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Thread: Good Gig, Bad Gig.

  1. #5301
    Dinosaur Excalibur's Avatar
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    Dear Lord, have I used up my quota of gigs where the floor is never empty, and fabulous requests come in as a constant stream? I seem currently to be in " and Disco " mode for family gatherings of some sort. Last night's was the epitome of it, loads of unruly anklebiters wanting Disney songs, and lots of people glued to their seats, chatting for England.

    And at the end, I got thanks and handshakes for a job well done. Next two weekends currently free, on Saturday I'm going to see 10cc . Don't know what to expect. Been a long time since The Original Soundtrack*.


    * Google it, children. It was once the album to have for the young and trendy. Blinded by the hype somewhat, I feel.
    Excalibur. Older than the average DJ.

    www.excaliburmobiledisco.co.uk

  2. #5302

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    A bit of a departure from the trappings of the usual familiar last night. My little blingo carted me off to the fair town in the North of Yorkshire called Richmond. And ayy, it were right good.

    My client bless her had either not realised the truth of the situation at the time of the initial enquiry, or was LYING when she told me the function was to be on the ground floor. Eesh! At the time the parking & access situation looked like it might be 'fun' too so I (cough) took that into account when I provided a quote.

    In the run-up to the event I was sent a lovely list of song erm, suggestions via spotify & there wasn't what I'd call many if any of the usual suspects. The brief was very much to avoid the dreaded action dance songs. The list was a good mix & proved to be a handy window on what would work.

    Dancing was thin on the ground until the food table had been ransacked but when they bit, oh boy. My new console provoked many very positive comments, but would I have guessed I'd have rammed floors to M People & Todd Terry's Something Going On? No, lad. No. It really warms my heart when dancers lap up quality gear rather than yell for the lowest common denominator tripe to be rolled out.

    Speaking of which I did have to deflect one such request. Me: No, I don't have "Do The Conga". Him: "What? really?". Me: Nope, as I lined up Diana Ross to play next . He turned back & complained to the client who absolutely beamed in my direction to say well done that man. Other guests who'd seen the exchange burst out laughing. Methinks Mr Loud Shirt wearer possibly has a reputation for his... let's call it 'taste in music'.

    It was the third time out for the MC7000 & I must say I don't know how I put up with the mc6000's cramped controls for so long.

    I mixed like a goodun for hours straight (no I didn't quite beatmix everything), then struggled to think of a suitable 'last' song. Ah stuff it let's do B.E.P. - I've not done that in forever - and it brought the roof off nicely. Swiftly followed by a cheeky one more (decided on the spur of the moment) , then a quick verse of Happy Birthday from the crowd & a short speech by the birthday girl's very lovely daughter. Oh and a standing ovation for the incredible DJ who'd driven all the way from Darlo, which was nice.

    I tell you, if they were all going to be like this I'd drop everything else to concentrate on landmark birthdays in quaint market towns.

    Oh & I'm doing video log thingies again. A £50 action cam mounted atop a £15 mic stand with boom, attached to a £5 USB power bank seems to work well. Its onboard mic is beyond unusable though, but that's of no matter since I replace the audio with a direct recording from VDJ anyway. Not the highest of D but much easier on the pocket than a GoPro or one of those dizzying 360 degree camera affairs.

    See here:

  3. #5303

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    Quote Originally Posted by Excalibur View Post
    Dear Lord, have I used up my quota of gigs where the floor is never empty, and fabulous requests come in as a constant stream? I seem currently to be in " and Disco " mode for family gatherings of some sort. Last night's was the epitome of it, loads of unruly anklebiters wanting Disney songs, and lots of people glued to their seats, chatting for England.

    And at the end, I got thanks and handshakes for a job well done. Next two weekends currently free, on Saturday I'm going to see 10cc . Don't know what to expect. Been a long time since The Original Soundtrack*.


