Now comes the fun part: the reception...
Pat and Laura's reception was awesome. It was at Laura's parents' house in Pensacola, about five minutes from the church. Almost as soon as the Mass was over, Ken, Alaina, Sarah and I booked it over to their house, because I was DJ'ing and Ken was the photographer, so we both had to be there. I checked out the surroundings, and the spot that I had picked out the night before had been taken by the band, so I chose another spot near them. I found a great place, and as they were playing their music, I set up everything. Ryan O. helped me set up a wireless connection between the two laptops (Ken's and mine) so that I could have a laptop to preview songs on. Then, I noticed too late that I was missing some audio cables that I thought I had, so I borrowed MikeE's car for a few minutes and raced over to Wal-Mart to purchase them. When I got back, I "stole" a set of the band's speakers during their break, and hooked them up to the system, and began playing the music.
From here on out, this post is one great chest thump for me. Sorry, but I can't help it. It was just too much fun!
I opened with Big Bad Voodoo Daddy's King of Swing, followed next by Alien Fashion Show's Detroit Swing City. I had to play some swing, since there was a live band there. I also wanted to set a tone for the evening. The band was enjoying the music, and some players even playing along with Detroit Swing City. It made for a nice piece. After that, they took over again, and I went and grabbed a quick bite to eat.
After their next session, Dane announced the Virginia Reel. Those experienced people (aka, Christendomites) came out to the dance floor and showed everyone how it was done, and within a couple minutes, everyone was out there. I began with the staples: Shamrock's Tell Me Ma and The Boy From Ballymore and Rednex's Cotton Eyed Joe. After the first song, everyone wanted to keep going, so I checked again. After the second song, some people were ready to stop. By the end of the third song, people were getting tired of it, so it was time to move on to something else.
In the middle of the third VA Reel song, someone told me about a birthday, so I took that cue and after the third song, before I got too many protesters, I announced the birthday, and asked her what her favorite song was. After thinking for a moment, she said, "Memory, from Cats." OK, I could do that. As the song fired up, she added, "Unless you have any Phantom of the Opera?" My jaw just about hit the floor, because of course I have the Phantom, and it's one of my favorites! But the song had already started, so I just let it play.
After this, some of the younger generation wanted more VA Reel, so I announced one more VA Reel song, and played Cotton Eyed Joe again. I could tell the Christendom folks were getting tired of it, but the kids loved it!
Next up were a couple standard dances. I put the swing back in, but I introduced a waltz next, with Enya's Flora's Secret. Following this, Dane asked me to prepare a fun song, and he announced the Paddle Dance. I set up the Wonders That Thing You Do. Everyone really seemed to be getting into it, and so they went through five songs in the paddle dance. I announced We Are Family as a special request from the bride, but since it was the Ultimix, Laura didn't recognize it at first...
Dane came up to me and asked me to prepare the surprise that we had discussed earlier in the day, so with much glee, I did so. At the end of We Are Family, the music quieted down, and Dane asked the bride and groom to please come out to the dance floor, because we had a special song for them, and that everyone present gather around them in a large circle. After the musical introduction, Pat and Laura recognized the song from their junior year play. They were (respectively) Liesl von Trapp and Rolf, so Sixteen Going On Seventeen was definitely their song.
After that, I spent a lot of time filling requests. When I had free time, I played songs that the bride and groom had requested, and when people came up to me and asked if I had X, Y or Z, I would add it to the playlist, assuming, of course, that I had it. There was a significant number of oldies, funk and disco that people just loved. Father Dan, Pat's uncle, by this time, was next to me with a set of headphones on, listening to music. Man, I tell you what: I'm a bad influence even on priests...
People asked for a line dance, so I announced the Electric Slide, and hopped out to the floor myself. This was the one dance that I could do without embarrassing myself too much, so I took advantage of this.
Earlier, someone had requested Walking on Sunshine, so I put the two Walking's back-to-back, just for the fun of it. I had no idea how they would actually go. Walking on Sunshine was a bit hit -- I didn't realize how literally it was until after Walking on Broken Glass had started. An instant before the song opened, I heard a glass shatter, and I just figured it was a part of the song. Turns out it wasn't, as Pat told me two seconds later. He came up to me and asked me if I had done that on purpose. Confused, I asked what he meant, and he told me about the glass that had just been broken. I burst out laughing as Ryan and Sarah came running up to me to ask me if I really was all that quick. I was rather disappointed in myself, because I would really have loved to take full credit for extremely quick reflexes, but I couldn't...
By this point, Martha, one of Laura's sisters, had come up to me and asked me for a set of swing music. I played a couple songs, and then announced (as requested by Laura's friends) that it was someone's birthday. According to the ladies, one of his favorite songs was Iris, so that's what he got.
