the track opens out onto an open field with a huge tent, one of the biggest generators I've ever seen, and a parking spot right next to a convenient access flap where I was to set up :). I'm liking this one more and more. Full rustic rig was in and working in under 30 minutes!
Because I was early, I was invited to go and watch the ceremony itself (I wasn't doing that part - they'd got a friend who's an acoustic guitarist doing that part), so it was nice to actually watch proceedings without the stress of managing them.
I've been to a few ceremonies in my time but this one was absolutely flipping amazing. The whole thing is conducted in a clearing in the forest! They have a permanent structure for the official signing bit, but the rest is completely open air and very refreshing! It's actually a bit "hippy". Absolutely gorgeous.
Background music for the next 90 minutes whilst the guests tucked in. I was offered, but declined as I'd already been and got mine en-route and with the ridiculously stubborn man-flu I've had for the past week, wasn't that fussed about eating anyway.
Fathers of the bride and groom speeches done (the groom came later), it's time to start the party side of things. During our meeting, I'd been promised mainly 80s fayre and indeed had been given a loose list of favourites to play. The only modern tracks being those of Sigala, because his parents were in attendance.
Halfway through, we stopped the music for the groom to make his speech (yup, I thought it strange but it's their day and if that's what they want to do). I was given instructions to play One Step Beyond and go into a Ska set at the end of the speech because he thought it'd get the gentlemen onto the floor....he wasn't wrong!
Not for the first time recently the likes of Mr Bronski fell flat on his face in favour of 70s disco and a massive 90s club set (God that was hard work but very rewarding). I was blessed with a full floor until around 30 minutes before the end (it was getting chilly and being in the middle of absolutely nowhere, people had started heading for home).
Big finish on BoRap and it's time to shove the gear back through the flap into the van just a couple of feet away and navigate the windy roads home - with a massive grin on my chops after another job well done.
Couple of weeks off now (not by choice sadly). I'm planning on honing in on what makes these particular couples choose me (because I LOVE this sort of wedding) and then looking for ways to exploit whatever it is because I'm not quite feeling this whole "2020" phenomenon that others are bragging about yet......
Lucky you. Mine seems to be hitting the people who want to help me hit the right people, and separate me from my wonga for the priveledge. :(Quote:
Originally Posted by Imagine
I would have to concur with my hairy Southern friend on this. Me too. :thumbs_up:Quote:
Originally Posted by Imagine
OK, my gig. Well, covering for a local operator ( who seems to have a very large operation and widespread working area. Whether I can or indeed wish to tap into this, I'm not sure. ) at a venue I'd not been to before.
Except, when I turned off the motorway with less than ten miles to go, certain bits appeared eerily familiar. The road I'd vowed never to use again! :Censored: sat navs! :mad: Rather than sit serenely with my foot planted on the throttle, it decides to save me about a mile by taking me along some frightening single track roads. Grrr. Going home, I took the major roads, and my progress was smooth and unhindered.
The gig. It was in a wedding anniversary in a barn on a farm which has diversified into catering and ice cream. Lovely hosts, and I was on with a band. Very very young ( under eighteen I'd say, before some wit says under sixty :p:) ) and could soon be very good. They lack experience and stagecraft, but that will surely come. Anyway, I'd arrived early to find the band had snagged most of the available space ( they'd already been told not to squeeze up a bit, as they'd originally nicked my bit as well ) and most of the power earmarked for me. Bands, eh? :whistle::)
I did the first hour as guests arrived to chat, and the band took up the baton from me. Cue an upset guest rollocking me for the band being too loud! :eek: He seemed genuinely amazed and disgusted that I couldn't turn the blighters down. :daft: Look mate, my involvement with them extends solely of introducing them, and pointing some of my lights in their direction, cos they don't have any!
Band's first set over, and it's food/ice cream time for the guests. Sporadic dancing breaks out, and I juggle the music to suit, requests vary from Chemical Brothers to Abba, both equally well received! ( But not by the same guests). :) Band do a second set with a reduced line up ( must have been past their bedtime for some of them, I'd guess ) and overstay their welcome a tad, ending aimlessly with a mumbled hand over back to me. Like I said, stagecraft will come. Less than an hour to fill for me, crowd are straining at the leash for their portion of cheese, and it's like shooting fish in a barrel. Finish with Waterloo ( told you they liked Abba ) and switch off on the dot of midnight. Job done, everybody happy. :D
Neither am I, but talking to truthful venues and suppliers I don't think it is going to become a reality :mad::mad:Quote:
Originally Posted by Imagine
It will. In January/February. Over the last 6 weeks, I have taken more bookings for 2021 than I have for 2020 but I think that January in 2020 is going to be a 'glued to your computer' month.Quote:
Originally Posted by ppentertainments
I certainly hope so.Quote:
Originally Posted by Benny Smyth
That said, I've had a real flurry of enquiries today. Why oh why do they always come in on a Sunday morning when you're still dead from the night before and really don't feel like getting enthusiastic about any type of party :rolleyes:
After 2 honkers in August - 1 an alcoholic couple who were an absolute nightmare to deal with, the other the daughter of an ex colleague with a rather strange new husband and friend group, my last few have been great.
