New Years Eve 2010

[otronics 0]

I am surprised no one has started this.

 

Last night was good/very good for me in Wincanton at Holbrook House.

 

What about everyone else?

[MintyDave 0]

I am surprised no one has started this.

 

Last night was good/very good for me in Wincanton at Holbrook House.

 

What about everyone else?

 

Bit lame really, crowd not that interested other than the midnight celebrations. i think the fact that although 85 was enough to create an atmosphere they were in small groups that didnt know each other.

 

once again not one person even bothered to acknowldege me at midnight - tis a lonely job at times!

[Tonsk 0]

Mine went well, even though there were very few in attendance (most put off by the weather).

 

So I have 35-40 people, but they had a good time and the landlady was happy so thats the main thing!

[Tommo55 0]

once again not one person even bothered to acknowldege me at midnight - tis a lonely job at times!

 

It really gets me that bit!

 

Spend five hours entertaining them with another one to go and nobody has the manners to wish you a happy new year even though you are wishing them all one through your mic and sound clips etc! :damn:

 

Oh well maybe next year!

 

Had a good night though, just got to go and unload the car now :hurt:

 

So I'll say it

 

A HAPPY NEW YEAR to one and all May your music never jump and your mixes be seemless :pro:

[Thats entertainment 0]

Had a really good nite, 3rd year running at the same place but this year was the best as more people there this year (155)

I didnt start till after the meal (10pm ish) so they were ready to dance straight away and kept the dance floor packed all the way to the end (1.30am ish) but could have gone on longer

Mix aged group so played a bit of everything from 50's up to todays chart music

 

Even got a few thanks and happy new years from people (and a couple of kisses ) which makes a nice change from previous years where they have just got there coat and left

 

Anyway Happy New Year to you all.........hope you had a good one! :Thumbup:

[markyb 0]

Had a great night! Was only a small local pub so wasnt expecting too much, but they sold 140 tickets and had other people paying on the door so the pub was packed!

 

Everyone was up for dancing from 9pm onwards, and was so busy people were knocking into my deckstand due to the packed dancefloor, but was a great atmosphere and the "school disco" theme gave me plenty of scenery to admire while working ;o)

 

Had a few handshakes at midnight, and quite a few people asked for my card at the end of the night.

 

This is the one I thought twice about doing as the pay wasn't great, but if any of the enquiries turn into bookings it would be well worth it. To be honest it was a lot like the night club I used to do years ago, and gave me a lot more opportunity to be creative with the music, a nice change from weddings/birthdays etc.

 

12 months ago I was thinking about getting back into DJing, and since then Ive done quite a few gigs, got decent equipment, website etc. The first few gigs were quite hard after a long break, but Im pleased I persevered as Im enjoying it again!

 

Anyway, hope you all had a good one and have a happy and succesfull 2011!

 

Cheers,

 

Mark

[milhouse 0]

Fourth year in a row at the same place for me, a local party bar in the city centre. Was packed for the whole night, great atmosphere everyone seemed up for it. Was provided with a free bar by the managers which was lovely!

 

 

 

[Supradave 0]

My 6th Year at a very nice Hotel in Bath but possibly one year to many.

 

New Years Eve is a special day for me with lots of wonderful memories of parties past and for me personally is a bigger event than Christmas.

 

Unfortunately the evening was very average however they kept dancing until 2 in the morning and some of them still wanted more so I must have been doing something right.

 

In the past the guests have been really chatty from the moment they arrive and often I have been able to pick up some requests before they have even sat down for their meal (the hotel gathers all the guests in the disco area before they go for their food while I play some background music) however apart from someone asking for me to play some Dean Martin later I got no comments at all.

 

One person wished me Happy New Year at Midnight but that was all and at the end of the evening the Hotel Manager commented that 2 or 3 people had complained that I did not drop the disco volume down for them to hear the Piper. Oddly enough the piper has been at he hotel every year since I started there and I have never dropped the volume when he appears through the door at midnight but this year it was an issue for some people. You live and learn even when you've been doing this for a long as I have.

 

A long journey back home along the M4 after and arrived home at about 5.30 in the morning.

 

Fortunately they indicated that they want me back again next year so I will wait and see if the booking comes in again during the year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[otronics 0]

Bit lame really, crowd not that interested other than the midnight celebrations.

 

Interesting, as this was one of the 'weakest' parts of the night for me. Not much of a cheer. Saying that, Auld Lan Syne was fantastic, with everyone in a circle singing. Ran out of space almost!

 

On that note, the first words spoken to me in 2011 were buy a 'guest' and were along the lines of "are you going to F****** get on with it this year or next?".

 

Lovely.

 

I said "next year" and ignored him which shut him up.

 

He said the above as it was taking a minute and a half (wow, so loooong) to get everyone in a circle. Well, there were about 70 people there. Oh well.

 

once again not one person even bothered to acknowldege me at midnight - tis a lonely job at times!

