Abuse At Gigs Towards Jocks

[Mike O' Brien]

Was gigging last night in a city centre spot and this punter asked for a tune i said yeah no bother blah blah blah.... However it transpired that i forgot to play his tune and he came up tp me at the end of the night just as i was packing up and demanded i turn all the gear back on and play his tune. I apologised profusely giving the usual excuses manager etc.... He pestered me for about 20 minutes until i eventually lost the rag and told him to frup off and stop acting like a fruppin 2 year old. With that he proceeded to lunge at me until his mates and EVENTUALLY a bouncer removed him. Just wondering how much abuse we take while we are gigging??

I probably shouldnt have lost the rag and i may also add that he was pretty drunk. :confused:

[jolishan]

No Way No How At No Time..NEVER take abuse from a punter..If it's an honest mistake and you forget to play something and they won't accept that it was a simple error then give them the explaination once..after that..cut them to the core if they even attempt to get abusive. Most punters who will resort to abuse are scumbags anyway and at the end of the day all they will understand is a short lesson in manners.That why bouncers were invented..call them and get the toerag tossed out on his arse.

[Ronan Devitt]

"sorry mate i forgot to play ur tune,il play it next week".Turn around get ur gear and leave.Simple as.You shouldnt of done the gig anyway you were doing it for peanuts :nutter:

[Avid Listener]

Not a week goes by that i don't get some kind of abuse from a punter. Weather it's you'd didn't play the song i asked for or the usual on play one more song....."one for the road"

Bo**ox that! this is a job for me (which luckily i love doing), not a night out like it is for you. How happy are you to stay on after you are finished your days work.

Don't Dj in clubs but I think it's worse for us mobiles. Not sure if many would agree with me or not.

[frankie says relax]

Unfortunately it's something that goes with the job we all do , it's not something we should ever put up with, but there is no solution .
Drunk , ignorant , selfish narrowminded c**ts will always make themselves known at some stage during the night and are generally the ones who dont get much attention at any other time in their lives .

We will always get the usual 'Do you not have any good music '' , are you playing this type of music all night '' and ''Call yourself a dj ?

The hardest thing i can do is to be nice to a self centered -ignorant- know all ,who thinks the whole club revolves around them , so the only way to handle them is to try and make them feel stupid . If they ask for a song you dont have , just keep looking at them straight in the eye and dont lose eye contact , smile as much as you can and watch THEM lose eye contact with YOU . It makes them feel uncomfortable and makes you come across as the one in control . If you turn away it means your losing the battle because you dont know how to handle the situation .

[DJ El]

So the other night it was you Frankie that i went up to.ONLY JOKING.You are right with what you said to do.I tell you the one i hate the most is when you get booked for a gig(private party) and say the birthday boy or girl says they want a 70's night or dance night for their birthday and then you get the tossers who don't understand that it's not their birthday and you cant play the prodigy everybody in the place for example when its a 70's night even though i would prefer personaly to do so. I had one gig i can remember many a year ago and out of a scale of 1 to 10 i was on 9.9999999 to leave as the money was not worth it, in the end i had to get the birthday girl to go on the mike and say she had picked out the style of music and that she didnt want mad rave music to be played at her birthday party.Mike if he came at you you should have kicked him in the nuts and told him to fu.. off by the time his mates would have been at you you would have had back up from the door.Haven,t seen you in a while hope you are keeping well.

[RadioFriend]

'Do you not have any good music '?? Love that one...Thought it was just me who got that one...I answer them by saying NO I have No good Music..They look at you as if you have two Heads.

[TonyL]

Don't get me started!!!

Abuse?? Every flippin night.

RadioFriend 'Do you not have any good music '?? Love that one...Thought it was just me who got that one...I answer them by saying NO I have No good Music..They look at you as if you have two Heads.

Hahaha classic!!

I get variations....Play somethin good.er, define!!

Or, the madcap tourists...(tourist)u here long? (ME)er, since 10 o clock. (Tourist)no in the canaaaaaarrries. (ME)Excuse me? The canaries, right. yeah bout 5/6yrs......(tourist)Roight, so d you like it? (ME)MY GOD GIVE ME STRENGHT!!!! GO HOME!