Saturday I was in a castle in the borders.
I just about managed to get my drone up with the wind going (managed to break my car door getting it caught in a gust but that's another story :Censored: )
A guy from the Singing Kettle (big Scottish kids show from back in the day) was going to do 'a bit' turned out to be well over an hour of him doing ceilidh, playing accordion and doing songs from the show that everyone knows but chucking in family members names - I wasn't too sure how it would work but he was brilliant and everyone had a ball.
I crack on about 9, don't bother turning down for the buffet because I've only just started and it's in another room anyway, and smash it through to Midnight.
Tiny room so small rig means I'm out and on the road 20 minutes after finishing up. Home for half 2, bottle of wine in the hot tub, stay up for the boxing and then fall asleep as soon as Fury starts his ring walk :daft:
I'm getting more and more into the filming side of things and thinking about rolling this out as a sideline for other DJs and bands as I now have my Permission for Commercial Operations with the drone. Anyone think it'd take off? (no pun intended!)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gs6nwpbpws&t=61s
Or even just a really cool drone based intro for their own media :confused:
I don’t often post about gigs as to be honest most are a bit of a blur by the time Monday morning comes around, but I did have 1 memorable weekend not so long ago that has really taught me a big lesson about first impressions.
I turned up at a venue for an all-day wedding, setup as normal but did notice a lot more tables/chairs than normal. Turns out numbers just kept increasing – to the stage there was too many in the room.
The wedding coordinator came in with some news “We have just found out it is in fact a gypsy wedding”. Prior to this alarm bells never sounded as the usual signs (pay in cash, demanding etc) weren’t there – but alarm bells were suddenly very active.
They arrived for reception drinks – bringing own drink in, smoking inside, kids running riot – you get the picture and I was worried I have to admit. Made necessary precautionary measures (ie a very quick get out if needed) and then tried to put it to the back of my mind. I was worried that I had my Starcloth, uplighting etc in but they had paid for it so nothing I could do.
Into the room they came and they were having a buffet instead of sit down meal and wanted it table by table. Oh jees, no chance I thought.
Anyway to jump to the result – they were really polite, no problems (one fight outside but nothing major). The buffet ran as smooth as you could imagine and in record time, any requests were finished with a please, one request I couldn’t find was met with “no problem at all you are doing a great job”. Yes I was hammered with requests but don’t mind that and everyone had a great time.
Move onto the next day and I had 42 people, B&G in their 60s, not many kids and a very nice venue.
The result – a fight at the end of the night and the police called out.
Would never believe it haha
A very enjoyable Saturday night for the North Lincs branch of The Stroke Association, helping their fundraiser amass just under £1,000 on the night.
I'd been aware of this function at my resident venue since early June, but had not been booked by the venue, so assumed that the client had made their own arrangements. I did enquire of the venue, asking if they would like me, as my brother-in-law unfortunately suffered a stroke earlier this year and thought it would be nice to be involved. So nothing was the reply!
Then, 3 weeks ago, while I was away in Greece, I got an SOS from the venue asking me if I could cover the night. Apparently, the band they had booked were also providing the disco, but had been let down. I'd already been booked for a wedding there, so I rang a tried and trusted colleague, who was otherwise engaged. Another number off the list proved successful, so I responded to the venue in the affirmative, switching myself to the Stroke function and leaving Shaun the wedding.
So, on to Saturday then and, as it was a charity function, with all the trimmings, raffle, band, photo stand etc., I decided to arrive nice and early to pick my spot.
On arrival, I encountered the biggest raffle table I had ever seen which, by the time all of the 37 prizes were put on it, was groaning under the weight. At least they did't have the BMW Car on it for the BMW Experience that they were raffling separately.
Luckily, Sean from the venue was also early, so we consulted each other to formulate a plan. He gave me the news that there was no band mentioned on his sheet, just little old me. Never to be told twice, I started to set up centre stage (with no stage) and sod the band (who never turned up anyway). I was done and dusted over an hour later, so took the eopportunity to visit the other room there and catch up with my colleague.