Martha came up to me and told me that she wanted a long set of swing music, so, accepting the challenge, and presenting one of my own, we agreed to five fast swing songs, back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back. As Iris ended, I announced a small contest, between the DJ and Martha. I announced that Martha said that she could dance five swing songs in a row. Naturally, I had a couple lined up to go, and I had plans for the last three. I asked for five strapping, energetic young men who could dance quickly and well: my five volunteers were Dane, Brendan, Pat, Mike P., and Martha's brother (John?). The requirement was that they reserve their energy for their dances, because I wanted them all to be fresh. Dane danced to Zoot Suit Riot, and in the process, he discovered that she had been taking ballet for fourteen years. Dancing was in her blood. He told this to me, and I immediately began plotting my revenge...
Brendan was up next -- he burned up the concrete. He told me that he doesn't know that many moves, but the moves he does know, he can do really quickly. Perfect for me. Pat was up third, and Mike was fourth. Mike, however, had been dancing all the other dances, so he wasn't as quick as he could have been. However, credit where credit is due: he did a good job.
Last up was John. I brought him over to the DJ stand, and played him his song: Jurassic 5's Swing Set, which was, the longest of them all, upwards of five minutes. It also introduces an funky beat that keeps dancers on their toes. When John and Martha began dancing, the crowd went wild. They were simply fantastic. I've not seen swing moves like theirs in quite some time.
At the end of it all, the music went silent, and I went on the mic. I made a public apology to Martha, because I doubted her prowess. However, I then told her that if I had known about her years of ballet, I wouldn't have stopped the number at five. It was a "diriment impediment" of sorts (even though the meaning of that exact phrase is here being stretched beyond reasonable use). In the end, I got a hug from Martha. It took a while for my old heart to slow down again... :-P
After this, it was all requests. I ended the dance on What About Everything. It was nearly 1:00 AM, and I was beginning to get a little tired. Besides that, Pat and Laura were getting ready to go. I know that they had wanted to stay to the end, but the end wasn't really anywhere in sight, so they decided that it was time to leave. We sent them off with a group of people singing the Parting Glass, Red is the Rose, and other Irish songs. After they left, I assisted in cleaning up the place, or at least the part of the place that I had been using. Everything was put away, and I joined the crowd of people sitting in a circle, singing away. We left at about 3:00 AM...
+ + +
Below this is my playlist variations. You'll see what Pat and Laura wanted. I then took that playlist and built around it. What I ended up doing is the third column. I didn't have enough time to get through everything that they wanted, but I think I got about 50% of it? I haven't tallied the numbers up... Enjoy!
| They wanted: | I modified: | What happened: |
|---|---|---|
| Goo Goo Dolls Give A Little Bit | Scythian Ashoken Farewell | Big Bad Voodoo Daddy King of Swing |
| Fastball You're An Ocean | The Foundations Build Me Up Buttercup | Alien Fashion Show Detroit Swing City |
| Guster Fa Fa | RedNex Cotton Eye Joe (Dance Mix) | Shamrock Tell Me Ma |
| Wonders That Thing You Do | Shamrock Tell Me Ma | Shamrock The Boy From Ballymore |
| Elton John Your Song | Shamrock The Boy From Ballymore | RedNex Cotton Eye Joe (Dance Mix) |
| Carole King Anyone At All | Goo Goo Dolls Give A Little Bit | Andrew Lloyd Webber Memory |
| Jason Mraz The Remedy | Fastball You're An Ocean | RedNex Cotton Eye Joe (Dance Mix) |
| Uncle Kracker Drift Away | Wonders That Thing You Do! | Swing Kids Sing, Sing, Sing (With a Swing) |
| Alison Krauss When You Say Nothing At All | Guster Fa Fa | Enya Flora's Secret |
| Jimmy Buffet Margaritaville | Elton John Your Song | Wonders That Thing You Do! |
| Natalie Merchant These Are The Days | Carole King Anyone at All | Guster Fa Fa |
| Carbon Leaf What About Everything? | Uncle Kracker Drift Away | Beatles Twist And Shout |
