Good Gig, Bad Gig.

[rth_discos]

a USB stick loaded with the entire back catalogue of Mastermix's DJ Beats collection (for those that have somehow missed these, they're absolutely BRILLIANT when you're doing stuff like 70s and 80s where the drummers weren't necessarily electronic).

Do they have an offer doing the whole lot in one go, or did you buy the 5 'sets' individually that make up the back catalogue?

[Excalibur]

Glad you got a chance to work with God's Chosen Own on Saturday, Wayne. Obviously the sound tech was some tone deaf from : insert county other than Yorkshire, obviously. I'd quite like to hear the Elements kit, very interesting.

OK, my weekend. Friday:
40th birthday party in a nice smart pub, with an atrocious access, and no aircon. Sweltering. Totally trolley unfriendly. Not many guests, but some of them were very lively, and kept me fairly busy. All in all, a good night, with satisfied customers and a 10pm finish.

Saturday:
Covering a 21st for Dave Jackson at his residency, where the aircon was working beautifully. Really nice playlist, and some half decent requests. To be fair, they danced to the requests for R&B, so not too bad. Better reaction than I'd feared, and handshake at the end from parent for a job well done. Sadly, it seems nowadays that it's impossible to dance without a glass in your hand, which you can distribute freely on the floor, yourself, and elsewhere as required. Bonus points for dropping a full pint of lager on the floor, and the pretentious glass with the heavy base doesn't shatter. Is that a design feature perhaps?

[Imagine]

Another day, another gig.

Three years since the last one, it was the local primary school's "fun day" (sort of a fete but different).
Yours truly back on hosting duties, announcing raffle prizes and lost and found children but this year in the guise of Captain Chaos. Boy - that quickly became obvious that it was a mistake as the mercury crashed over the 30 degree mark

Good publicity though - in the "olden days" I used to get several bookings out of this one so just waiting for the calls to come in now it's more obvious that I'm willing to cater to that age group

You know what though....well worth it to see something we took so for-granted just a couple of years ago. Villagers enjoying the day, raising money for the school....completely as if we'd not been through the past couple of years.

And to make it even more worthwhile, they managed to raise just over £4,000. That's a heck of a lot of wedge for a small village primary school

[Excalibur]

Friday night:
50th Birthday, with the music policy 50s and 60s to dominate, 70s and 80s acceptable, and we could sneak a few 90s ones in. Tamla/Northern Soul as a bonus. Had I died, and gone to heaven?

Sadly not. Oh Dear Lord, what a poor turnout. A hall that could easily cope with a hundred, and I don't think we had thirty. Such a shame, when we and the organiser had thrown everything at it. Band, Karaoke, Balloons, and venue decoration. However, the flaw in the cunning plan may have been the BYO bar policy.
Thanks must go to John Brown, who brought his new overcoat, to run the Karaoke. It's certainly an impressive piece of kit, but my word, the price is eye watering! Well, we arrived fashionably early, got access to the building ( I'd worked there years ago, and knew that there were handy fire doors round the back ) and set up well before kick off, leaving us time to rid the nearest Spar for sustenance.
The band arrived, and took the stage we'd left them. They came on, and did two sets, they were very good, very professional. Just a shame we had so few punters. We took over for the last 90 minutes, and the BYO bar exacted vengeance. Birthday girl had been downing the shorts, and they downed her! We packed up 50 minutes early, and went home, feeling as if we'd taken money under false pretences. Still feel a bit grieved about it now.

Saturday:
21st. Surprise party. All family early on, and all of fairly mature years. First music request was Drifters. Eyes down for a very steady night then. And it was.
Until the last ninety minutes, much like Friday.
Then it became apparent that the birthday girl's mates were in. And they'd had a drink.
Or two.
They were very, very lively. And noisy. And singers.
I spent the last hour looking for nice gentle singalongs, and refused to play the Indie Anthems requested, as I didn't want a mosh pit going on till the early hours, and we were running out of paper towels to mop up the spilt glass and beer.

Isn't it ironic? Well yes Alanis, it is indeed. The gig which promised to be a classic fizzled out early, and was a total letdown. The one which looked so unappealing could have been one of the best gigs of the year, for customers and DJ alike. Don't prejudge, as I said earlier. This game really can come up with big surprises.

[Jim - Scotland's Party DJ]

Friday night:
Don't prejudge, as I said earlier. This game really can come up with big surprises.

Absolutely. I had a recent transatlantic couple with 6xA4 page of VERY RnB heavy requests which I had it in my head was going to be really hard work - super white academic couple!!!

It was a blast. Don't get me wrong I spent the night with my head in the request list with a highlighter, I literally played maybe 4 songs that weren't on the list but they lapped it up all night, parents and all.

I had to be on my toes to keep the flow going bit what I thought was going to be a slog was an absolute canter of a gig.

[Excalibur]

Wedding at Matthew Western's residency, which didn't really make sense ( to all the suppliers, particularly me ) considering the options available. I can live with being upstairs, even when the more suitable downstairs room is free ) but I will gripe and whinge when the bride insists on a room layout which makes my life needlessly difficult. I believe my displeasure has been duly noted, and my "constructive advice" has been " taken on board" ( ignored ).

So, Mr Grumpy kicked off with a couple of songs from his small playlist, and was soon regaled with requests for the full cheeseboard!
And 80's.
And 90's Dance.
And Soul/Tamla.
And R&B.
And Indie.
And Grunge.

I must have played them in the right order, cos the groom thought I was totally in sync with his wishes, and guests said I was totally The Best Wedding DJ Ever, with a round of applause at the end.

And the event had kicked off so poorly. Goes to show.

[Nakatomi]

Friday saw me covering a usually fun 90s night at a large hotel complex on the wrong side of the River Tyne. The function room is on the ground floor (yay) but the carpark alas is 2 storeys below

A crowd of almost 100 people arrived by 7pm. A sum total of 8 gentlemen were present & some of the paying guests looked like they might have misinterpreted 'ultimate 90s' as 'ultimately for 90 year olds'. My suspicions were confirmed when requests for half an hour of 80s music came in from no less than 3 tables.

Who goes to a theme night & tries to bend it to their will? BOOMERS, that's who

Due credit to the DJ, who mixed his way through reams of 90s hits, both credible & cheesy to the most mixed reaction he'd ever seen. Until he relented & played 80s, then Abba & that awful Tina Turner song about washing dishes in a stream or something. The sour faced boomers left by half past eleven & then we got back to the allotted decade with a fab slice of 90s indie. Bearing in mind the ratio of female to male I figured Oasis wouldn't need to be aired. I was right!

Hopes of an early bath faded after midnight when the DJ was invited to a lady's room by one of the stragglers. Oh dear. If the last group all have rooms this is gonna run the course til 1am.. and it did. I made my excuses & left of course - I'm a happily married man dontcha know!

[Excalibur]

Due credit to the DJ, who mixed his way through reams of 90s hits, both credible & cheesy to the most mixed reaction he'd ever seen. Until he relented & played 80s, then Abba & that awful Tina Turner song about washing dishes in a stream or something. The sour faced boomers left by half past eleven & then we got back to the allotted decade with a fab slice of 90s indie. Bearing in mind the ratio of female to male I figured Oasis wouldn't need to be aired. I was right!

Aw come on Justin, surely it's still mandatory to have an hour of Indie Classics for The Lads, allowing them to wave pints of lager around gleefully, push each other about like Footballers ( with or without the diving ) and sing along lustily? ( Apart from last week, when I feared for life and limb if I'd done so ).

Hopes of an early bath faded after midnight when the DJ was invited to a lady's room by one of the stragglers. Oh dear. If the last group all have rooms this is gonna run the course til 1am.. and it did. I made my excuses & left of course - I'm a happily married man dontcha know!

Justin, is it too late to reconsider my refusal to cover gigs for you?

[Imagine]

What a difference a day makes......24 little hours....

Yesterday's over warm venue with very little dancing left me more than a little deflated about going into today's wedding.
It's a venue I go to many times a year, and I've had my share of good and bad nights there....happily mainly good ones though.

Tonight was no exception!

I'd been given a playlist which would actually cover the duration, but also had freedom to use it as a guide and take any guest requests that came my way as well....looking good so far.

I even pulled a little trick out of the bag which I'm going to be using again (especially in there). My bride (lovely young lady) had mentioned the "dancing in the clouds" effect, until I her told her roughly how expensive it was. But, whilst doing a bit of deep-store-digging last week I found a forgotten toy....an ADJ Mr Kool II. Surprisingly, it worked and hadn't got blocked, so I got hold of some of the official fluid for it and took it with me.

I'm lucky in this particular venue that smoke is DEFINITELY allowed. Couple knew nothing of this and whilst they were talking to the second shooter about their first dance practice that they do in this venue, I spoke to the main man and explained what was going to happen, but to be quick with the shots as the smoke will likely rise. He was actually looking forward to it.

