Bad Gigs

[DJJEG 0]

Ok help me out, because now im getting paranoid & last night was the final straw

I done a wedding had a few suggestions from the bride & groom (as usual) you know 1st dance ect before the big day

Well i turned up on time, set up & was asked to play some background music for about 45mins, yet again no problems

The bride asked for the 1st dance so i put it on, bride & groom happy as larry all the guests got up & joined in, great i thought they love it.

Then something from the brides list Ami Stewart Knock on wood, good suggestion great party starter, but that was it the dancefloor emptied :hurt:

Ok tough crowd but i tried everything from the 60s up to date, Rock to cheezy even guests were giving me requests & not even dancing to their own suggestions, just sitting there staring at me

What could i say when the bestman asked when are you going to get them dancing then?

Not one person danced all evening this was my worst night in 20 years

You can expect some weddings the guests talk all night, but this lot wasn't even talking much to each other

Now we all get a hard gig every so often but this is four in a row ( the other 3 was not as bad as last night but close)

They have all been working class punters, disco about 4 hours long & drinks a plenty (for guests) age range from 10 to about 60 (more 20-40 year old), over 120 guests

What would you do? What tune would you play if all else fails? What would be your responce to the bestmans question?

[Dream Catchers 0]

The response would be something along the lines of "I am taking requests and playing what the guests are after", you cannot make people dance if they don't want to.

You'll be OK and I'm sure you will break your duck on your next gig.

Maybe you are showing your anxiousness and they are picking up on it.

Remember you have been doing it fine for 20 years, the guests will have only been to a handful of weddings.

 

 

JIm

[otronics 0]

Last two discos or so for me have not been too great, but OK. Last night was very good with lots dancing.

 

People do not like dancing and having a good time these days; it seems.

 

My response to the Groom would be 'I am playing all the requests, party songs and the like - what's wrong with them?!' (some slight humour).

 

Its a tough one but in general, people are boring even if you do some mic work.

 

A good trick to try (but has the potential to look even worse if they do not get up) is to say: "whoever is not not on the dancefloor at the end of the track [whatever song] you have to each have to pay me £10 which will donated to a local charity!".

 

No way of enforcing it of course but got everyone up for a while when a few weeks ago (a guest came up with the idea and did the link on the mic.).

[andyw 0]

no easy answer on nights like that,they happen to everyone occasionally,but that don't help the way your feeling now.when nights go great you get a real buzz when they don't we expirience real low's.i started a thread a few days ago about floorfillers from whenever and there is another for the noughties from bigmcben.

 

http://www.dj-forum.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=18648

 

 

http://www.dj-forum.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=18632

 

 

good luck with the next one

 

[llcooljoe 0]

I know I'm a newbie to all this but I've really been listening hard to all the advise that you experts have been giving me. A week ago I did a disco that didn't go too well and I then had to go back to the same place and do a disco there again on Friday. I was totally all over the place to be honest, thinking no one would dance etc. But I suddenly realised that I think I was giving off a slightly paranoid vibe, like Jim said I think my anxiousness was showing. So I made an effort to really look like I was in to it so when no one danced they could see me nodding my head to the music, singing along making it look like I was having fun. I then joked on the mic about who remembered this track and who was it by. They yelled back and we kind of made a connection. I then put on the YMCA even though it was quite early on and actually made a complete dipstick of myself by joining in the the YMCA actions behind the decks and they really warmed to me. After that they were up all night dancing. I wasn't so scared of them, and they thought I wasn't a faceless blob just putting any old music on. I tried to look like I was really enjoying it, even though my stomach was in knots. By the end of it I was genuinely really enjoying it, and maybe that came across to them. It turned into the best night I've done so far.

 

To me, the YMCA seems to always work whatever the age group.

[Ian Stewart 0]

 

 

People do not like dancing and having a good time these days; it seems.

 

 

do you really believe this

[NRG Roadshow 0]

do you really believe this

 

With some crowds I do yes......somtimes no matter what you do it just aint gonna happen.

And I would challenge any DJ that says they never ever have a night where its not good for dancing.....fact is if you get a room full of people like me, the floor will be empty all night. So I guess you just have to accept that it happens sometimes.

 

Did a 60th last night where it was a bit like that, no matter what I put on it just wasnt going to get them up off their seats.

Then I have other nights where your standing behind the decks feeling like the king of the world because no matter what you put on the punters are having a good time! They are the nights I love, and the reason why I keep doing this DJ game.

 

What could i say when the bestman asked when are you going to get them dancing then?