 

Same here, but didn't expect it. Would have been nice.

 

Some of the staff said it when I said goodbye though.

[MintyDave 0]

On that note, the first words spoken to me in 2011 were buy a 'guest' and were along the lines of "are you going to F****** get on with it this year or next?".

 

He said the above as it was taking a minute and a half (wow, so loooong) to get everyone in a circle.

 

The gratitude eh!

 

I never bother trying to arrange anything i let big ben ring out then fade into auld lang syne, its up to them if they want to circle up. As i said it was a collection of small groups and they were reluctant to form one big circle anyway, we ended up with about 5/6 smaller circles. One woman insisted i played the locomotion to which her and her husband started the train, which only 3 people joined as nobody knew them.

 

The age range was 20 to 70 with the majority being 50/60 and guess what the biggest hit of the night was, something from motown?.... No..... Disco? .....No......It was the Black Eye Peas - I gotta Feeling with Lady gaga - Bad Romance a close second. The usual Four Tops, Van Morrison, Candi Staton, Winehouse Valerie etc etc were what i would call 'tumbleweed tunes'. Not even the mavericks got one dancer.

 

The venue in the past had a band, piper and disco but with tickets being £65 each they made nothing last year as only 60 turned out. As its rural with little accomodation available and no local taxi service it would have been a very expensive night out, hence they dropped the band etc and brought me in charging £35 a go. They were still short of the expected 120 that they could cater for.

 

Not a total loss and i probably went in with too higher an expectation hence i felt a bit dissapointed. It was my first gig in that vanue and i hope i made a positive impression. I certainly tried my hardest with a nice tidy setup, nice lights, good sound and was out the door before they had finished cleaning up which made them happy as they usually had to wait an hour or more in the past.

 

willpost a pic or two when i get chance.

Dave

[gadget 0]

I went to a friend's house for NYE, which was pretty good, despite the ipod-on-a-bose sound system (they really don't make things flow properly).. Yes there were good tunes but maybe it was me but I got a bit frustrated cos I kept thinking that Y would go really well after X was played...

 

Still it was someone's house, and tbh, it was more of quite a few families getting together, chatting, the kids playing on the PS3/Wii in another room, and qutie a few upstairs,. playing games, etc up there. There was food, plenty of drrrrink, and err well, I didnt get home until 3.30am, and I wasn't bloody well drinking (was driving)...

 

:)

 

Anyway, was a good night just to get out of our own house, and meet up with people we know (and a few we don't but sorta do now!).

 

Happy New Year btw :)

 

Cheers,

 

David

[DJ Foureyes 0]

Had a good night. The venue was a up-market pub in Wandsworth, easy access, friendly staff and 80s/90s themed fancy dress party.There were a number of interesting costumes, including an Indianna Jones, John McEnroe and a Debbie Harry lookalike (hubba hubba!) The only down side was I was trapped in a corner for 6 hours because of the sheer number of punters and my legs were crossed for the last 2 hours!

Everyone was up for a good time and I had a few hand shakes and a couple of pecks on the cheek at midnight!

The management were happy and I got two (hopefully) bookings out of it. :Thumbup:

[greatracks 0]

Had a good night. The venue was a up-market pub in Wandsworth, easy access, friendly staff and 80s/90s themed fancy dress party.There were a number of interesting costumes, including an Indianna Jones, John McEnroe and a Debbie Harry lookalike (hubba hubba!) The only down side was I was trapped in a corner for 6 hours because of the sheer number of punters and my legs were crossed for the last 2 hours!

Everyone was up for a good time and I had a few hand shakes and a couple of pecks on the cheek at midnight!

The management were happy and I got two (hopefully) bookings out of it. :Thumbup:

 

 

Had a very good night myself at a local pub. After doing xmas eve and boxing day this was my first "big" one there and it was absolutely packed. One of the busiest pubs in town. Its no exaggeration to say i dont think i had less than 100 people dancing in front of me all night!. And i dont think i played anything older than 6 months all night.

Usual drunken idiots about but nothing to worry about and EV speakers and MC2 amp stood the test well!.

Happy New Year to you all!!

 

[mick 0]

Good night for me, only a small party at a restaurant, bit quiet at the start (9pm) but everyone danced from 11am thro till 1am. I have done this one for the last ten years so no real suprises. Always get loads of handshakes and a glass of bubbly at midnight as does all my family who are invited along. Nice to be appreciated and booked for next year as well.

[Swingcats 0]

HI Oliver, glad it went well, I had a great evening at The Queens Arms in Corton Denham. Nice croud of people and a 1920's theme, Although the Landlord asked me to come up through the decades to now after 12.30pm.

 

Must agree, you do feel a little left out at Midnight, all the family at home and you working, but that's why we charge more right!

 

Happy New year

Edited January 3, 2011 by Swingcats

[DJColinJames 0]

I'll be honest, I've got into DJing relatively late in life, having spent many, many years behind a shop counter selling DJ and PA gear and playing in pub bands and every gig I do teaches me a little bit more.