Curtains whipped back to reveal the happy couple wobbling around on the dance floor and once the initial gush of warm air had passed - I unleashed the cold smoke. BY GEORGE IT WORKED and looked brilliant! The only downside is that a single unit doesn't put out quite enough in there at a time before having to warm up again, so methinks a second one is going to be ordered. For the sake of £1 of ice and a tenner's worth of fluid (which it hardly used), it's a worthwhile effect in the right place.

Needless to say, the bride was chuffed to bits. The shots on the photographer's viewfinder didn't look too bad either

Anyhoo....back to the evening. What can I say? They were up for a proper party from the time they were allowed to put their toes on the dance floor to the time we ended (more on that in a moment and I did a Benny-esque type of thing here).

Music from all genres, mainly 90s and indie kept the 'floor rammed until the buffet came out, and then again afterwards. I couldn't put a foot wrong Well....apart from an issue with the Mr Kool. I'd moved it from the dance floor (because them's the rules in there) and under the booth to let it carry on puffing out smoke through the booth cloth (it works excellently as a hazer in this way).....and then realised that the melting ice inside was leaking all over the floor, and subsequently over a LOT of electrical cables (eeek!). A rapid empty of the ice box and a quick move of the sockets and all was good. Can't help but feel I had a lucky escape there though!

And then to the end of the evening. This was always going to be tricky....and the venue had no idea of what was going to happen until I told them and got them to help with things.

The bride wanted them to do the last song completely alone (and the Groom had no idea this was going to happen!). Now in this venue, it's a strict midnight finish - no ifs, no buts, and certainly no "one more" (although that chant came!). The dance floor is in a different part of the marquee to the wedding breakfast area and is divided by a curtain which is normally whipped back during the first dance to reveal the couple in all their splendour. I explained to her that just "emptying" the dance marquee wasn't going to be an option....it really wouldn't work.

So, I gave her an idea and she went with it. We call the last song of the night at 11:45 (we'd been through Sweet Caroline due to a certain win) and ended on Don't Look Back in Anger. This guaranteed as many on the dance floor as possible. From there, it's a "tunnel of love" from the dance floor to what's known as the "green room" where they'd stay until myself and the venue cleared the dance marquee and re-sealed the curtains. Getting the tunnel of love organised was like herding cats but we got there.

Crazy in Love kicked off, the couple charge through the arch and out of sight, leaving me to say my goodnights, explain that the venue weren't going to play any more songs ("but there's still 10 minutes to go!"), and herd everyone out.

The couple then had the marquee to themselves, I put on the bride's request (a popular first dance track from several years ago by a bloke called leg-end or something), and left them to it.

They're going to remember that bit for a long time. The atmosphere of pure love in that marquee as the track faded and I walked back in was amazing!

It's going to be a night I'm going to remember for a very long time.

The photo shows the cloud effect. It actually looked a lot better in the flesh but definitely needs a second machine to make it something worth selling to couples in that venue

[Excalibur]

A gig I can feel reasonably happy about. Wedding celebration for a covid wedding last year. A couple who were in danger of being just a little laid back for comfort. A site visit last week showed up some flags, and to their credit, they did take my thoughts on board, and revise some things, including hiring the noisiest genny I've heard in many a while, which didn't look state of the art. Davesounds was supervising one not too far away which was so high tech it could phone home if it had a problem!

Anyway, mine held up for the allotted time, and didn't fry anything, so all good there. I had to go battery powered for the mock ceremony at the far side of the field, and my new s/h battery capable mixer was a Godsend. If and when new stock does arrive next year, I will likely get the newer model, which only appears to have minor tweaks in the mic inputs as the difference. With this, I can bypass the awfully low mic input. I will probably look for a battery radio mic option to save miles of cables getting in the way if possible.

Once the " ceremony " was over, we went into the tent, for food, speeches, cake cutting and first dance. After the first dance, the tent emptied again, until it got darker, and folk came inside a bit more. Once someone requested Cha Cha Slide, the floodgates opened, and it was full on cheese for a while. We even had Oops and Agadoo requested, with gleeful responses.
As the night wore on, I added Abba, Indie, a splash of R&B, Madness, Celine Dion ( rapturous response, especially once I'd binned the disco remix of that Titanic song ) more Indie, and the night drew to its natural conclusion just after midnight.
A couple of guests shook my hand and said what a great night, and the groom was full of praise. All in all, a great gig, and one I came away from satisfied with a job ( fairly ) well done.