Never ever, ever prejudge.
Sometimes, I do things against my better judgment. Being self employed, and mindful of the adage " don't work, don't eat", I sometimes take bookings I'd rather have left alone. This was one such booking, and I was 100% totally and utterly wrong.
From a lead generation site, and all the warning signs were there. An 80th Birthday in a WMC past its best, in an area of a big town that isn't wonderful to get to, which has a strong contingent of a certain ethnicity which can get a bit " interesting" on occasion. The main request was for songs pertaining to this ethnicity, and can either be a glorious celebration of ancestry and heritage, or a downright battle cry, and I don't share that heritage, and don't have enough knowledge not to walk into playing the wrong song.
Armed with my nine song playlist, I turned up to be greeted with lovely venue staff, family I couldn't quite work out, and a layout which was less than ideal for the available electrical sockets. One extension lead later, an I'm set up in as good a corner as I can find. Now this is a Family affair. There's a capital F for a reason.
I haven't had as good a night of mixed races since an Irish/Asian wedding in Scarborough, many years ago. This one was Irish/African, and the one single overriding factor was Family. They didn't really want to dance ( except to Michael Jackson, and some South African stuff a guest flagged up for me. Thank the Lord for internet access, and downloads.
Not a single cross word, demand, drink waved about near kit, or anything at all untoward. Just a glorious birthday party for a lovely lady, with all her family round. A lovely, lovely night, with an 11pm finish on the nose. Perfect. How wrong can you be?