Back in for around 6.15pm the organisers started arriving, two lovely ladies, Sarah and Ingrid who told me that they had actually left the entertainment for the evening in the care of a third member of their team who, with 3 weeks to go, still hadn't contacted the band she was promising to get. So the other two pulled rank and said no and contacted the hotel for my availability. They were very grateful that I was there and invited me to dine with them at their table. In almost 50 years, I can count the number of times that's happend on the thumbs of one hand.
Food was delicious (I'd probably got to have a left over dinner anyway) and we sorted ot the running order. Couple of speeches at 9pm, raffle at 9.15, BMW raffle at 9.30 then over to me.
They had put pre-printed request cards on the tables for guests to write on (but hadn't thought of pens of course). I was gathering quite a collection, of which 3 were for Rod Stewart's "Sailing". That'll be a teaser, finding a slot for that. Turns out that they use that in rehabilitation in that people can sing and sway their arms around. Given that there were 6 stroke survivors there, that was a master stro.... ah, very good idea.
So on we went and everything ran late of course, with the 37 prize raffle taking well over half an hour despite best intentions. As there were only 59 guests, they might as well have got a few more and given everyone one prize each.
Still the requests came, so, while the raffle was going on, I took to selecting the songs to create a working playing order. There were a few that didn't fit with others, Robbie's "Angels", Nickleback's "Rockstar", Tina Turner "What's love got to do with it" so I held on to them, knowing that something would come along. I wasn't disappointed. There were several cheese fests too, with the usual Cha Cha Slide, Gangnam Style and Time Warp, plus others, so that was half an hour or so where I didn't have to think. At the end of then ighgt, I counted 42 requests and I missed 2 out, mainly because I knew that the requestees had gone home early!
Virtually full dancefloor all night - I do allow then some down time, don't want to kill anybody! I did wonder whether we would make 1am, but we did, with all 12 still dancing away. At the end of the night, there was a big round of applause and every one of the twelve came over to thank me personally. Saa said to me that I had been "absolutely brilliant" and that I "had made the evening the best". Not bad for a substitute, said I. Oh, no she said, I'm so pleased we didn't have the band, and it will be you next time too. And it will be in the same location next year they said. If we can get the numbers up, it will be even better.
Thank you Stroke Association for giving me an easy and most enjoyable night. Now, who would like to help me pack down...?
Turn up early, get access to the stage which is a short walk from the automatic doors, been paid a fortnight earlier, with a musical remit of 70s, 80s, and floorfillers, early finish, and a hog roast sarnie as well! :eek::D
It's a customer I've worked for before, last year was a fund raising Ball in a Golf Club, this year it was a " Back to School" fancy dress party in a small council hall. The only similarities were the guests, and their enthusiasm for a party. Dear me, but did we have fun? :party2::banana::DJ::jumping:
Yes! We did. As a council venue, we had to be out before midnight, so the fact that the contracted midnight finish would be 11pm didn't come as a great shock. Welcome surprise, yes. Shock, no. :) I took the Powerbar for lighting, coupled with a pair of Crossfire XPs, and the trusty Proel V15s for sound. Every time I use them, I realise how good they are.
Once guests arrived, we just went into party mode, and never stopped. Manyof them had gone to town with the outfits, and I got much praise for my Headmaster outfit! ( And before anyone asks, no I didn't have to adminster the cane to any naughty persons of either gender ) The raffle gave us time to catch a breath, and off we went till finish time. I played the last ( bonus) song with house lights on, as I derigged the lights, and then lost the time I'd saved chatting to delighted guests who wanted to thank me! The trials of a mobile DJ, eh?
Unusually, I was home with a hot coffee from Ronald's emporium at 11.57pm, with a big smile on my face. Bliss.
Last week, a local hall, drive the van up to the doors, walk onto the stage, and bang out stomping tunes to a crowd of party animals in fancy dress. Magic. :)
This week? After a cancelled gig on poor ( poor? Non bloody existent, I'd say :mad:) ticket sales, I was passed a gig at the extreme Western edge of my Visa's boundaries. Much further, and I'd have been in Red Rose Land! :eek: I arrived to find a fire escape access, a stage you had to leap onto, cos the stairs were blocked, and a Peaky Blinders themed event. OK, some guests were in fancy dress again, and the venue was decked out magnificently, with props galore, but some of these props were in our way, and my playlist was never going to ram the dancefloor.
I had my first sax player accompaniment, and though he was a lovely chap, let's just say I was underwhelmed. I got soaked carrying the kit in, soaked carrying it out, and played nearly four hours of ( mainly) Twenties and Thirties music to an empty floor. :( We opened the playlist up completely for the last hour, and finished with happy guests, and happy staff.
Technically, it goes down as a success, but it didn't feel like that at the time, especially as I drove past a gig halfway from home at twice the money that came up on Facebook after I took this one. Ah well, it was ever thus. I was bloody relieved to take this one, I'll say.