Good Gig, Bad Gig.

[Imagine]

What a difference a day makes eh?

Feeling absolutely shattered today, I loaded up and went to one of my more familiar haunts for the second wedding of the weekend. Nice easy load in, nice couple (although we'd only communicated over email and telephone so this was the first time we'd actually met), and a very minimal but sensible looking playlist of the usual suspects. The rest was down to me . The only restriction - no Mr Brightside (no great loss)

I was greeted by the sights and sounds of the afternoon guests singing and dancing on the tables to a mariachi band who were playing some absolute bangers. This really lightened the heart after last night's slightly trickier crowd.

Set up well in advance of the first dance and a quick chill, and then it's down to business. A couple of really friendly photographers (this is turning into a good night) took the time to have a natter whilst we prepared for the first dance (it's the venue where they draw back the curtain in a big reveal of the starlit marquee and the couple wobbling around to their selected tune).

From the moment I hit play to the moment I turned off - I couldn't do a thing wrong. We went through just about every genre and decade of music known to man - all lapped up with aplomb . Seeing how it was going and how much falling down water was being spilled on my dance floor despite repeated requests to follow the rules and leave the drinks on their tables, this one was always going to be a fake ending.

We'd gone all over the place for the last 10-15 minutes from Spice Girls, to Five, to Bill and Jennifer (that one really rammed my 'floor!), one more from Abba and announce the ending on Otzi's dedication to a girl called something like Caroline.

"One more came the chant"

Now this is where I like this venue. They ALWAYS send one of their staff to join me on stage 10 minutes before the end of the night so that if there's trouble...they can intervene. I asked him on the mic if it was allowed, and he agreed (all set up of course). So, finally finished around a minute early to Champagne Supernova and a happy crowd of drunken guests

We're back in the game

[Excalibur]

Interesting weekend. First one, fundraiser for a lady fast becoming a regular customer. In the function room of a WMC, rather than the lounge bar where I've done the previous two. The main difference is a stage and associated function room bits and pieces. One of those times when you feel for the organiser, as obviously we're short of guests.
Later I felt sorry for me, as I was besieged by anklebiters wanting songs from Disney films for most of the night.

Saturday was an all day wedding in a Barn. Freezing cold. In common with Friday's gig, they left most or all of the venue lights on all night, more on that later. In common with last weeks wedding it overran a lot. Again I ended up with a relatively short time to play dance music, and between cherry picking from my playlist, and guest requests, the floor was healthy all night.

I mentioned the venue lights earlier. Now call me old fashioned, but I always felt that it made sense to turn the lights off during the night to let me do my stuff with the expensive lights I brought, and when I say Goodnight, whack on every light in the house to signify we'd finished. What in the name of all that's holy makes them think it's a good idea to leave the lights on all night, and then turn them off to induce guests to leave at the end?

No problem mate, I'll jut unplug all this equipment in the dark, eh?

[Imagine]

No problem mate, I'll jut unplug all this equipment in the dark, eh?

I've had that on more than one occasion. Either that of the party host insists on shutting the curtains and turning the lights off before I've finished setting up (and we all know what our nice black cables look like in the dark, don't we )

Thankfully for me, this weekend and indeed next are full on Captain Chaos, in the daylight and home by tea time type weekends. Nothing much really to report as they're all the same from my side of the booth and I can't shame the young 'un's anyway.

I did have an interesting planning meeting with my next pair of brides last week though. It's an Anglo-Argentine kind of party and oh boy it's looking to be a lot of fun on paper. Especially since it's very minimal kit (it's a teeny tiny room) and we're throwing in some traditions from the Southern hemisphere to boot.

[rth_discos]

Nice gig on Saturday at a new venue for me, deep in the heart of Toby land. It was nice to be in one of the venues I'd seen on his videos in the past.

Quite a sprawling affair, with the ceremony, wedding breakfast and evening reception all is very different rooms in very different parts of the hotel.

Lovely first dance, and had a good full dancefloor for the first song. Which was important to me, as there were 2 videographers as well as a photographer, and we know you get one song for them to take video of, and then they are off home! Naturally it dropped off at that point, leaving a few of the younger guests, so played some of the familiar stuff from the last 10 years.

30 minutes later we did the cake cutting/bouquet toss and then straight into the buffet. Around 9pm people had finished eating, and I could start picking up the songs.

This was an evening of predominantly classic songs, and with an 11pm finish I was able to pack them in one after the other. Dancefloor stayed busy and built up nicely to Sweet Caroline as the last song.

I've found a new favourite late night snack (as I was never keen on McDonalds, especially late at night)... The BP Wild Bean cafe do an excellent bacon roll that they heat up for you, and with their "breakfast deal" (that runs all day), you can get a bacon roll and hot drink for about £4. Works perfectly for me, and is about as good as 24 hour food will get!

[Excalibur]

Whoa, Gavin! Did you have to join the HDDAA or whatever it is to be allowed in? I now have visions of Toby popping up and doing a " Get orff moi laaaaand ". Glad it went well, you do realise that over there you only need two lights and one speaker?


Interesting about the Wild Bean, useful tip. If I remember, they do a loyalty system as well, like Ronald. I'm convinced there's something in his coffee, it may be less than £1.50 a bucket, but it's still better than the coffee houses, in my humble opinion. Also, I think that round here, there are lots more golden arches than BP stations with M&S inside, they're not common here.

[Jim - Scotland's Party DJ]

Not done one of these for a while.