    * Google it, children. It was once the album to have for the young and trendy. Blinded by the hype somewhat, I feel.
    Funny thing - I've had a daft amount of leads for parties lately 'for around 10-20 people' . Uhhh no thanks pet. Money is money but I just can't imagine crowds that small being any kind of fun. Much like the brace of christenings I've turned away recently. No thankyou very much. Enjoy the time off & particularly the 10cc gig Peter

  4. #5304
    Imagine's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Nakatomi View Post
    Funny thing - I've had a daft amount of leads for parties lately 'for around 10-20 people' . Uhhh no thanks pet. Money is money but I just can't imagine crowds that small being any kind of fun. Much like the brace of christenings I've turned away recently. No thankyou very much. Enjoy the time off & particularly the 10cc gig Peter
    Funny thing, I've been doing a LOT of kids parties with between 10 & 15 guests where I'd normally be doing between 30-40 (Covid's still a thing and keeping the little blighters away from parties sadly). You know what? I'm starting to prefer those smaller ones a lot more than the bigger ones.

    I too have next weekend off (by design). A VERY silly early start on Sunday morning to get to Solihell (typo intended) for ProMobile 2022. Well, since I booked and paid back in 2019 I thought I'd better show my face

  5. #5305
    Dinosaur Excalibur's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Excalibur View Post
    Last night's was the epitome of it, loads of unruly anklebiters wanting Disney songs, and lots of people glued to their seats, chatting for England.

    And at the end, I got thanks and handshakes for a job well done.
    And today, a solid five star review appears, praising the range of music I played. Do we expect too much in regarding a packed dancefloor as the only measure of our success?

    Wouldn't be the first time I've lost the will to live, surveying tumbleweed blowing over the dancefloor, only to have guests troop out at the end, and congratulate me on the music I dragged out in desperation.
    Excalibur. Older than the average DJ.

    www.excaliburmobiledisco.co.uk

  6. #5306

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    Quote Originally Posted by Excalibur View Post
    And today, a solid five star review appears, praising the range of music I played. Do we expect too much in regarding a packed dancefloor as the only measure of our success?
    No, but getting some kind of indication from people that they're enjoying the music is always a good start. Times I've done gigs, not seen a single word mouthed to a song or a solitary foot tapped in reaction to the stuff I played and yet...
    Quote Originally Posted by Excalibur View Post
    Wouldn't be the first time I've lost the will to live, surveying tumbleweed blowing over the dancefloor, only to have guests troop out at the end, and congratulate me on the music I dragged out in desperation.
    And it definitely won't be the last either. We DJs just want to be adored (and paid handsomely please). Good feedback during a party isn't just nice to have. If every gig turned out to be non dancing, non-reacting crowds I'd definitely have to sell up. Imposter syndrome is a nasty thing

    I actually turned down suggestions from a certain general manager, who said he'd like to give me some work during covid when weddings were starting up again (without dancing, limited numbers) - but I just said meh I really couldn't in good conscience take money from people for being a glorified background music player. That & I'm not in the game for that. I need to see a visceral reaction now & again at least.

  7. #5307
    Imagine's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Nakatomi View Post
    No, but getting some kind of indication from people that they're enjoying the music is always a good start. Times I've done gigs, not seen a single word mouthed to a song or a solitary foot tapped in reaction to the stuff I played and yet...
    It's not just me then? Phew!

    I've only done two adult gigs since the start of December, a wedding and a 60th (both documented on here) and the dance floor had tumbleweed on both occasions. I kind of felt like a complete failure on both occasions and yet the feedback.....go figure

    Quote Originally Posted by Nakatomi View Post
    And it definitely won't be the last either. We DJs just want to be adored (and paid handsomely please). Good feedback during a party isn't just nice to have. If every gig turned out to be non dancing, non-reacting crowds I'd definitely have to sell up. Imposter syndrome is a nasty thing
    Do you know what? This is the main reason I've gone in so heavily on the kids party side of things this year (apart from the fact they've kept the business going). Although they're never going to be a mosh-pit of dancing (because believe it or not....the kids have forgotten or never learned in some cases what to do or how to behave at a party ), they at least get involved with the games side of things. That interaction (much as a full dance floor) is enough to keep my ego inflated enough to carry on doing what I'm doing (plus the money's not too shabby for a two hour gig ).