Back to abuse though...any chance of a panic button LOL

[teddy ryan]

Would you think that a teller in a bank would let us in behind the counter just to see what they have in the drawer??? while we`re well on with the drink.
I THINK NOT!!!!!
So why do we get asked on a regular basis the following..

PUNTER - "do you have the new 50 cent track?"
DJ - "not yet i`m afraid, sorry about that but i`ll play it for you next week"
PUNTER - "Sure can`t I come on(to the dj box) and have a look at what you do have"

Sometimes it`s very hard to keep your cool but for gods sake......... :frust: :frust: :mad:

[Mike O' Brien]

We all get abuse and know the bad lines but one of the best lines i got last week was (A well endowed blonde English burd) "Play the Goriilaz new tune and i'll F**King Shag Ya"

Guess what the next song was.......!!! :) :) :)

[jimmy williams]

well mike was it worth playing the song would it be worth bringing it with you next week

[mini-fanatic]

'Do you not have any good music '?? Love that one...Thought it was just me who got that one...I answer them by saying NO I have No good Music..They look at you as if you have two Heads.

This is one I get as well, and the next thing they are looking at your Disks!
I got smacked at a Wedding once so I tend not to tell anyone to F off,
to be honest if you genuinely forgot to play a tune thats not exactly a crime now is it?
Only thing is learn from my mistake and never get into a confrontation with a punter, you can very quickly find yourself out of your depth.

[Mike O' Brien]

Jimmy!!! Im a happily married man!!!

[RadioFriend]

Another Classic is ...."What songs have you????????

Good Lord Phook....I hate when people say that.

[Liamo]

Can't remember what song it was, but I remember some pissed asshole coming up to me one night slurring

THEM: "play something good, so we can dance"
ME: "like what"
THEM: [named a song]
ME: "you mean the one that's currently playing while you're standing here talking ?"

Apart from the fact that the confused look on his face would've been worth it, the funny thing is that I wasn't actually having him on....the song he wanted so badly was actually playing! :rolleyes:

[darraghjm]

'Do you not have any good music '?? Love that one...Thought it was just me who got that one...I answer them by saying NO I have No good Music..They look at you as if you have two Heads.

thats what i do as well, its a dumb question, might as well give them a dumb answer

[WayneScales]

Or hows about the other stupid question:

Punter,: "Will Ya Play Pussycat Dolls??"
DJ: "Yeah I'll play it shortly, no problem!"
Punter " But Im Going Now!"
Grant Me Fookin Patience


Oh whats this shite lately with the "Its my Birthday" so youe 'really' have to play my request?? It seems to be happenening more than ever, I'm actually wondering if it is really peoples b-days and asking for I.D! Idiots!

[DJ El]

Here's another one for you. I got a copy of Ride on Time by Blackbox before it hit the charts many a moon a go. Anyway i loved it as at that time that was something very different and new.Well this girl came up to the Dj box and asked me to play something she new as the the song that was on by Blackbox was crap and the worst thing she ever heard.2 week later it hit the charts with a bang as you all know. Give a guess who came up to me pleading and beging me to play it again on the night. What a mindless arsehole. If i hear a song i know if i like it or not or if it could grow on me i dont need a bunch of 12 years old and record companies who affect the charts to make MY MIND up.How sad some people are.

[Hood_Rich]

Sometimes its hard to please everyone. So as a rule of thumb I don't promise anything.
We all get this from time to time and it doesn't have to be a bloke either. During the summer I had this young lady in my face for part of my gig. "what are you playin next" "that's crap" "play this". Anyway it wasn't long before I ran out of patience. She even sat up on the desk so luckily at that gig they have a CB radio connected to the desk. Her night was cut short and mine went on as normal. Don't take the crap we all have a job to do at the end of the day.

[Ronan Devitt]

A number of times i have had snotty people come up to me in gigs and actually say that i am a nice person/dj after iv given them a lecture:)
They would say that most of the Djs they have come across in the past have been so rude and ignorant.I myself am always good to punters but i have lost it with the odd retard.
So guys do you have the patience for the punters???
Is it nice to be nice?????

[Princess]

ah will you play guns and roses?

no - turn around and ignore them

why not

cus i don't like it - smile sweetly - and then turn around



can i look at your cds

no - turn around and ignore

why not

cus i'm not a jukebox - turn around and ignore


and if they give you grief say oh did i not mention i was a b*tch? but say it with a smile. they can't figure out what's going on and walk away confused.

