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Thread: Good Gig, Bad Gig.

  1. #5211
    Jim - Scotland's Party DJ's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Nakatomi View Post
    Last night could have made the record books if the venue manager's pre-gig chat was any yardstick but sadly whatever was making the party misbehave before the evening started had either run out or worn off (sniff, sniff) by the time the evening reception got underway .

    All in all, I found out the guests liked UB40, Celine Dion I'm alive, UB40, UB40 & UB40 with a bit of Oasis & UB40 chucked in for good measure. A thoroughly miserable night for me
    UB40 have quite a druggy (albeit not generally coke) following. First time we were in Jamaica I heard more UB40 than Bob Marley

    I had a good un last night. Quite an eclectic play list but I managed to make it work. Lots of great feedback from the guests as I did my rounds at the end.

    Venue booked a led dancefloor without telling the couple which came as quite a surprise when my dancefloor guy they'd booked turned up to find a dancefloor laid already.

    He gave the couple back some money and they used the other floor. All's well except for the family members who have heard there's a problem and are now rounding the wagons.

    Coordinator: we'll just tell them you two made an arse of it and turned up at the wrong venue.

    Her face was a picture when I responded with my thoughts on that one.

    She then couldn't understand why I was pulling gear out of my motor after my dancefloor guy had left.

    Clue 1: the large lettering on both sides of my polo letting everyone know I'm the DJ

    Clue 2: I introduced myself to you as Jim the DJ about an hour ago!!!

    Staff were moaning about the guests attitude but they were all absolutely spot on with me, even the in laws who were getting involved in the dancefloor saga so I think it's probably been more down to how the day was run because to a person they were all lovely from start to finish.

    Lots of dancing, feedback already returned via DJEP so happy with that.

  2. #5212
    Dinosaur Excalibur's Avatar
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    Hmmm, seems I was so tired last week that I failed to recount my tales of joy and woe.
    Joy was a pub in Leeds, which although hard to find with Apple products ( but not Android, seemingly ) was run by some of the nicest staff I've met. A 50th Birthday for a Northern Soul/Ska/Madness/Soul/Tamla fan. Virtually played nothing else but that all night, absolute bliss. Finding my way home, not so blissful, certain parts of Leeds are a pain in the posterior to get to and from.

    Sunday was a mixed bag. I'd recced the venue, a tipi in a wood at a stately home, but hadn't seen any venue staff to get the full info. Thus it turns out I wasn't in the tipi, but a booth attached to it by a walkway/dancefloor, with roof, but not full sides. Cue howling gale freezing my bits off. Added to this, the access track had been chewed up earlier in the week by some staff, and had been barricaded off. I had to drag the trolley a hundred yards, across something resembling the Somme, which made for a very tiring end to the night. It went well, with a £20 tip from the Father of the bride, and a solid five star review from the bride midweek.

    This Saturday was " eventful". Another all day tipi wedding in a glorious setting, a lovely tipi, decorated perfectly. The weather was kind, and the audience lovely, as were the bride and groom. Once fully underway they danced to anything and everything. We had a conga line round the grounds at one point, and a Hokey Cokey too. Cha Cha slide, Gimme Some, Saturday night, and everything except Oops and The Birdie Song appeared. ( I have some artistic integrity, Wayne ) Although an error on my part meant I had to put in extra effort, what a lovely, lovely day, which couldn't have gone any better for the happy couple.

    Next week, a wake, with a fabulous musical brief.
    Excalibur. Older than the average DJ.

    www.excaliburmobiledisco.co.uk

  3. #5213

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    A very challenging one last night but fun all the same. I had 7 or so pre-requests, some quite unusual for me (Immigrant Song for one!) & despite it being a very warm night barely a soul left the dancefloor... Here's what went down - bearing in mind there was a general indication to play loads of boyband songs too (mission accomplished I reckon):
    R=guest request BR=bride request KR= request 'for my kid' - a toddler who wasn't in the slightest bit interested in dancing while her mates videoed it. TikTok can go to hell!!

