The Gig Experience

I’ve been a dj for a long time and had some interesting, bizarre & challenging gigs in that time. The gig experience is broken up into many parts from the travel , setup to the gig itself. A mobile DJ is a roadie, sound engineer, rigger, lighting engineer, DJ & musician , just some of the tasks a dj undertakes at every gig .

Getting to a gig can sometimes present challenges, wether its around the corner or  a bit of travelling there’s always hazards to look out for with wildlife, mother nature & idiot drivers to contend with on the roads. Then getting to a venue and finding a carpark close by , or finding shelter whilst loading your gear in/out in the rain, unfortunately sometimes  your stuck out in the elements , also contending with inclines, stairs & drunk patrons who seem to have no spatial awareness when your trying to move gear . Sometimes I have got some attitude from impatient punters asking me to hurry up & play despite the advertised start time still some time away and getting hassled for one more song at the end of the night when security and managers saying to finish up. When your gear is packed up and ready to haul out it seems to be a magnet for people to use as a makeshift table to put their drinks or empty glasses on , sometimes I have to double as a bar tender for the night and make trips to the bar or table to clear glasses, cans or bottles from my gear.

 

Sometime ago I had a wedding booked like any other normal wedding everything was going to planned. Until 3 days to go until the wedding and the husband fell ill to the point of it being life threatening. As you can imagine the bride was worried sick and it seemed the wedding would not go ahead  as the groom relapsed the night before the wedding. Read about the full story here in the news paper link .

http://www.southernhighlandnews.com.au/story/1074846/in-sickness-and-in-health-i-take-thee/

The reception went ahead and was a very emotional evening with the bride, family & friends arriving back with no groom who was still in hospital. With no cake cutting, bridal waltz and other wedding formalities it certainly was a wedding that had a very different feel due to the circumstances. Myself & other wedding suppliers were willing to refund payment as the wedding was close to being called off but with people travelling to be there and some things too late to cancel it ended up going ahead.

I remember a 30^th party I done where the guy was a massive metalhead. Not often you play a gig where your spinning pantera, metallica, korn, tool, iron maiden etc and at a bowling club  of all places . You could say the old folk cleared out pretty quick.

One of the most disturbing & unfortunate gigs I done was an 18^th birthday in a local hall. The parents planned well having security and nominated people for RSA & plenty of adult supervision. With social media in its infancy it became a medium for people to spread the word , in this case when people found out a party was on an influx of uninvited guests arrived (gate crashers) and all hell broke loose. With brawls, fights and the riot police called it was serious and has been the only time I have been told the shut a party down early. It became the catalyst for myself to only dj  private parties at licensed venues where security ,RSA & other matters are in a more controlled environment .

Marquee Weddings are a lot different to wedding receptions held in established venues as most marquee weddings are on secluded properties. I’ve had some weddings go off without a hitch and others a bit more challenging. As most marquee weddings run on power generators ive had weddings whereby there wasn’t enough power distribution , with lighting, caterers ovens,fridges  etc causing some unexpected power outs , plenty of times guys were going out and re setting tripped fuse switches on the generators, which even though it’s out of your control does reflect on your performance.

I’ve done quite a few Disability groups parties and one thing that always sticks in my mind is how much fun they have. With most parties no one dances early on or when there sober so it takes a bit to get people on the dance floor, yet with the disable groups they are on the dance floor straight away and will dance all night.

Function coordinators & managers at various gigs can be very demanding especially when they try & micro manage you .  I always say “ I’m a professional and have been doing this for a long time , I work with you, not for you “, there needs to be boundaries as well as mutual trust & understanding so your performance isn’t compromised. You need to stand your ground in these situations because your standing up for not only yourself but also for the customer who hired you . Tenacious DJ by name and sometimes by nature.