 

Maybe have a bit of fun and banter with him, somthing like "oh didnt you know, its the best mans job to get poeple up and dancing, why dont yah go round and try and drag a few people onto the floor....and the rest should follow"

 

 

 

 

[eazy 0]

do you really believe this

im with that one too !! i much more enjoy my regular bar / club work because the people there are always out for a good night out . as for weddings and birthdays more & more i find and i do think its got worse just over the last 2 - 3 years you have a room full of people who dont want to be there . they have only came because the felt like they had too particularly on a saturday night lets face it now a adays people would much rather be out at big clubs and the like or at least somewhere they can maybe pull !!! not stuck in a room full of friends and family ??? worst night ever was a girls 21st birthday i was covering in a local bar she had booked the room , dj , printed 150 tickets and it ended up 12 people thats including mum & dad i felt so bad for the girl but i have seen this more and more over the last couple of years , maybe not just as bad as this on with 12 people but where only half the people expected turn up and only wanns show there face and then move on wherever they usualy go

[Paul Smith 0]

"oh didnt you know, its the best mans job to get poeple up and dancing, why dont yah go round and try and drag a few people onto the floor....and the rest should follow"

 

I was at a wedding (as a guest) where the DJ announced over the mic - 'What is wrong with you people - this is the latest music from Ibiza - where is the best man?'

 

Best man appears and over the mic the DJ says 'It's your job, as best man, to get these people up dancing so I suggest you go and do it - now I'll start this song again'

 

Best man duly went off and the result was a few people on the floor for his 'latest from Ibiza' track - who all left again straight after it. It also prompted me to make a phone call - to the taxi firm to change my booking time from 1.00am to asap.

 

There are functions where people will dance from the off but others where it takes a bit of work & effort from the DJ to create the right atmosphere and remind them it is a party.

 

You could try a few ice-breaker games or routines, maybe have a sing-a-long, go out to the guests and talk to them. Each DJ should use whatever they feel comfortable with because showing that you are confident in the face of a challenge goes a long way towards the guests having faith in you and what you are doing.

 

There are DJs out there who use force rather than persuasion to get people up to dance or who do/say things to embarrass guests into dancing. True they have full dance floors for a while but it's not the type of function I would like to be at.

[DJJEG 0]

Thanks for your faith all, Saturdays Wedding was great & last nights staff party was non stop dancing.

On one thing cheezed me off at both these discos....someone wanted to M.C

Dont get me wrong but some M.Cs are pretty good but at a wedding?????

On both occasions i declined to let them have the mic

Well it takes allsorts :joe:

[milhouse 0]

DJJEG - I feel your pain!

 

Thing to remember is do not worry - we all have this from time to time. I have had my fair share of gigs where the punters have literally stood or sat there staring at me. You feel like its all your fault, like you're the worst DJ in the world. No matter what you play/say on the mic, nothing will get them moving.

 

But if you look at them - they're often not even talking to their friends who they are with. They literally are staring into space with blank expressions. I think that says a lot about them - if they can't even have a good time amongst themselves then there is nothing any DJ in the world can do.

 

Ocasionally it happens in the bars I work in, you will get a large group of people and they will stand there not doing anything. But its not just your music - they're not even interacting with EACH OTHER which makes me think they are just people who should maybe just go home and put the telly on ;)

 

[davemoody 0]

It's just somehting to put down to another experience.

 

If I accept requests I jokingly say yeh but the proviso is you have to dance to it if you request it.

 

There are always going to be songs that get people on the floor and if they dont work you can only just do your best.

 

We have all got them, mine are usually Abba, Scissor Sisters, Velvelettes. If they dont work then I start to worry like every one does but you have to say to the clients, look I have played a bit of everything and also asked for requests and nobody has come up yet. Tell you what take this pen and paper and get them to jot a few down for me with any annouincments they want like birthdays or anniversaries coming up. Any funny stories from the stag or hen do always work well.

 

Another one that works for me is to explain to the bride that if you don't dance nobody else will unfortunately. So 9 times out of 10 the hen night was at a pub or club and I ask her what were the best songs of the night. Then ask for all the hens and then try and keep them there for a few tracks.

 

At least you get them there for a few songs. Soon as they go to sit down then ask for some more requests.

[shakermaker 0]

I find it really depressing when the best man / one of the guests..etc come over and say stuff like "When are you going to get them all up dancing?"...It doesn't happen to me that often to be fair but when it does it narks me a bit.

NOT everyone wants to dance.

We are NOT miracle makers and if people are that dis-interested then it doesn't matter how many years experience you have, how many tips you've picked up over the years etc etc etc..you can't make people get up.

 

I've said it tons and tons of times and I bore myself to be honest but I am sick of the way we are portrayed / thought of, by the general public. I hate the phrase 'Mobile DJ' even though it earns me my living because some people already have this image in their heads of what we are going to be like before they have even heard us play anything. The main reason I got into it as a business was to try and get rid of that image and I am finding now more and more via my bookings that people are actually commenting that it was much much better than they could've expected.

 

When you have a 'bad gig' where people may have been glued to their seats by the superglue monkey (as I like to describe it), and aren't getting up to whatever you play then it's almost as if you have to go into the mode of the 'Mobile DJ' that they all expected you to be in the first place and that's to just play party classics and be safe. If that doesn't work...well, I'd have to concede defeat which I haven't done yet.