| Scythian Ashoken Farewell | Alison Krauss When You Say Nothing at All | Mamas & Papas California Dreaming |
| ATC Around The World | Jimmy Buffet Margaritaville | Sister Sledge We Are Family (Ultimix Remix) |
| Sister Sledge We Are Family | Natalie Merchant These Are The Days | Sound of Music, Dan Truhitte And Charmian Carr Sixteen Going On Seventeen |
| Billy Joel Why Should I Worry? | Carbon Leaf What About Everything? | Shaggy Angel |
| Billy Joel River Of Dreams | ATC Around the World | Louis Armstrong What a Wonderful World |
| Billy Joel Tell Her About It | Billy Joel Why Should I Worry | Jet Are You Gonna Be My Girl? |
| Cherry Poppin' Daddies Zoot Suit Riot | Billy Joel River Of Dreams (Original, Live) | Wild Cherry Play That Funky Music |
| Stray cats Rock This Town | Cherry Poppin' Daddies Zoot Suit Riot | George Clinton & The Parliament Funkadelic Give Up The Funk (Tear The Roof Off The Sucker) |
| Alien Fashion Show Crazy Moon | Alien Fashion Show Crazy Moon | Bee Gees Stayin Alive |
| Nobuo Uematsu, Junya Nakano, Masashi Hamauzu Chocobo Jam | Nobuo Uematsu, Junya Nakano, Masashi Hamauzu Chocobo Jam | Frankie Valli You're Just Too Good To Be True |
| U2 Beautiful Day | U2 Beautiful Day | Marcia Griffiths Electric Slide |
| Huey Lewis And The News Power Of Love | Huey Lewis & The News Power of Love | Katrina and the Waves Walking On Sunshine |
| Rednex Cotton Eyed Joe | Seal Kiss From A Rose | Annie Lennox Walking On Broken Glass |
| scythian Virginia Reel | Frank Sinatra I Get A Kick Out Of You (Slow) | Frank Sinatra I Get A Kick Out Of You |
| Shamrock Tell Me Ma | Katrina and the Waves Walking On Sunshine | Glenn Miller Orchestra In The Mood |
| Rednex Cotton Eyed Joe [Dance Remix] | Lovin' Spoonful Do You Believe in Magic | Goo Goo Dolls Iris |
| Shamrock Boy From Ballymore | Nat King Cole L.O.V.E | Cherry Poppin' Daddies Zoot Suit Riot |
| Seal Kiss From A Rose | Frank Sinatra The Way You Look Tonight | Alien Fashion Show Crazy Moon |
| Frank Sinatra I Get a Kick Out Of You | John Travolta & Olivia Newton-John We Go Together | Big Bad Voodoo Daddy Jumpin' Jack |
| Katrina and the Waves Walkin' On Sunshine | Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell Ain't No Mountain High Enough | Big Bad Voodoo Daddy Mambo Swing |
| Lovin' Spoonful Do You Believe in Magic | Temptations Ain't To Proud To Beg | Jurassic 5 Swing Set |
| Louis Armstrong Let's Do It (Let's Fall In Love) | Rascals Good Lovin' | Kool & The Gang Celebrate |
| Nat King Cole L-O-V-E | Stray Cats Rock This Town | K.C. & The Sunshine Band Get Down Tonight |
| Fronk Sinatra It Had To Be You | Harry Connick Jr. It Had To Be You | Commodores Brick House |
| Frank Sinatra The Way You Look Tonight | Tom Cochrane Life Is A Highway | Creedence Clearwater Revival Born On The Bayou |
| The Foundations Build Me Up Buttercup | Goo Goo Dolls Slide | John Travolta & Olivia Newton-John We Go Together |
| John Travolta/Olivia Newton John (from the Grease Soundtrack) We Go Together | Counting Crows Accidentally In Love | Frank Sinatra The Way You Look Tonight |
| Henry Mancini Moon River [Instrumental] | Rodgers & Hammerstein: Dan Truhitte And Charmian Carr Sixteen Going On Seventeen | Madonna Holiday |
| Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell Aint No Mountain High Enough | ESPN Final Countdown | Styx Lady |
| The Temptations Aint Too Proud To Beg | Van Halen Jump | Billy Idol Mony Mony |
| Stevie Wonder IsnÂ’t She Lovely | Venga Boys We're Going To Ibiza | Green Day Holiday |
| Tom Cochrane Life Is A Highway | Shaggy Angel | Oasis Wonder Wall |
| Four Tops IÂ’ll Be There | Marcia Griffiths Electric Slide | Green Day Good Riddance (Time of Your Life) |
| The Rascals Good LovinÂ’ | Sister Sledge We Are Family (Ultimix Remix) | Chris De Burgh Lady In Red |
| Proclaimers 500 Miles | UB40 Red Red Wine | |
| Billy Joel Uptown Girl | U2 Beautiful Day | |
| Bryan Adams Summer of '69 | Carbon Leaf What About Everything? | |
| Donna Lewis I Love You Always Forever | Baha Men Who Let the Dogs Out | |
| Proclaimers 500 Miles | Michael Jackson Beat It | |
| Billy Joel Uptown Girl | Brian Setzer Orchestra This Cat's On A Hot Tin Roof | |
| Donna Lewis I Love You Always Forever | Tom Cochrane Life Is A Highway | |
| Gnarls Barkley Crazy | ||
| Shaun Davey Waking Ned Devine The Parting Glass |
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