    No venue wifi (2 months it's been down, and the rest!) meant I needed to duck out to download the Offspring track on my phone then bluetooth it to my playout laptop. Pain in the ... according to she who must be obeyed it was mentioned in one of the many emails we exchanged. I checked. It wasn't


    Good Times Chic
    Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough (Nick* Disco Redux) Michael Jackson
    Love Hangover (Micky More And Andy Tee Classic Disco Blend) Joey Negro
    Ride Like The Wind Christopher Cross
    Bad Decisions Two Door Cinema Club
    Dancing In The Moonlight (Original Mix) Jubel f./Neimy
    Marry You Instrumental Bruno Mars CAKE CUTTING
    Can You Feel The Love Tonight? Elton John 1st Dance
    The Greatest Show Hugh Jackman, Keala Settle, Zac Efron, Zendaya BR
    Mr. Blue Sky Electric Light Orchestra BR
    Valerie The Zutons BR
    WAP (PO Intro Edit - Clean) Cardi B f./Megan Thee Stallion R
    Love on Top Beyoncé
    I Want It That Way Backstreet Boys
    Got The Feelin Juski Edit Five
    Wannabe Juski edit Spice Girls
    Fresh Prince of Bel Air Theme Will Smith
    Everybody Get Up (Radio Edit) Five
    MMMBop Hanson
    Everybody (Backstreet's Back) Backstreet Boys
    If Ya Gettin' Down Five
    Year 3000 Juski Edit Busted
    Hot In Herre Nelly
    Let's Get It Started Black Eyed Peas
    Single Ladies Juski Edit Beyonce
    Bye Bye Bye N Sync
    Rock DJ Robbie Williams
    I Don't Feel Like Dancin' Scissor Sisters
    American Boy Estelle feat. Kanye West
    Grace Kelly MIKA
    Milkshake Kelis
    Hella Good No Doubt
    She Wants To Move N.e.r.d.
    Lets Dance (Radio Edit) Five
    Blue Swede Hooked On A Feeling BR
    Stuck In The Middle With You Stealers Wheel
    Immigrant Song (Remaster) Led Zeppelin BR
    Highway to Hell ACDC
    Gimme All Your Lovin Zz Top
    Sharp Dressed Man ZZ Top BR
    Girls Just Wanna Have Fun juski edit Cyndi Lauper R
    The Lion Sleeps Tonight Tight Fit
    I'll Make A Man Out Of You [Mulan] Donny Osmond R
    Stacy's Mom Fountains Of Wayne
    Love It When You Call The Feeling
    My Humps Black Eyed Peas
    You Can Do It Juski Edit Ice Cube ft Ms Toi R
    Mundian To Bach Ke Panjabi Mc
    Wellerman Nathan Evans KR
    Let's Get Ready To Rhumble Pj & Duncan
    Hips Don't Lie Juski Edit Shakira
    Get Busy Sean Paul
    Turn Me On Juski Edit Kevin Lyttle
    Fly Away Tones and I KR
    By Your Side Calvin Harris & Tom Grennan
    Shut Up & Dance Juski edit Walk The Moon
    Sweet Child O Mine Juski edit Guns N Roses
    Human The Killers R
    Girl All The Bad Guys Want Bowling for Soup BR
    Welcome To The Black Parade My Chemical Romance
    Vampire Weekend A-punk
    I`m Still Standing Elton John R
    Candyman Christina Aguilera
    Take On Me Juski Edit a-ha R
    St. Elmos Fire (Man In Motion) John Parr R
    In Too Deep Sum 41
    One Week Barenaked Ladies
    United States Of Whatever Liam Lynch BR
    All Star Smash Mouth
    Country Roads (Radio Edit) Hermes House Band KR
    Mysterious Girl Peter Andre feat. Bubbler Ranx
    We're Going to Ibiza Vengaboys
    Bring It All Back SClub 7 R
    Sweet Caroline Neil Diamond R
    Proud Mary Tina Turner R
    Mr. Brightside The Killers
    All the Small Things Blink-182 BR
    Want You Bad The Offspring
    Sell Out Reel Big Fish
    Basket Case Green Day BR
    The Middle Jimmy Eat World R
    What's My Age Again? (album version) Blink 182
    When the Sun Goes Down Arctic Monkeys
    Take Me Out Franz Ferdinand
    Last Nite The Strokes
    Teenage Dirtbag Wheatus
    Be Faithful juski edit Fatman Scoop
    Yeah Lil Jon & The East Side Boys
    -My Neck My Back Lick It Explicit .314459-08.01 Khia
    Naughty Girl Beyoncé
    Dirrty (feat. Redman) Christina Aguilera
    Shut Up And Let Me Go The Ting Tings
    Sex On Fire Kings Of Leon
    Everyday I Love You Less and Less Kaiser Chiefs
    Keep On Movin Juski edit Five
    Summer of 69 Juski Edit Bryan Adams
    Bad Moon Rising Creedence Clearwater Revival R
    Crocodile Rock Elton John
    My Sharona Knack
    Wonderwall Oasis R
    Dancing In The Moonlight Toploader
    Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now Starship BR

