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30-10-2021, 01:36 AM
#5251
Good gig number one of the weekend (hopefully the others will be similar ).
Tonight, a cheeky little wedding just 30 miles down the road from me in Suffolk. Nice little hotel, absolutely lovely couple who I'd spent many hours conversing with on my Sainsbury's breaks during the summer but never met. Even better, a very small room so only my small setup was required.
Now...I normally only use this particular setup for kids parties because I like to go the whole hog with hearts and stars and all that at weddings, and not the dot-spewers that are the WashFX5's. That said, tamed VERY nicely with Soundswitch (I still love that program), they actually looked quite good in a wedding scenario. I've managed to fix the first dance routines with a slow moving white derby which looks passable at a good old fashioned mirror ball.
I digress. What should have been a 40 minute setup time/room turnaround turned into just 15 (and yes....I did it!), the first dance was half an hour late (nowt to do with me) and it was a very small wedding. You know, the ones where you wonder if you're going to get many tootsies on the dance floor. I'd been sent a selection of 10 songs each from the bride and groom, the rest was down to me (and during our many phone calls we'd gone along the route of mainly 70's to 90's)...oh go on then!
Not much of the usual wedding fayre I must admit (certainly no Abba) but a very healthy dance floor for the vast majority of the evening apart from a couple of the groom's tracks which absolutely bombed....hey ho!
Lots of praise at the end of the evening from the bride, groom and the other important dignitaries. A few derogatory remarks from a couple of the younger guests because I wouldn't (couldn't! and even the duty manager told them that!) play on in exchange for cash and forget the licensing laws (there's always one isn't there )
All in all, a good night. Out of the venue and back on the road in 20 mins, home half an hour later and ready and raring for the first of two kid's Halloween parties of the weekend tomorrow....using the exact same setup (I'm liking the 15-20 min setup).
For those wondering what can possibly be setup and running in 20 mins or under....here's a little piccie. The lighting's all pre-wired and the bottom of the lighting posts are bolted to the stand so it's literally a case of plonking the top section on, connecting it to the mains, plugging in the Prime4 and Bob's you're mother's brother
Maybe next year I need to concentrate more in easier get-ins/outs
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30-10-2021, 09:11 AM
#5252
Dinosaur
Just one/two/three more.
Originally Posted by
Imagine
Lots of praise at the end of the evening from the bride, groom and the other important dignitaries. A few derogatory remarks from a couple of the younger guests because I wouldn't (couldn't! and even the duty manager told them that!) play on in exchange for cash and forget the
licensing laws (
there's always one isn't there )
Funny you should say that! Mine was my client. I'd been chatting with venue staff beforehand, who were telling me what they'd had to do to a DJ who overran. Client wanted me to play music as guests left ( milled about), despite me pointing out that I'd unplugged the laptop, and was about to pack the speakers. He was confident that his wallet would magically persuade the venue staff to let me carry on longer. Fortunately, he was wrong.
Mine was an engagement party, which looked like a disaster for me early doors. A playlist of three artists, recent chart and classics. First couple of hours are spent chatting, and I play recent(ish) chart, and suchlike. I can't get any serious dance floor action, until I am saved by some Irish Ladies, who are In The Mood For Dancing! I won't pretend that opened the floodgates, but from then on, I had a very healthy floor for most of the time. A strong female contingent stopped me from heading into Indie territory, where my playlist indicated I would end up. I arrived there in the last hour for the biggies, Dancefloor/Brightside/Sex on fire etc.
Many guests were very appreciative as I wheeled my wheelbarrow through the streets broad and narrow ( pulled my trolley through the masses of inebriated bodies standing in my way. Venue wouldn't let me use the huge fire doors two feet from the stage, insisted I trolley it through the building. Understandable, as it would have let lots of cold air and dead leaves in, but still a pain in the posterior).
Overall, marked down as a win, but hard fought. I hope and expect tonight's 50th to be easier and better. Time will tell.
PS. A guest decided I was a double for a famous TV star. Guesses welcome( I think). If you're under fifty, you've got no chance.
Last edited by Excalibur; 30-10-2021 at 09:22 AM.
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30-10-2021, 12:17 PM
#5253
I know Peter! Or maybe not. I don't want to get myself banned.
My thing last night was much harried over by the groom. Uplights were added on & paid for but little did I know the original plan for 80 guests had been modified. To THIRTY.
Had I known I'd have been inclined to suggest they replaced me with an iPod.
I've done quieter parties with less appreciative crowds but it still wasn't what I'd call much fun. Quiet ones aren't too bad when at least some guests engage & request tracks. When said tracks are hoovers like Shallow by Gaga & Bradley Cooper, not so much. Nobody was more surprised than me that it reached its conclusion at midnight.
Oh & happy anniversary to me! I've been going to that venue for the last seven years now. Get less for murder!
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30-10-2021, 01:11 PM
#5254
Dinosaur
Originally Posted by
Excalibur
PS. A guest decided I was a double for a famous TV star. Guesses welcome( I think). If you're under fifty, you've got no chance.
Originally Posted by
Nakatomi
I know Peter! Or maybe not. I don't want to get myself banned.
Maybe not, young 'un. I think you're too young. I will say that once upon a time it was David Cassidy, and many years later Tom Selleck. The guest's suggestion wasn't quite as flattering, but undoubtedly accurate.
I just checked, and Theo said it in 2008 on here! Cheeky little imp.
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30-10-2021, 05:47 PM
#5255
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31-10-2021, 11:12 AM
#5256
Dinosaur
Originally Posted by
Imagine
God it's good to be back in the saddle and working flat out again
Ain't that the truth?
Another slow burner for me again. Golf Club in Lincolnshire, about ten miles from where I was last week! 50th Birthday for a lovely lady, with an all too familiar back story. Hadn't planned a party, wanted a holiday. Covid shot that down, so Golf Club said" Giz a job. I can do that. Organise food, party and Disco".
Ah yes, Disco. Might explain why when I turned up, the first words from the manager were " don't dare leave without giving me cards"! Couple of weeks before the party,Club ring client and say " About this disco. Or technically, lack of Disco". Client is told the club can't find one, so can she?
Add to Event to the rescue, by providing quotes from me and A.N.Other. I win on honesty, charm and dashing good looks. ( OK, two out of three....... ) The room was really lovely for guests, and the classic DJ nightmare. Buffet is as far as it's possible to be away from me without leaving the building, and the bar is set to intercept dancers as they head for me. The room is big, and my little kingdom is tiny. Small, but perfectly formed.
I have a playlist of sorts, Soul, Dance, Pop, Indie, mainly from 80's/90's. I think it's great, guests ignore it mainly. To be fair, I was playing the less dance floor friendly stuff first. Eventually Lulu comes to my rescue, as requested by a lovely lady who feeds me requests all night, some very leftfield ones among the good calls. Long story short, we establish the same healthy floor as Friday.
Guests and staff all very happy, a positive review expected, but still can't help feeling they both were not all they might have been. We are our own worst critics, I often think.
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31-10-2021, 08:59 PM
#5257
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31-10-2021, 10:07 PM
#5258
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31-10-2021, 10:43 PM
#5259
Originally Posted by
Imagine
Any ideas from my assembled and esteemed colleagues?
Something with your first name in might help when people book to know who you are.
Not sure I'd want to phone up and ask for "Mr Mayhem"
So Whacky Wayne or Wild Wayne could be a couple of options?
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31-10-2021, 11:27 PM
#5260
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