 

The answer as mentioned before is pre-request lists from the bride and groom and guests or request slips on the night. It could be said that these make life too easy and you should be able to read a crowd anyway but come on...why make life hard for yourself? If you have slips out or notification already about the kind of music that they want then that surely helps and you can also slip in other tracks that you think will go down well...THAT'S where your experience comes in handy. IF for some reason they aren't even responding to tracks that they have requested...well....grin and bear it I suppose.

Edited December 18, 2007 by shakermaker

[brianmole 0]

Did you get any post event feedback from your client out of interest?

[deejaymitch 0]

We are probably all our own harshest critics when a gig hasn't gone well. But it isn't always our fault. In a room full of people we can contribute to the atmosphere - but not as much as the rest of the people there. We are facilitators, there to give them the night that they want. So a lot of the responsibility is on their shoulders to interact with the DJ to ensure that he/she does his/her bit. If you can honestly say to yourself that you have done a good nights work, that is all that matters. It won't take away the empty feeling in your gut, but don't let a bad crowd make you doubt yourself.

[Ian Stewart 0]

With some crowds I do yes......somtimes no matter what you do it just aint gonna happen.

And I would challenge any DJ that says they never ever have a night where its not good for dancing.....fact is if you get a room full of people like me, the floor will be empty all night. So I guess you just have to accept that it happens sometimes.

 

I will always maintain that there is something you can do or play that will entice spme poeple onto the dance floor,

 

If you just accept it, your audience feel this, but try something differant, talk to them, shame them

 

recently I had a wedding where everyone was sat around outside, it was a Wednesday, and the weather was nice, and there was a fantastic garden, by 10pm, I was struggling, so I appproached the people on table to table basis and asked them how they would feel if it was their party and every one was just sat around, and that i'm sure the bride & gromm would appreciate it if they got up and hellped them celebrate.

 

within 10 minutes floor full for the rest of the night.

 

 

NEVER GIVE UP, TRY SOMETHING OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE EVEN TAKE A 10 MINUTE BREAK & START AGAIN

[NRG Roadshow 0]

I almost did the same thing.....

 

Kept trying out just about all the usual floorfillers from every main stream genre.......and kept reminding them that if they wasnt happy with the music then they should come up and tell me!

Nobody came up........I also went round and spoke to a few people......not really much response they said the music was fine they just wasnt into dancing much.

I never gave up and kept trying, all I meant was that despite your best efforts somtimes it just aint gonna happen.

 

Take me as an example, if Im ever at a function as a guest/punter I WILL NOT get on the dancefloor EVER......I will sit and enjoy my drink, chat to people and sit and LISTEN to the music and enjoy listening to the music.....but I will never get up and dance in a million years.

 

So fact is if you get a room which mostly contains people like me (Im sure Im not the only one LOL) then the result is an empty or near empty dancefloor.

 

I didnt mean the DJ should give up, keep trying your hardest. But somtimes no matter what the dancefloor is sometimes quiet so dont be downhearted about it or dought your ability.....coz the next gig might be an absolute cracker.

Edited December 19, 2007 by NRG Roadshow

[analyst 0]

I was at a wedding (as a guest) where the DJ announced over the mic - 'What is wrong with you people - this is the latest music from Ibiza - where is the best man?' . . .

 

There are DJs out there who use force rather than persuasion . . .

 

Reminds me of this:

THE WIND and the Sun were disputing which was the stronger. Suddenly they saw a traveller coming down the road, and the Sun said: “I see a way to decide our dispute. Whichever of us can cause that traveller to take off his cloak shall be regarded as the stronger You begin.” So the Sun retired behind a cloud, and the Wind began to blow as hard as it could upon the traveller. But the harder he blew the more closely did the traveller wrap his cloak round him, till at last the Wind had to give up in despair. Then the Sun came out and shone in all his glory upon the traveller, who soon found it too hot to walk with his cloak on.

“KINDNESS EFFECTS MORE THAN SEVERITY.”

 

From DJ Æsop. (Sixth century B.C.)

 

See, they were smarter, even in them days

[David M 0]

Hi,

arent bad gigs all our worst nightmares?

we do this job because we all want to please,

but sometimes there's no pleasing the punter,

we work our b?**s off playing what they have requested and when that has no effect we feel rubbish,

we then try the musical round robin of a piece of every style we know and still no luck,

i have been there but now take the time to build small music sets of 3 or 4 tracks as they dont usually get up for the first track but will get up and dance once the beat and style have penetrated the central nervous system and the brain has had time to react,

but as long as the person paying the bill is happy wether they dance or not is the main thing,

i always make a point of going to talk with them several times during the evening to check all is ok and involve them in the process all the way.

[DJJEG 0]

Ok got a few good anwers to my bad gig problems, however i have had a corking xmas with every gig with a packed dancefloor

Most members are right, you cant make them dance but i did like the reply about asking the guests how they would feel if no one danced at their wedding

We all get bad gigs every now and then & most of the reply's were perfect, what more can you do than receive a request list from the bride & groom & even ask guests on the night to make requests

I now get the point if they dont wanna dance they wont dance but look around see how many people are tapping their feet to the beat, this tells you they are paying attention

Happy new year all