    If anyone is wondering how that many tunes fitted into 5 hours - simple - don't play tracks all the way through, yo
    Oh & BTW I ing LOVE Virtual DJ's stems. Top feature I absolutely couldn't live without now... lets me do lovely live bootlegs without resorting to 3+ decks, acapellas & fader juggling

    Finally - a plea - I had a request for Slipknot - I always knew one day I'd be asked for some. What are your go-to tracks by them??
    Last edited by Nakatomi; 29-08-2021 at 11:43 AM.

  4. #5214

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    Quote Originally Posted by Nakatomi View Post
    Oh & BTW I ing LOVE Virtual DJ's stems. Top feature I absolutely couldn't live without now... lets me do lovely live bootlegs without resorting to 3+ decks, acapellas & fader juggling
    With you on this one. It's become an indespensible feature. Especially now I've got used to them and can remember not to let a track play out of a loop without its vocal/bassline/instrumental..

    Well, most of the time.

    Julian
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    Weddings, Birthday Parties, Kids Parties, School Disco's and more
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  5. #5215
    Dinosaur Excalibur's Avatar
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    Default Beware the demon drink!

    Especially at the aforementioned wake. Despite knowing it was a bad idea, I set up in an unsuitable position, behind a venue structure. Long story short, this would have been the best gig of the year bar none, were it not for the amount of drink placed precariously on my Structure. Best crowd, danved to everything, and I got to do a really well received NS slot. Client and guests thought I was awesome. I didn't reciprocate the love.

    Downside, spillage. I've said it before, but the trend to dance with drinks, place them anywhere unsuitable ( usually in/on the DJ booth ) wave them about/spill them near/over me is the one thing most likely to make me give this all up.

    Allied subject, the other effect it can have on people. Friday's wedding for a very nice couple I met beforehand a case in point. I had a playlist which was totally unsuitable for their guests ( and probably 90% of wedding guests, even though it featured some damn fine music ) and once the drink took hold, despite me having a floor packed to the limits with Clubland/Bounce/EDM/90s Dance I was ordered to return to the AOR/Power Ballad/Rock playlist. Never seen floors clear so fast. Eventually, a hostile takeover was attempted, with only a temporary success. We finished the night rigidly adhering to the list, to a poor reception. Second one in a row leaving a bad taste in the mouth, this one for additional reasons.

    Third time lucky?
    Well yes, in many ways. Garden party quite local, to celebrate the finishing of a lockdown project, a magnificent path/ terrace/ fountain/ water feature, in a huge garden. Unlike my side of the river, ( Ouse/Humber ) its roads are winding and tortuous, usually following the waterways. The Trent joins them round here, and these dominate the area. To illustrate the point, on Friday, I had roughly a forty mile trip, thirty of those on the Motorway. On Saturday, twenty, and both journeys took exactly the same time!

    Saturday was less than ideal in some ways ( far from the madding crowd, as my electric supply and dancefloor ( terrace ) was a loooong way from the drinks/food tent and seating, and perfect in others ( lovely crowd, offers of food/drink every ten minutes, no hassle music wise, and a lovely relaxed atmosphere). Even a Red Arrows flypast, which frightened me, as I couldn't see it from my Gazebo.

    Only problem was the cold, as I was y freezing, and instead of the 9pm finish time, would I play on for an hour? Well yes, if Frostbite hadn't set in by then! Not only a £50 bonus for the extra time, and a van full of lovely surplus food from a local baker who had done the catering, but I got the Gazebo I'd said I needed for shelter in case of inclement weather.

    A possible bonus, it's alleged that Saturday's venue may become a wedding venue in the future, so possible work from there.

    Midweek the Memsahib and I are wedding guests at the wedding of Davesounds and Lily. I don't get to do the " I'm a DJ " bit there, cos Dave doesn't know any good ones. No, of course not, they just want a more relaxed event. The following day I get to do a wedding at a venue I've worked before, and Saturday should see me back at Forest Pines.
    Excalibur. Older than the average DJ.

    www.excaliburmobiledisco.co.uk

  6. #5216
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    Default Communication, miscommunication, and moving along.