    The downside, the big action dances like Superman, Agadoo, The Conga and the Cha Cha Slide seem to have become even more popular whilst the kids have been dancing at home with their parents (oh yusss.....I have an 18 minute mash-up of all of those as an action dance marathon in my set at the moment!)

    I've got several weddings coming up in the next couple of months and after the last two adult gigs I'm absolutely dreading them, despite having a proven track record of being able to fill and sustain a danced floor in "normal" times. The problem at the moment is that this disease is still rife in this neck of the woods and I fear it's going to be a good while yet before the grown ups forget what's happened and get back on my dance floor to throw shapes in any decent numbers.

    <Cassandra_Mode_On>
    Only time will tell but I feel things aren't going to be quite normal with full dance floors until next year at the moment
    </Cassandra_Mode_Off>

  8. #5308

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    Quote Originally Posted by Imagine View Post
    The problem at the moment is that this disease is still rife in this neck of the woods and I fear it's going to be a good while yet before the grown ups forget what's happened and get back on my dance floor to throw shapes in any decent numbers.

    <Cassandra_Mode_On>
    Only time will tell but I feel things aren't going to be quite normal with full dance floors until next year at the moment
    </Cassandra_Mode_Off>
    I'm still not getting this. I have the odd gig with an empty dance floor, but I'm not attributing this to anything to do with Covid. It's always the same gigs with the same indicators and factors that would have had issues pre-Covid.

    Julian
    http://www.bristoldiscohire.co.uk - Quality Disco and Equipment hire for Bristol & Bath
    Weddings, Birthday Parties, Kids Parties, School Disco's and more
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  9. #5309
    Disco Dude! DeckstarDeluxe's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by DJ Jules View Post
    I'm still not getting this. I have the odd gig with an empty dance floor, but I'm not attributing this to anything to do with Covid. It's always the same gigs with the same indicators and factors that would have had issues pre-Covid.

    Julian
    I'd go one further and say gigs have been "easier" in respect of feet on the dancefloor etc. Enjoying it while it lasts because in a couple of months it's gonna be bleedin' hot and everyone will be outside until 11.30 and then coming asking you to play for longer
    The Cheltenham Wedding DJ
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  10. #5310

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    Well, Saturday found myself a new market I need to aim for.

    Back in November I popped a few extra £££ onto my prices, however these really won’t take affect until next year (unlike a lot of DJs who announce a price increase then suddenly are working for that price, but that is a different subject altogether). This couple booked me 4 weeks ago, at the new prices and wanted ‘simple but stylish’.

    After 5 postponed weddings they decided something intimate was in order, 24 guests including 5 kids kind of intimate. I was asked to do 6.30pm till 11.30pm however likely be a ‘little early’ finishing.

    Long story short – I setup using a micro booth, 4 par cans and 1 evox. There was backup in the van just incase, but the bride almost burst into tears when she walked in (a first for me as I live in the real world lol). She just said ‘that is what I want, why couldn’t anyone else get me and realise, it is perfect’.

    This was 6pm and the bride went to the manager without me knowing and got a very nice steak sandwich made for me and a glass of diet coke – bonus.

    Everyone gathered, some singing along, first dance, then everyone sat to chat. Knocked it down a bit and had the odd couple of people now and then but largely an empty dancefloor.

    9.15 groom comes over – ‘can you play our last song, it has been brilliant and we don’t want to overdo it’.

    Packed up and out by 9.45, thank you email next morning, that night a booking from the brides sister.

    If Carling made weddings for the more mature and slightly unfit DJ ………………….

    2 of them a week I would be ecstatic, especially as the music wasn't run of the mill get everyone dancing stuff
    Semi-Retired Multi Award Winning DJ

    www.ultimateweddingdj.co.uk

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