[DJing/Setlists] Em's Birthday, Birmingham, Sat 4th Sep 2010

Somewhat unusual setlist this one, as it was a 30th birthday party with a load of metal fans (the birthday girl's husband is a music reviewer, fond of the word "brutal" (say it in a Brum accent for full effect - although he has now learnt a fair number of synonyms for it, too ...)). A traditional "family party" upstairs in a large pub, with loads of kids running 'round and 'round until they fell asleep, and the parents sitting watching and singing along to the music, but very little dancing. Mostly a metal playlist, with an industrial interlude, although I had had a request to reprise my "Dr Who sequence", due to their having missed BiCon. A fair few requests dotted through, as well as a couple of tongue-in-cheek tracks.

The previous DJ was a little unlucky, as he looked about sixteen, and despite having quite a lot of stuff on his laptop, didn't seem to know the music taste of the guests very well, and despite having the complete Metallica discography on his drive, only played Enter Sandman, and that at the very end of his set - there was a lot more soft rock coming out, which didn't get too much of a response (four tracks from the same Whitesnake album? When you've got their complete discography to pick from, too? [sigh]) He was being advised by someone who came up from the pub downstairs, but I suspect he might have done better on his own.

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[DJing/Setlists] Fran & CJ's Wedding Reception, Sat 11th Sep 2010

Last night I was invited to do a slot at Fran & CJ's wedding reception at The Pipeline, Middlesex Street. Good venue, good crowd, rather fine party. There were some slight sound problems at the start (for some reason it was much quieter by the 'dancefloor' and decks than it was in the far corner where people had gone to sit and talk), but generally people seemed to be enjoying themselves. Several even danced. [grin] As the other DJs¹ were known for their goth and industrial sets, I made a conscious decision to mostly leave those alone, and go for a bit of an 'alternative tunes and punk standards' set, which seemed to go down pretty well (at least one guest came up and said "You've made my husband a very happy man!"), and resulted in some inebriated dancing from groom and best man.

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¹ Psyche, Kitty, Zara Glitchdrei, Andy Ravensable