    It's been a funny old week. First up was being a guest at a wedding, shock horror!! Our very own Davesounds decided to tie the knot with the lovely Lily, after only twenty five years or so! Doesn't like to rush these important decisions, our Dave. They picked a beautiful little hotel in Ossett ( no mean feat in itself) and had a wonderfully relaxed and intimate occasion. No fighting broke out, no drink was spilt near valuable disco kit, as the music was provided by young Mattysounds, who plugged some pre-recorded stuff into the hotel system, at a perfectly discreet volume. Just a lovely celebration with friends and family.

    The next day saw me revisiting a venue I'd been to three years previously, for another wedding, this time as the DJ. I'd had another Road To Damascus moment about the lights, and it would have worked very well, if the combination of a high stage and low ceiling hadn't hampered me. This one suffered from being a midweek wedding, and also lots of children, who tended to take over the playlist. I've had a lot of great playlists lately, and this would have been a corker if we'd had lots of adult bodies there, ready to throw some serious shapes. The bride was justifiably disappointed at the number of no shows, but more than happy with my efforts. Her kids said it was the best disco they'd ever been to, but that's no surprise as they chose 97% of the music! I got an early enough finish to find out that I could indulge my coffee habit at a Golden Arches nearby which I was totally unaware of. Made it with ten minutes to spare before they closed at midnight.

    Saturday is where the title kicks in. I had expected to be at Matthew Western's residency, but due to a misunderstanding between us ( not the hotel, strangely enough ) We were one DJ surplus. This worked well, seemingly, as Dave and Matty Sounds were short of one. Problem solved, wonderful.
    Except that they then had a cancellation, and we were still one DJ over. True Gentlemen that they are, they doubled up on their gig, and I went where I'd expected to cover for them. Lovely restaurant in Mirfield, with some interesting quirks. First time I've had to hand my power cable to a bar person to plug into a trailing socket hidden way under the bar, eek!

    This means that the disco has to go in a curious ( and quite frankly silly ) position in the room, although to be fair the only better place would be the comfy seating alcove at the far side, but no power exists across there. I got there ridiculously early, as usual, and was just about set up when the advance guard of the bridal party arrived. This bride was just another truly lovely one, I've had just the nicest brides lately, long may it continue. There were many Scots in attendance, lots of kilted ones as well, so I had great hopes for this one, with another splendid playlist, varying from full cheese, through lots of Proclaimers to top drawer Clubland again. It started sooo well, once the buffet had subsided, I initially had rammed floors, and hoped to build as we went on. Sadly, the reverse was true, and it was " steady as you go " until the end with 500 miles ( obviously ), my Usual Suspects, and finishing with the six minute version of Loch Lomond. My but that's a powerful piece of music.

    Another happy bride, and compliments from guests as I packed up. And the best bit? Well I don't know if this was weekend only, or a sign of less supply issues, but many of Ronald's shops were back to 24 hour service. I knew that one such emporium was slap bang in Sounds territory, so I set the Sat Nav for there, but as I got going, I realised that I already knew where I was, and I was close to my road home. The nearest McD's turned out to be open, and despite the unbelievably long and slow queue, this meant that once loaded up, it was pedal to the metal time down the M62. ( And before anyone thinks I'm speeding, the Soul Banana has a 68mph limiter).

    Next week sees a Hen Party in a Spa Hotel in L**********e. If I'm not back by Thursday, don't whatever you do send a search party.
    Excalibur. Older than the average DJ.

    www.excaliburmobiledisco.co.uk

  7. #5217

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    Default Midnight at the Oasis (ish) gig

    Quote Originally Posted by Excalibur View Post
    It's been a funny old week. ...

    Next week sees a Hen Party in a Spa Hotel in L**********e. If I'm not back by Thursday, don't whatever you do send a search party.
    I've seen lots of your rig shots on the socials Peter & I can't help but think gawd I really don't envy that guy - surely one day he's going to catch a break & be given a realistic setup space.

    As for a hen do.. as exciting as that sounds to a man of my age I don't think I'm made of strong enough stuff. I've turned down many an enquiry for hen dos recently. I used to DJ in bars in Whitley Bay & I've seen a lot of carnage, so it's gonna be a 'no' from me for a while yet. Good luck that man!

    Right then my last gig was a very indie oriented wedding bash with no less than ten tracks by the scrapping Gallagher brothers. I'm not the biggest fan of that band, to put it lightly (bad experiences with some of their fans at my gigs loom large in my memory) but I couldn't have wished for a more lovely crowd.

