When you’re hosting a function it’s important to make sure the music you book suits the occasion, that’s pretty obvious. However, it’s easy to get it wrong, and when you do, it turns into a night of embarrassment for you and your musicians. Here’s how to make sure that doesn’t happen to you!
Some time ago, the band I play in was booked for a concert at a golf club. We were told the club wanted an easy listening night, which at the time was exactly what we were playing as we were essentially a swing band. We arrived, set up our equipment and started the concert.
For the first 30 minutes we were well received, some people even venturing to touch the ground for a gentle foxtrot. We finished one song, people clapped, and we moved on to the next.
About 50 minutes into the concert we started to feel a slight unease, the crowd was becoming less receptive and the dance floor wasn’t even welcoming to a passing weed, all was not well. Eventually a pretty big guy came up on stage and asked if this was the only kind of music we were going to play, his point was that people wanted to ‘boogie’.
I’ll skip the rest of the night, but suffice it to say, we were glad to see the place in our rear view mirror!
The thing is, no one was to blame. We were a swing band and we played swing music, they wanted a boogie band so they could shake their fat around the floor (yes, I’m still bitter), unfortunately the difference between the two is certainly quite clear.
I cannot stress enough, when hiring a band for your function or wedding, make sure there is no ambiguity about what you want and what the band plays, if the two don’t match, look elsewhere! It’s not fair to the band or your guests!