Really good wedding on Friday slightly marred by a handful of women who wouldn't give it a rest wanting some Rangers songs played despite the groom being a massive Celtic fan and me showing them in black and white his instructions that no football tunes at all were to be played. Even after telling them that I was an Ibrox season ticket holder and I'd actually been at the game on Thursday they were banging on about they wouldn't leave it. Honestly ed me off more than it should have.

Saturday was absolutely banging, the floor was rammed from the first dance and never let up. I usually do a bit of background music during the buffet and mingle with the crowd but I cracked one and it was 4 and a half hours of non stop dancing and pure bangers. Up there with one of the best gigs I've ever done tbh. The bride and groom are away for a little break so no formal feedback yet but both of their mums have been gushing about how good I was on Facebook

[Excalibur]

A cracking gig. 21st birthday, fancy dress, with a playlist packed with cheese, anthems, Pop and Disney/Film/Cartoon/Musical soundtracks. Had to pack it all into three and a half hours. Wouldn't fit. Tired WMC with a car park that had to be seen to be believed.

Well, some of the fancy dress outfits were incredible. Mary Poppins, Winnie The Pooh, two Spice Girls, many Spidermen, Henry the Eighth, and many I didn't recognise.

A crowd that danced all night, loved everything I played ( including the soundtrack to Six, which I have got to check out. A musical about Henry's six wives? The tracks I played were gems. ) and left at eleven, after giving me a big round of applause, life doesn't get a lot better. Only downside was being five minutes too late to get a coffee at the only McDonalds directly on the route home. Ah Well.

Today is a road trip to begin the MDD Pony Express challenge. Down to Peterborough to meet Flatliners, and grab some HK for me, perhaps have a word with Crazy K while I'm there, then shift some QSC from Wakefield to Leeming Bar, fortunately not all in the same day.

[Imagine]

Today is a road trip to begin the MDD Pony Express challenge. Down to Peterborough to meet Flatliners, and grab some HK for me, perhaps have a word with Crazy K while I'm there, then shift some QSC from Wakefield to Leeming Bar, fortunately not all in the same day.

You came out of the back of beyond, and you never ventured 20 miles down the road to say hello?
Eeeeeee...you're a miserable old git

My forthcoming weekend...I'm entertaining the little 'uns as Captain Chaos again (three parties.....urgh) so nothing to write about here because there are no drunken shenanigans and the like.
Next Friday - another wedding and it's going to be very "interesting" to say the least.....watch this space!

[Excalibur]

You came out of the back of beyond, and you never ventured 20 miles down the road to say hello?
Eeeeeee...you're a miserable old git

Sincere apologies, my young friend. Had I realised how close I was to your area, I would have popped over for a cuppa, biccy and chat. Next time for sure.

OK, Saturday's gig.

40th Birthday in a social club near Doncaster. Magnificent function room, and good access, nearly spoiled by a taxi deciding that although I was reversing up to the door, he could get through the the diminishing gap before it closed. Fortunately, he was right, but only just! Stupid ****.
The heat became stifling, despite leaving doors and windows open. Might have helped if somebody had switched the air con on!

Moving bums from seats was tricky, and I could only seem to hold them for about three songs. Musical remit was 80s, 90s and chart. Requests were sporadic, and often vague. Chart dance ,and Hardcore House for instance. The Chart Dance required a bit of sifting through the top 40, but Hardcore House had me stumped.

Seems that much like the legendary Piano House Xmas party at Forest Pines, what was required was what I understand as EDM, even though the album that did the most damage was labelled Classic Trance Anthems.

So, until maybe the last hour, I believed I was dying on my feet. End of night arrives, and many people insist I've been brilliant, and that I'm top of the list if they have another party. It's beyond me.

I have been chosen for this coming Saturday's gig simply because I live a hundred yards away. Big marquee near the river, will give me an excuse to try out the new ( to me ) PA.

[Nakatomi]

I decided to tidy my garage yesterday & while I was on had a visit from a DJ friend.. At 4pm my phone rang. Am I available to DJ a wedding TONIGHT? Well uhh yes. Kind of. I got the jist that a hotel had been landed in it by 'the DJ' so after being promised a nice sum in cash I decided I could just about cover it with time in hand.

I got to the venue in plenty of time but everything else was running behind. The 7.30pm start time ended up being 8.30pm but by the time guests etc had been rounded up it was 8.50 almost. Straight into the cutting of the cake, then the first dance, then rammed floor until hog roast time. I kept things going throughout the food & built up a dancefloor many woul envy. And then came the bride to ask if I could do a 'health & safety announcement'. Oh? what for? Sparklers. Ah, you'd like me to announce sparklers? Yeah... but just for people who want to go out & do them with us. Okay.....

They waited for the videographer to reappear & then gave me the nod. Some people left to 'do sparklers' but I still had pretty much a rammed floor. A few minutes later a bridesmaid appeared asking to use my mic.... erm.. ok I'll allow this. Now it's "can everyboy go outside for the sparklers". No please or thankyou - I'm assuming this was a dictat issued by she who must be obeyed. Then of course I was playing to tumbleweeds for the next 20 minutes or so - from there it was a hard climb back up to .. well back up to MEH to be honest. All that lovely momentum ruined in a single swoop.

The remainder of the night was punctuated by more requests for me to announce the guestbook hadn't been signed enough - and requests for actual music.

We had a good enough end of the night I suppose, with screams for one more from everybody. No, sorry. Or not sorry actually.

I packed down, loaded my van & very nearly went on my merry way. I almost forgot to pick up my fee!

In all, a nice venue with a nice enough crowd but if it wasn't for those meddling sparklers it could've been an absolute blinder of a party. Nevermind. I got money for my efforts eh.