Good Gig, Bad Gig.

[funkymook]

Given a choice between keeping a floor full of ladies dancing & playing Sydney Youngblood - especially with so little time available I went with the needs of the many. Sorry bud. (not really sorry)

A missed opportunity to say ‘If only I could mate’ and leave him hanging...

[Nakatomi]

A missed opportunity to say ‘If only I could mate’ and leave him hanging...

true. True. I was too busy ogl... Reading the room...

[Imagine]

Well I said at the end of last week's report I was doing something a little different.

Tonight was a 40th birthday...with a 1940's theme (yup....I played Neville Chamberlain's declaration of war and several air raid sirens during the evening). Even the movers where placed either side of the booth to act as ground to air search lights....I was quite impressed

I was in a tiny village hall (only built two years ago but looks exactly how a village hall back in the 40s would have looked including the beams and vaulted ceiling). It was a surprise party (she honestly knew NOTHING until she turned up which makes a nice change), and hubby had put a hell of a lot of work into decorating the place with sandbags, WW2 memorabilia and props. I even took the time to mask the Equinox screen with tape as they used to with windows back then.

A really eclectic mix of music though. Everything from the Andrews Sisters, Vera Lynn and Glenn Miller to current chart....lots of train crashes in the mixing during that little lot. Not huge amounts of dancing though (it was a hard one to get going....I've been due for one of those for a while). Lots of toe tapping and leg slapping so they were obviously interested but not particularly dancy (that is...untii I did a 50's rock and roll set ).

However, plenty of hugs and handshakes at the end. Even had one chap offering me the "right price" to do NYE for him (didn't actually discuss figures, but I've promised 'er indoors that I'm spending NYE with her this year and there's no amount of money that will tempt me to do otherwise).

Bit of kit sorting to do this coming week before I indulge myself in next weekend's Xmas parties (oh joy....Mariah Carey season again).

I've just started playing with some new lighting software and it had more than a few glitches tonight........

[fullcontact68]

I don't normally do two discos in a day....

First of, a kids 8th birthday, 1-3, for a family friend. Located in a community hall below a church.
Good gig, played a few games,kids running around, time flew

Now to part 2.
50th Birthday at an upstairs venue 19:30 - 23:30.
Quickest access to the venue was via a fire escape, 2 flights with a 90deg bend. Quite steep, and narrow.
There is a main entrance, but this is on a main road with double yellows, and a barrier, so a no go really for access.

Got there nice and early, carried all the gear up the fire escape, knackered after that. Had to take the heavy 15's too due to the size of the hall
Large hall with a stage, so plenty of space to setup, which is always a bonus for me.the guests decided to sit all night.

There was a second room, which contained the bar and seating booths. This is where

Party was due to start at 19:30, 3 people present, over the next hour a few more arrived, by 20:30, there were about 10 guests. Ended up with around 30 in total.

Brief was to play a variety of music, including Robbie Williams, Elvis, D-Ream, Bon Jovi.....

Quite a quiet night for me, had about 6 ladies dancing, best floor reaction was to Jailhouse rock, then onto rock around the clock, the twist etc.

When the end of the night came, packed away, really stuggled with the kit going down the fire escape (Did I mention that it's narrow too, so had to carry the kit in front on me) Quite difficult going down, in the dark (there was lighting, but shaddowing the steps), with a heavy speaker in front of your, not being able to see where your going. Took it slowly, and luckily without incident.

Spoke to the birthday girl after I packed up, seems that they enjoyed the night and the variety of music.

Oh, I did have a crash of VDJ 8 during the night. A guy came up asked for a Northern Soul track (More on that on another thread), I opened up my NS folder and VDJ instantly shut down

Next week a xmas party for a boys football team (10/11 year old) 19:00 - 23:00

[DJ Jules]

Xmas party season is now well and truly upon me. Two Xmas parties last weekend, one for a local multi-op with a Buble tribute to a sum total of 22 guests (only one of which was male). The Buble act was very good (despite a recent throat infection) and warmed them up nicely and I kept the dance floor as full as it could be for most of the night. It helped that the Buble night was part of package that included the meal and a room for the night so the majority wanted to make the most of it before they retired. Saturday night was the annual Xmas party for a local Cycling group and they were a loud and eclectic bunch who were mostly more interested in the bar than the dance floor, but it was an Ok night all the same.

Friday night this week was an Xmas party for a firm of solicitors in the Mansion house in Bristol. A somewhat unusual venue with lots of steps and a long walk to where the DJ's set up. Also a slightly unusual gig in that I'd been given three different sets of timings in the run up to the night and the drinks reception was supposed to be in the same room as the disco so I ended up agreeing to get the photopod in and ready for when people arrived, and then set up the disco while they ate (but only one course!) 52 guests, 43 women and a free bar including shots = a very messy night with guests randomly falling down on the dance floor for no apparent reason and lots of totally shameless dancing in short skirts. For the first time ever I've had to censor the photos from the photopod before putting them on the website as there were quite a few wardrobe malfunctions that made the photos NSFW.