The worst is the pain in the hole ones who try to chat you up... eh mate, I'm working - and you're ugly - so no chance!

[Mike O' Brien]

princess is my kinda woman!!!!!!!

frup off yiz muppets!!

[Radiodude]

Asked for Tiffany and Can't take my eyes off you the dance version over the weekend by a couple of girls. Got round to playing one but not both apologised said I'd play it next week and while outside havin a ciggy I met the girls again and was referred to as "that bastard dj"

Another thing that pisses me right off are the older ones who ask for some really mad stuff expecting you not to have it. I do a 70s abd 80s night over the weekend and some smart ass asked me for Jo Boxers - Boxerbeat. I could sense he was testing me. It was on one of the school disco compilations so I played it. His face was priceless.

Oh and while I'm on a roll what is the story with punters coming up to you at 2:28 lookin for a song knowing full well you are finished by half past!!!! :frust:

[Anthony]

from a punters point of view, although considering some of the attitudes displayed here towards the people who give you a living why i think you'll even take it on board i have no idea, it is easy to make a mistake if you've spent the night downing alcohol, and it is also very easy to be high and mighty when you're one of the few sober people in the place

[DJ El]

Well here i go again. Christmas time is the worst time of the year and guess what's coming up soon?????? All those lovely people who work all year and never go out and think BING CROSBY is still number one and yes folks there coming to our venues very soon. Always remember a middle aged country lass coming up to me at christmas saying she heard better from a black and decker and had i any DANIEL O'DONNELL. To this day i still tell the story, as the lass was from another time and quite clearly got let out once a year by her farmer husband up to the big SMOKE. It always puts a smile on my face when i think about it.

[Hood_Rich]

I have a funny feeling that joe public is reading this post because the amount of people who past positive comments last night at my gig nearly made up for the drink that went over my cd case :eek:

Luckily the laptop was the other side!!!

Having said that I agree the post from radiodude about the last minute dash to the Dj just as your wrapping up. And what about the guy or girl who seems to think that you don't remember them from last week or the week before or the week before that to "play my song, its my birthday".

GO AWAY

[John Silverspoon]

Those ones that ask "are you finished?" when the music is off ...!

[DeargDoom]

from a punters point of view, although considering some of the attitudes displayed here towards the people who give you a living why i think you'll even take it on board i have no idea, it is easy to make a mistake if you've spent the night downing alcohol, and it is also very easy to be high and mighty when you're one of the few sober people in the place


So Anthonys the bloke who was looking for Boxerbeat lol

[clairebear]

as a rule i make a point of being polite to punters, i find if you smile people smile back at you. however theres a difference between being nice and taking s*it from people, which i refuse to do! here are some of my fave annoying punters:

punter who asks for song... then sends their friends up one after the other to ask for the song you have just agreed to play??!!! after friend number three i usually say sorry no i dont have it!

punters who request song then say will it be long cos were leaving in ten minutes.... reply: em its about three and a half minutes long i think... (smile sweetly and put headphones back on)

punters who hand you a big list of songs, seriously a girl handed me a list of about thirty songs the other night, when she came back up with another list i handed the first one back and said sorry but im actually not your personal ipod im a dj.

punters who come up, abuse you for not playing a song or whatever... then stomp off before you can answer them!!! drives me mad!!!

punters who offer you money to play a song, its so pompous i never accept it no matter how much it is.

when you do birthday requests on mic then half the club comes up claiming that its their birthday too... why??!!

punters who ask for something random then say ah go on im tellin ya the whole place will go mad itll be deadly etc... ok u know best!!

will u play ...? sure no prob. play it next! no.. why not? :frust:

guys who come up and talk crap to you just so they can stare at your boobies, or worse guys who just stand at side of jock box staring at your boobies!!

while there are plently of a**holes out there sometimes you can have the best laugh with people, they are drunk after all and prob dont realise theyre coming across badly, they usually melt if you turn it around by having a laugh instead of immediately getting defensive. for example the other night this pompous guy stomped up and said ya can i "order" some black eyed peas at once! i laughed and said are you going to "request" taco fries in abrakestabra later on? we ended up having a really good laugh and it livened up a boring night cos he kept coming up to ask for garlic sauce! :)

[DeargDoom]

I was doing a cheesy party gig in a well know venue in Temple Bar last night and I got one clown asking for Sisters of Mercy ... (even worse - I had it on mp3!)