    Everything went great timing wise & the maid of honour was down to introduce the first dance once the cake was cut. The guests took next to no encouragement to make all the right noises at the right times & the floor was literally filled to brimming for the vast majority of the night save for hog butty time.

    I had a short list of pre-requests from the couple that indicated tastes were going to be nothing if not eclectic (apart from the Oasis bias). First dance was a big success & I started picking from the list. Guest requests came in & most people were taken aback that I was actually taking them (where the heck is this surprise still coming from?!). Oh those requests. Definitely not tracks I'd have picked under most circumstances but given the general vibe I figured it was safe to trust them. I wasn't wrong.

    One exception was a friend of the groom's dad who asked for An American Tale by Elvis right on the dot of 11pm. What? Do I risk derailing everything with this? Bah whatever, I'm sure I can rescue things if it bombs... pressed play. Cue the entire crowd looking daggers at me for about 20 agonising seconds while I thought "what the heck have I done?!". Thankfully then everyone cottoned on & one of those lovely wedding moments happened with the happy couple surrounded by everybody. Phew!

    From there we made it to last orders time & I managed to shoehorn the remaining guest requests into the last 15 minutes. It was utterly epic!

    As I packed down the couple came over & thanked me profusely. I thanked them back - that was far & away the best crowd & the loveliest couple I've worked with for ages.

  8. #5218
    Dinosaur Excalibur's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Nakatomi View Post
    I've seen lots of your rig shots on the socials Peter & I can't help but think gawd I really don't envy that guy - surely one day he's going to catch a break & be given a realistic setup space.
    Have to think about that one. I'll try to remember when I had a good one.
    Quote Originally Posted by Nakatomi View Post
    As for a hen do.. as exciting as that sounds to a man of my age I don't think I'm made of strong enough stuff. I've turned down many an enquiry for hen dos recently. I used to DJ in bars in Whitley Bay & I've seen a lot of carnage, so it's gonna be a 'no' from me for a while yet. Good luck that man!
    Ah yes, but this is in a Spa Hotel, in the heart of rural Lincolnshire ( curses, forgot to asterisk L**********e) so way more upmarket than Whitley Bay.
    Quote Originally Posted by Nakatomi View Post
    Guest requests came in & most people were taken aback that I was actually taking them (where the heck is this surprise still coming from?!). Oh those requests. Definitely not tracks I'd have picked under most circumstances but given the general vibe I figured it was safe to trust them. I wasn't wrong.
    Every gig, I tell 'em I take requests. Regularly, clearly, ad nauseam. What does the first person say who comes up? " Do you take/can I make a request"?
    Excalibur. Older than the average DJ.

    www.excaliburmobiledisco.co.uk

  9. #5219
    Imagine's Avatar
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    Well...tonight was my first back at what was a very regular haunt before all this pandemic thing kicked off.....and it was brilliant!

    For a warm and sultry Thursday evening, I wasn't really expecting great things of this one. The dancing happens in a separate marquee to the dining and drinking, and there's a very nice patio area overlooking the Cambridgeshire Fens and Ely Cathedral. Bearing in mind several of my recent weddings have involved more catching up and chatting than dancing, I was prepared for more of the same.

    The couple had sent through a playlist amounting to around 7 hours of music for a 4 hour gig. Some decent stuff on it, but an awful lot of stuff that doesn't always go down too well at weddings sadly. I was up for the challenge of steering clear of the traditional fayre and making this one work.

    I started working through what I had, some with success, and some with worrying results regarding the health of my dance floor.
    Luckily after about an hour of this, I was told to start taking requests and to get the dance floor full. Well....who am I to argue?

    The usual suspects resulted in a very healthy 'floor for most of the rest of the evening.....HOOORAY!
    Sadly being a midweek wedding, a lot of guests started to filter away from around 10:30, leaving a smaller number of bodies to do their thing in front of me. We ended up on a half hour 80s club classics set and a brilliant end to the evening with lots of thanks and hugs.

    All in all....not a bad night at all and seeing how some guests are still reluctant to crowd onto a dance floor - I'm more than happy with that one

    Right - time for some sleep. Another one tomorrow in a tent near Wisbech beckons

  10. #5220

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    Quote Originally Posted by Imagine View Post
    We ended up on a half hour 80s club classics set and a brilliant end to the evening with lots of thanks and hugs.
    Would you mind sharing some examples of your 80s club classics? It's an area I struggle with and end up leaning more on the 90s - Black Box Ride on Time is as good as it get for 80s Club Classics for me (and that only just snuck into the 80s!)

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