Last night was a corporate booking for a local multi-op in a hotel with tricky access (the usual deal, service corridor into the basement, service elevator up 5 floors and round a few more tight bends. I borrowed one of their cages to get in as the Rock N Roller wouldn't have got round any of the bends. Boring for the first 3hrs while they ate and then mental for the final 3hrs. Too many requests for Xmas music for my liking (I had to keep reminding guests that there really are only about 5 good Xmas tracks and that I was holding at least 2 of them back for the end of the night). I've got a bit of a clean up operation to do today as one of them went flying into my speaker stand (luckily their friends were quick to catch it) and my white cloth, controller and laptop got sprayed in lemonade. Luckily nothing broke, but I am going to have to look closely at my controller today to see if any buttons/faders have got sticky.

In between all of the above I've had two kids parties and I've got another one today. Then more corporate parties on Tues and Thur this week before a school disco on Friday, a wedding on Saturday night and kids birthday parties on Sat and Sun in the afternoons.

Not feeling very festive, but it should pay for Xmas.

Julian

[Nakatomi]

2 gigs for me last night so I employed my trusty walkin guy Barry. He was to work the Christmas party while I was DJing a wedding reception. Both gigs in the same venue. Simpels, yeah?

Nope. First of all an early setup of either wasn't possible due to the Christmas party room being used for the ceremony. The evening reception setup was marred by the presence of a rather tatty & grey looking backdrop all the way across the recess I usually use. I was pleased to discover both rigs fitted in the van as long as I didn't want my bass bin or ultimax booth.

Loading in & setting the first rig up was easy peasy - I just LOVE the micron booth!

The second went swimmingly too - oh but can I just hurry things up because they want to get the party in half an hour ahead of time? Yeah sure... I did too.

The manager was very unhappy about the quality of a table dressing & backdrop the new 'recommended supplier' of such things brought along. The drapes looked grey & the table skirt had a very noticable rip in it. The dancefloor they brought in later took some effort to make work - a fact also not lost on the manager.

So then to the Christmas party - my DJ turned up in good time & he got set away nice & easily. My room was tough going. The bride & groom decided they wanted to make a big entrance & that went well but didn't want their first dance until 8.45pm. Not so much as a toe could be made to tap between 6:45 and the first dance. Oh, and when I introduced it... TUMBLEWEEDS from the assembled crowd. All on video too. The photographer just looked at me & later told me they'd been like that all day. From the first dance I went with Walk The Moon & rammed the floor. FOR ONE SONG. Ah well.. soon be buffet time right? Yup. And shortly after that more than half the guests left. What remained came to me with requests for mood hoover music. There were high points throughout the rest of the night but nothing to write home about IMHO.

Breaking down 2 rigs, packing all cables away properly & loading the van took AGES but I was finally home & unloaded at 1.30 this morning. Only one more double feature with a wedding to go though, and next year I've been assured there won't be the likes of again. Woohoo. If they were both Christmas parties I could leave at least one of them set up.

[Excalibur]

Not huge amounts of dancing though (it was a hard one to get going....I've been due for one of those for a while).

Must have been the night for it.

Even had one chap offering me the "right price" to do NYE for him (didn't actually discuss figures, but I've promised 'er indoors that I'm spending NYE with her this year and there's no amount of money that will tempt me to do otherwise).
......

Anything over twenty quid is usually my figure. No way on God's Green Earth do I want to be sat at home on NYE. So much so that I have been lured a long way North for the promise of money, drink, food and a bed.

OK, my gig last night. 50th Birthday, and the wife was an absolute pleasure to deal with, including pointing out many times that there was money behind the bar for a drink, and as much food as I wanted. So far, so good.
Local Cricket Club, basically full of ( around seventy ) guests. Apart from a handful of eighteen year olds, crowd was mainly older, so you'd be expecting me to lean heavily towards Tamla and the Usual Suspects, wouldn't you?

Oh no, obviously what was needed was lots and lots of chart music. No, I didn't think so either. Neither did the lady who wanted 70s and 80s favourites. Now we're cooking.

Except that after playing just two of said favourites, I was informed that " they clearly weren't working, and what we needed was more chart stuff to get them up.

I was never really allowed to play what I'd have expected to work, I was disappointed to see coats going on earlier than I'd have liked, and then in the last half hour, what happened? The s woke up. Requests, dancing, the lot.

Roll on Christmas parties, and Mariah.

[Shakermaker Promotions]

Another trip back down South for me as I had 2 Christmas parties and a 30th birthday party at the hotel residency.