[DJ El]

Ah Deargdoon you know you love it. You always slag the music there when i speak to you outside of work but when i go and visit you, you are always moving your arse to the music and always have a cheeky smile on your face even if its TATU. Go on give us a go of your decks! LOL. EL :nutter:

[frankie says relax]

Maybe Anthony thinks its ok to abuse somebody while doing their job .
Would he feel justified by being abusive to a bank official , a shop assistant or a tradesman if he didnt get his own way ? Would he like it if some drunken ass hole waliked into his job and critisised the way he operated , would he take kindly to being called names regardless of the effort he put into his profession , would he find it in his heart to understand a drunk slob who makes a mistake by calling somebody an incomopent wanker because they didnt get their own way , and finally , were not all hight and mighty in this profession Anthony , some of us work hard and have put years of effort into what we do .
So before you start passing comment on a subject you know nothing about or have even been involved in on a professional level , get an insight into what we do , how we do it and why we do it . It might make you look less stupid when you pass your comments .

[Anthony]

So before you start passing comment on a subject you know nothing about or have even been involved in on a professional level , get an insight into what we do , how we do it and why we do it . It might make you look less stupid when you pass your comments .

nice to see my points have been vindicated within hours of making them. nice one frankie.
absolutely. of course nobody should be abused while they work, but if you had taken the time to digest the points i made it might have hit home a little harder. if you people display the same arrogance towards punters as you do online (and have just done with me) you can't really be all that surprised when it caomes back and gives you a slap on the face.

punters who request song then say will it be long cos were leaving in ten minutes.... reply: em its about three and a half minutes long i think..

punters who ask for something random then say ah go on im tellin ya the whole place will go mad itll be deadly etc... ok u know best!!

just a couple of samples pulled out

[DJ El]

Ah jesus Anthony we all know there are a few high and mighty DJ's out there but most of us are not. I DJ and used to run clubs and pubs in the UK believe me i have taken my fair share of abuse i have had a gun put to my face buy a drunk twat who did'nt get his way. This is just a thread to have a little fun and let of some steam in a harmless way a bit like going to the gym after a shitty week at work. I know 2 of the DJ's who posted here and are buy no means arrogant, they work very hard one of them works in radio during the day and pretty much everynight of the week also. People with drink on them are very different people than when they are sober i have seen a man stick a glass in a guys face and take his eye out i meet the man one day in the street and belive me you would think he was a priest. So please Anthony try not to see the bad side of us as there is a reason for eveything. Don't know what job you do but if you are not in the pub/club trade try it and come back and let us know if we are out of order.(please don't take the last sentence as me being a smart arse because it's not meant that way) :cheers:

[mini-fanatic]

I work with a few bands on a very regular basis, I have to say sometimes I envy them, because its true that there is safty in numbers.
No one will ever be able to tell me that you can call on security if you have a problem, if you have a problem you are on your own.
Anthony reads the boards and thinks he knows our job inside out, "Money for old rope" so to speak. maybe if he tried gigging for the month of December he would have a more balanced perspective.

I try to play requests where possible, I try to be nice, I try not to look down a girls top when she comes up looking for a song, I try to smile at people when they are slurring their words.
There are complete idiots however who you simply cannot be nice to.

[Liamo]

I'd second DJ El's post, Anthony.....

Lot's of people have good taste in music, but to be fair their suggestions mightn't go down well on a particular night; try making this point some night to someone who's well oiled and you'll see what posters here are on about - in most cases the arrogance is on the drunk punter's part, when the DJ has the place rocking but THEIR taste/opinion ("play something good" :rolleyes: ) is more important than helping everyone in the place have a good night.

[DeargDoom]

from a punters point of view, although considering some of the attitudes displayed here towards the people who give you a living why i think you'll even take it on board i have no idea, it is easy to make a mistake if you've spent the night downing alcohol, and it is also very easy to be high and mighty when you're one of the few sober people in the place

The original poster wasn't talking about drunk people. He was talking about a DANGEROUS person trying to SMACK him. Thats one pretty f**king big 'mistake' to be making. Most good DJs (and doormen) are experts at talking to punters (drunk or otherwise).

