Over the past three weeks, I DJ’ed two wedding receptions and had a much needed weekend off. Both of the receptions that I DJ’ed (one in Mitchell, SD and one in Sioux Falls, SD) stick out in my mind, but for different reasons.
First, allow me to take you back to July 28th. I had a reception scheduled at the Moose Lodge in Mitchell, SD. With approximately 300 guests scheduled to arrive, it was going to be a fairly large reception. I arrived about two hours before my scheduled start time, but there were already guests there. The stage was located at the front of the room, and I was able to park fairly close to a rear door, making setup a breeze.
The night itself went really well. There were a few moments where I looked out on the dancefloor and realized I had the crowd right where I wanted them - lost in the seamless music mix of classic rock, oldies, and country. As the night grew later, around 11:00, I fielded numerous requests for something a little newer, like Hip-Hop. I knew the bride and groom were ok with that, so I put on a few tracks from Justin Timberlake, Ying Yang Twinz, and Usher. The dancefloor went crazy with 20-somethings moving to the music.
The mother of the groom then came up to me and said, “No more of this!” The first thing out of my mouth was, “Are you sure?” pointing to the dancefloor, probably not the best thing to say. I then told her that I was merely playing requests, and if she would not like that kind of music played, I will cease playing it. So, after the last song, I announced that I would not be playing any more of that kind of music. The dancers sighed in frustration and left the dancefloor. Some even left the reception.
I finished the night with a mix of classic wedding songs and still managed to keep the dancefloor fairly full. At the end of the night, as I was crossing the dancefloor to speak to someone about payment, an older gentleman stopped me. He was probably in his late 70’s and was wearing suspenders. Courteous as usual, I said hello. The gentleman said, “You know…………….your music selection wasn’t the best tonight.” Thinking that he was referring to the 10 minutes out of the entire night that I played hip-hop, I informed him that as a DJ, I take requests. Since the crowd was split up half older and half younger, I played a variety of music. But, this wasn’t what he was referring to. He said, “You played too much rock n roll in a row” undoubtedly referring to my method of beatmixing songs together to create a seamless stream of music. I asked him what he would have rather heard, and he didn’t really have an answer. He just said, “You need to play two fast songs, then a slow one, then two more fast songs, then another slow one.” Not wanting to be rude, I thanked him for his input and told him to have a good night. I didn’t get into the fact that with over 10 years of DJ’ing experience, I have a pretty good idea of what works at a reception. But, to become a better DJ, you always take your criticism to heart. Believe me, even though the gentleman my not have been the musical expert that he thought he was, his words stuck with me long after my trip back home.