Friday night was a great night. I headed straight to the hotel from home and arrived 3.5 hours later to see the organiser of the party sorting out their raffle prizes. It was a nice surprise because I didn't realise the party was for the RAF crew of old timers who I do regular bookings for at the hotel. I knew I'd be in for a good night.
I decided to change the set up a bit for this weekend and left the crossbar and 8 fixtures at home. I used my X Moves, a Spherion and some Equinox batterns and I think it looked a bit more classy. There wasn't too much lighting movement on the dancefloor which took me a bit of getting used to but I liked it.

As ever, that bunch of 80 guests were up for it from the word go and it was a very easy night.
Background music during the meal until around 8.45pm, 30 minutes of music, a raffle and then presentation and speech and I really started to get going after 10.00pm and the floor was packed all evening.

Big round of applause at the end, lots of hugs and handshakes and I was chuffed.

Saturday I had 2 parties at the hotel.
Daryll had agreed to cover the 30th birthday party for me (thanks mate!...nice new laser too).

I was doing another Christmas party for 95 guests. There were a number of companies attending and it was a mixed bunch. Apparently, 2 of those companies only booked with the hotel if I was DJing, so that was nice.
When I walked into the room, just like last year, they started chanting my name which was nice but also very embarrassing too.

Usual deal, background music during the meal which meant that I could set VDJ up to shuffle and automix a preset playlist I've created.
I was told to be at the hotel for about 9.15pm.
Again, another great bunch with lots of mixed requests and a really good atmosphere with dance off's and guests interracting with each other.

Had a lady come over and ask me for a card and also requested Abba. Literally 2 minutes after she'd been over another lady came over and said she was loving the evening because I hadn't played any Abba as yet. She was requesting stuff like Fatback Band, Luther Vandross etc....
Then some other girls came over who had that retro Mod look and they requested some Northern Soul and Ska so the mix was good.

I generally stuck to stuff that most people would know so played R Dean Taylor, The Velvettes and Isley Brothers.
I gave out a handful of cards as requested last night which was nice but quite ironic seeing as I am trying to concentrate on my new location but hey, if they are willing to pay, I'll do it.

So, 2 really good bookings for me and enjoyable but tiring as I drove back after last night's party and got home at 4.05am, eventually got to bed at 7.00am.
Still lots more parties to do but if they are all as good as those 2 (probably won't happen), I'll be happy.

[Imagine]

Actually, the good doctors and nurses that were in attendance this evening probably won't be seeing anyone for the next 48 hours AT LEAST!

This is a regular one for me....70 doctors and nurses from just ONE ward at the local hospital. They love what I do, and keep asking me to go back....who am I to complain?

It's always in a pub which is a pain to get into. It's double yellows outside (it's on the main road into Cambridge), but...there's a side driveway. How does this help you ask?

Simple. Park van next to pub, knock on window (which happens to be next to the set up area), and pass gear from van to manager (leaving is the reverse). Weirdest but easiest load in ever.

That's when things went wrong to start with. A family had decided to eat in the pub, and despite being told they had to vacate by 6pm were still there at 6:45....they were in no hurry, and their table was slap bang in the middle of where I put the rig. Grrrrrr........

Eventually they decided to stop staring into their beer glasses and leave (they were literally the only non-staff in the pub by now), and I got to work setting up the Micron booth. Everything was pre-wired so 10 minutes after starting, I was ready to roll

Waited what seemed an age for the buffet to first appear, and then be eaten so that I could open the dance floor. I'm bored of Xmas background music already and I've still got several to go yet . Finally, the manager's gave their thank you speech and we're off.

Despite the windows steaming up due to the heat in there, I was rewarded with a rammed floor (and I'm not exaggerating....it was heaving) literally all night. I even got carried away and played on until midnight instead of the arranged 11:30pm (don't worry Peter....I'd charged them for the entire night). Nothing could clear the floor....it was utterly brilliant

I found out whilst I was de-rigging that they'd had a free bar all night (that explains the manic dancing then). I can't remember the exact numbers but the prosecco and vodka bottles drained was in double figures! Yet they were all completely pleasant for the duration, no abuse, no "my song next"...a real pleasure to DJ.

Time for a quick beer myself now and then onto a 30th tomorrow night which promises to be just as good. I know the birthday girl personally and she's gifted me with a playlist full of cheddar which should work quite nicely

[ukpartydj]

Nout a bad night last night. Pretty average though to be honest.
2nd floor venue meant somehow even with a trolley and lift it took an hour to pack away! I was just baffled at how that happened.

Highlights:

Being asked to play something modern by a young lady when playing "weeknd - I feel it coming" #10 currently, was #9 last week ..........

Half the guests complaining that I shouldnt finish the night with fairytale of new york... I'm not sure they even knew the song!

A staff member leaving the handbrake off and their car rolling slowly away into a fence as I was loading the van.

Waking up and realising I have an 18 hour day ahead of me although I'm quite excited about taking my dancefloor out for its first wedding with me!