To make it clear Anthony - we're not talking about the normal punters that come to the places we play in.

This is the DJ/Clubbing section. Its only natural that DJs are going to be telling some of their war stories here ...

DD

[kf85]

i don't mean to jump on the band wagon here but anthony, if a customer came up to you in your work place at the end of a long day and told you that you're crap at your job, how would it make you feel? most of the posts are what DJ's are thinking and not actually saying to the customers face. it's realllly hard to keep your cool when 1 or 2 people are coming up and abusing you, teven though instead of goin out with our boy/girlfriend or mates, we have just worked to make the other 400-500 people in the pub/club have a good night. it can put a real downer on the night.

[The Real Stuttering John]

The latest one is

" so how many songs do you have?"

I told him about 2000 as I only need to play about 70-100 in the night anway and there are not much more than 2000 good songs out there I will ever need.....ever.

He laughed and said he had 7000 on his ipod

I asked the punter politely what he did for a living.

He said he was a carpenter

I asked him how many nails he had in his tool box as surely if I had more nails than him it would make me a better carpenter, right? Even though I have never done a carpenter's job in my life I was better than him surely?

He did not answer my question. That shut him up and he walked off with his head hung low, tail between legs.

I was very polite all the way through of course.

Hell yeah!!

[Mike O' Brien]

i was given 20quid to play.................... wait for it......................

Sugababes - Push The Button last night.

And i did take it, nice few pints tonight!! gas thing was it was actually the next song up!!! wahey!!

[Chesney]

Mike don't you dare come on here again looking for sympathy.. you jammy whammy!

[Ronan Devitt]

Was offered 50euro to play a guys song next,i cant remember what the song was but it would of cleared the floor so i didnt play it or take the money....Unlike mike i dont have to except money off the punters to get a decent wage for a nights work :cool:

[Mike O' Brien]

Saucer of milk over here for mr devitt!!!!!!!!!

[TonyL]

I'm sure some people will agree. Like a lot of folks here on RW, I work radio by day, and disco bar by night,every night. So think, come midnight, the last thing you want is some gobs**te spitting in your ear the name of a song :frust: and telling you how to do your job!!! The long daytime hours have probably taken their toll on you. It's very hard to bite the lip and let it go. But! , if you can adopt the attitude, it's worth it. Just, as they say.......let it go


At the end of the day, you know best, right?? So he who laughs last??? ..............(all the way to the bank!!!!) :nutter:

Tony

[John Silverspoon]

People requesting Tiesto....guaranteed at least one or two a gig.

[DarraghRoberts]

Personally I get insulted if anyone offers me money to play their song next! Yes sir, Im a whore and you can buy your way into me playing your songs!

At the end of the day, its a job, just like a bank assistant who I recently came across at one of my gigs! Very drunk, very abusive, and downright ignorant. I happen to walk into the bank about a week later and saw the same girl standing behind the counter. As she served me, i asked her what would happen if I came into the bank drunk, started shouting and abusing her. She didnt know what to say, then i reminded her of the night that she was in a venue and she did all that to me! Natually got very embarressed and apoligisied. Payback is always good, makes the job worth it! However I have a very short fuse for paitence and if any customer starts giving abuse I terminate the converation immediatly and in some cases call security.

[DarraghRoberts]

guys who come up and talk crap to you just so they can stare at your boobies, or worse guys who just stand at side of jock box staring at your boobies!!


I hear Barry Dunne has that problem all the time, but doesnt happen to me, I wear sensible clothing!

[The Real Stuttering John]

even "rock stars" abuse DJs.....

"singer" Kid rock has landed himself in court over the assault of a dj in a strip club.

Here's how it went.
Kid rock's friend heckles dj about his crap music in club....
DJ says " man be nice, I don't come to your place of work and give you abuse while your working picking up garbage"
Kid Rock enters DJ box and punches DJ


Kid Rock - whose real name is Robert James Ritchie - is charged with assaulting a strip club DJ back in February. Jeremy Campos told News 2 that in the early morning hours of February 16th, Kid Rock entered the DJ booth at Christie's Cabaret. Campos says he proceeded to push, then punch him in the face twice, going so far as breaking his glasses.

"One of his friends heckled me, and being a DJ, I said something back," said Campos. "And Kid Rock came up in the DJ booth and started telling me to apologize over the mike. And then he threatened to hit me, and he hit me."

In his lawsuit, Campos says he suffered both temporary and permanent injuries to his face, head, limbs, neck, and body. He also says he has suffered a loss of wages as well as a loss of enjoyment in his life. Campos is now suing Kid Rock" for $600,000. That includes both punitive and compensatory damages.

[ex-pirate]

And to round it up ........ maybe ..........

Did a gig, during the "slow set", got asked, by a sober gentleman, to play, The Irish National Anthem, and the end of the gig was not over for another 1.5 hours.

Now, you can imagine, the look I gave him (blank stare). He was deadly serious !! Because he asked, play it next .........

[Legend]

At a gig once in DJ box with DJ in Cork, helping with the lights and this guy kept requesting Richie Kavanagh. We were playing rnb, dance and explained it bwould sound totally out of place and he'd be only one dancing. He ignored what we said, and came up agin,and again and agin, then warned us if wwe didn't we'd be sorry...
So, we didn't play the "aon focail eile song" and sure enough outside, waiting for us was a group of Boyo's..big Boyo's..his relatives..who said they'd burast us..
We just took one look at them and ran..
Thankfully they never came back to the club and thankfully,noone else ever asked for Richie Kavanagh (sorry Richie)..
And now we see funny side to it...

[Legend]

At a gig once in DJ box with DJ in Cork, helping with the lights and this guy kept requesting Richie Kavanagh. We were playing rnb, dance and explained it would sound totally out of place and he'd be only one dancing. He ignored what we said, and came up agin,and again and agin, then warned us if wwe didn't we'd be sorry...
So, we didn't play the "aon focail eile song" and sure enough outside, waiting for us was a group of Boyo's..big Boyo's..his relatives..who said they'd burast us..
We just took one look at them and ran..
Thankfully they never came back to the club and thankfully,noone else ever asked for Richie Kavanagh (sorry Richie)..
And now we see funny side to it...

[Turiel]

$600k! Damn, I should start doing dodgy gigs again.

[Hood_Rich]

this muppet last night asked did 8 16 32 mean anything to me?
He rather ask me silly questions about bpm instead of talk to some women or men or whatever. I mean its Saturday night for gods sake!!!

[Turiel]

Was offered 50euro to play a guys song next,i cant remember what the song was but it would of cleared the floor so i didnt play it or take the money....Unlike mike i dont have to except money off the punters to get a decent wage for a nights work :cool:

Well, I've made a point of refusing any money to play a song, but... I got $100 last Tuesday to play the Sugababes :P. There's principles, then there's $100, I guess we all have our price ;)

Having said that, if it was something crazy that would have cleared the floor and had people looking at me strangely, I still would have refused it.

[DarraghRoberts]

Well I wouldnt call it abuse, but I was trying to decide whether I was going to play a tune or not last night and the guy that asked me, flashes his GARDA ID at me!!!! Oh cmon, you sad bastard! Do they think thats gonna get them a free lunch or something?! I ended up playing the song, but I just thought it was note worthy!

[DeargDoom]

Well I wouldnt call it abuse, but I was trying to decide whether I was going to play a tune or not last night and the guy that asked me, flashes his GARDA ID at me!!!! !


Let me guess ... a Harcourt Street nightclub well known to be full of the filth?

[djkrisp]

Drunken ignorantn people need to be treated as the ignoant sods they are..

[DarraghRoberts]

Eh...no! These people are still our customers and have to be treated well...to a point! Be nice until its time not to be nice, then call security!

[Chesney]

At this time of year everyone is over-tired and stressed ourselves included.
Most Djs are on their guard at this time of year too..am I wrong?
Expecting a drunk moran to tip a pint onto your decks the minute your back is turned, or some drunk obnoxious person demanding you play their song.. NEXT!
As Patrick Swayze said in roadhouse, "Be nice", however he ended up slapping the heads of people if I remember correctly.
In general all Djs try to be "nice" , and its easy to be nice to people who are friendly and polite. Its not so easy to be nice to ignorant types.

[jolishan]

Temple Bar Wednesday night/ Thursday morning....joint was partying goodo...about 15 mins to go..2 girls..SOBER girls.."would ya ever play Aled Jones Walking In The Air"..I don't think I stopped laughing till I got home:)