 

This was my first New Year's gig. A nice local pub with around 100 or so customers, aged 30 -70, and ticket only to ensure everyone got a seat. I know the licensee, having played there a couple of times with the band, and soul and Motown was the order of the day. Not a problem......or so I thought. From the reaction of the customers, or rather the lack of it, I soon realised that I was going to struggle to keep it up for 5 hours. I don't think there actually is 5 hours worth of what I would describe as 'popular' danceable Motown anyway and my repeated shouts for any requests were falling on deaf ears.

 

At two and a half hours in, however, I did get a reaction. ie.' turn this rubbish off, I know you're doing what you've been told to but it's boring. Play some Quo or something'. Now I have read posts on here about 'he who pays the piper' etc. and I agree totally, but what do you do when it is obvious that it isn't working?

 

Not being able to catch the attention of the busy bar staff, I chanced my arm by drifting into a bit of 70's Disco. Bingo! They were up. Not many, but more than the hitherto zero. Then the requests started and they were as far removed from Motown as you could get.....Elvis, OMD, Black Eyed Peas. I struggled through until midnight dodging the 'why haven't you played my song yet' brigade, went from Auld Lang Syne into Kool & the Gang's Celebration to keep them up, sticking with the soul theme and finally managed to speak to the licensee about the music just after midnight. Her reaction....'no problem, it's up to you'. Oh joy of joys. It turned into a cheese fest. The floor was full until 1.45am when I finished (45 minutes late). Then it emptied ...then it filled up again when I was asked to play another last song.

 

Final score:1 prod, 4 insults, 2 thank you's, 4 handshakes, 2 kisses (inc 1 from my wife, does that count?) and a happy landlady. Result!

 

Lesson 1. Don't be afraid to suggest to your client that the evening may benefit from a change of style.

 

Lesson 2. Do this (a) before people start invading your personal space, (I could see the hairs up her nose) (b) before they have a chance to swear at you and © before they start prodding you with their index finger whilst telling you how rubbish you are.

 

Thank you to licensee Andrea for stepping in advising said customer as to the best course of action.

 

Here's to next year. Peace out.

 

Col

 

 

[ChrisPeacock 0]

i sat in the house watching tv for a change

[train driver chris 0]

Hi ALL and HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERYONE.

I don't usually do xmas or NYE, but recieved a phone call for help, as landlady had tried everyone and they were booked.venue was 30 miles away and to make matters worse my vans head gasket went, which meant i had to hire transport.I got paid £220. i arrived a 6pm, set up and playing music by 7pm,went to bar to get 2 cokes and charged £3.10, luckly i had 6 cans of coke in van.evening went really well with kids dancing till 9, then grown ups took over, about a dozen dancing through out the evening till 11.45 when i anounced that midnight was approaching. i put on black lace and the floor packed so we had black lace for 15 mins till midnight.was suppose to finish at 12.30, but kept on till 01.30 when everyone decided to go home.from my point of view it was a good night and hopefully made a good impression for future events.

[vokf 0]

Busy night for me;

Dry-hire for local foodie pub. 2 speakers, mixer, lights, stand+cloth. We charged to set-up, they provided the DJ - a member of staff from another pub with a Laptop "filled with 18,000 tracks mate" :hurt:

Had lunch, finished set-up and got home to load up for my gig in my Local pub.

 

I Was doing Karaoke (using my mates system) and some Video DJing, was a good night, with 1am end.

I left most of the low value gear there (so 99% lol), and then did the same on NY Day.

The landlord mentioned that he wanted entertainment on NY Day, but everyone (understandably) wanted premium rates.

 

I suggested that as we're there on NY Eve, we could leave some gear set-up, and therefore do it at a sensible rate, so we did more of the same again. Hand was bitten off... lol

 

So daytime, inspected and collected the 2nd rig from the other pub, no problems, and nice lunch again :-)

 

Then chilled for a few hours, before hitting my local again.

Different people, but still very busy (so landlord was very happy).

 

I'm seriously looking into Karaoke for 2011, so if anyone is selling original CDG's, get in touch.

 

Both nights were busy, and the other pub had sold 170 tickets, so they were also very pleased. My local doesn't charge entry, but I think he did pretty well.

 

I'm glad I did my local pub. I had a few enquiries for private parties, but not much more money.

I charged a good rate and for the sake of an extra £100 for some private parties, it was nicer to perform to people I know, very close to home.

 

[jay jackson 0]

Was told to be at our local family club to start at 7.30 for the doors opening at 7.30 so i set in the afternoon and arrived at quarter past 7' There was a que down the road so i thaught it was going to be a good night'

When we got inside the back way i was shocked the club already had full capacity and the steward had opened early at 7 so the place was rammed all night with a great atmosphere.

Made me quite pleased as i have done it for the last 5 years on nye :dukesy: