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What did everyone think?


Christoff
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By no means is the party the only reason to come to a con, but for many it is one of the highlights, and when you have a DJ as poor as the one we had at Better than Life, it can put a real damper on things. The trick is to play a bit of everything, and something that everyone likes. I saw some of the CDs the DJ had and there were plenty of great tracks which would of filled the dance floor. Someone even got hold of a peice of paper and wrote down a load of tracks that would of been great, but he just ignored the list and played Rock, much to the scrunched up faces of everyone in the room, excpt for the odd person who actually knew it.

 

Before I come to another massive events con I will need a cast iron guarantee that we will have a DJ that knows what they are doing on the Saturday night - and only plays a few Rock/Metal tracks and the same for all other genres!

 

Just thinking about how poor that DJ was just makes me shake my head in disbelief.

 

Have to admit that I thought the DJ on Saturday (was it Davey?) did a pretty good job! I admit that I like indie rock a lot (and lets face it, musical taste is purely subjective), but I danced a lot to the cheese that he played (I vageuly remember Aha, Five and The Jam). I also remember that he played the con songs and the line dances, as well as some 60's stuff, so it seems like it was the usual mix? Can I ask what songs you requested that werne't played? I'm surprised there was a stack of CD's, I thought they usually just use a laptop loaded with MP3s! I think a bigger factor on Saturday was the heat. It got pretty warm in that room that evening and that might have put off some people from going in there any dancing?

 

I admit that the music on the Friday night was pretty dodgy, don't know who was the DJ on that evening. For me personally, I'd much rather than SM/ME kept the disco in house, rather than get a different DJ in. That way, they have more money to spend on guests! :thumbup:

 

 

You must be joking...The DJ was horrid!! Unless you like Rock of course!

Most DJ's are horrid if you don't like the sort of music they are playing. I'm never going to get the music I want because most people wouldn't be able to keep pace for long enough lol

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By no means is the party the only reason to come to a con, but for many it is one of the highlights, and when you have a DJ as poor as the one we had at Better than Life, it can put a real damper on things. The trick is to play a bit of everything, and something that everyone likes. I saw some of the CDs the DJ had and there were plenty of great tracks which would of filled the dance floor. Someone even got hold of a peice of paper and wrote down a load of tracks that would of been great, but he just ignored the list and played Rock, much to the scrunched up faces of everyone in the room, excpt for the odd person who actually knew it.

 

Before I come to another massive events con I will need a cast iron guarantee that we will have a DJ that knows what they are doing on the Saturday night - and only plays a few Rock/Metal tracks and the same for all other genres!

 

Just thinking about how poor that DJ was just makes me shake my head in disbelief.

 

Have to admit that I thought the DJ on Saturday (was it Davey?) did a pretty good job! I admit that I like indie rock a lot (and lets face it, musical taste is purely subjective), but I danced a lot to the cheese that he played (I vageuly remember Aha, Five and The Jam). I also remember that he played the con songs and the line dances, as well as some 60's stuff, so it seems like it was the usual mix? Can I ask what songs you requested that werne't played? I'm surprised there was a stack of CD's, I thought they usually just use a laptop loaded with MP3s! I think a bigger factor on Saturday was the heat. It got pretty warm in that room that evening and that might have put off some people from going in there any dancing?

 

I admit that the music on the Friday night was pretty dodgy, don't know who was the DJ on that evening. For me personally, I'd much rather than SM/ME kept the disco in house, rather than get a different DJ in. That way, they have more money to spend on guests! :thumbup:

 

Its all about a mixture - Something for everyone. All this DJ did was play Rock and a few others. He clearly didnt have a clue. I have been to coutless Discos were the DJ has been amazing - Playing good music for everyone and filling the dancefloor. If that DJ is playing again at future showmaters event, I wont be there.

 

 

You must be joking...The DJ was horrid!! Unless you like Rock of course!

Most DJ's are horrid if you don't like the sort of music they are playing. I'm never going to get the music I want because most people wouldn't be able to keep pace for long enough lol

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"Its all about a mixture - Something for everyone. All this DJ did was play Rock and a few others. He clearly didnt have a clue. I have been to coutless Discos were the DJ has been amazing - Playing good music for everyone and filling the dancefloor. If that DJ is playing again at future showmaters event, I wont be there"

 

Yes, a mixture. Lets have tracks slow enough that I can waltz to when its supposed to be called "DANCE" music. Good music is subjective.

 

I know I wont get the any of the music I want (short of DJ'ing at the event myself) but that's not why I'm there. Still think not attending a convention designed to allow people to people stars of shows because of the DJ is odd

Edited by Grazer
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Its all about a mixture - Something for everyone. All this DJ did was play Rock and a few others. He clearly didnt have a clue. I have been to coutless Discos were the DJ has been amazing - Playing good music for everyone and filling the dancefloor. If that DJ is playing again at future showmaters event, I wont be there.

 

I can't help but notice that you keep ignoring my questions!

 

'Play good music' is such an utterly useless comment, if you don't give some idea what your idea of 'good music' actually is.

 

I've been to a LOT of conventions, run by various organisers and I've seen disco's of highly varying quality. I felt that whilst Saturday night didn't stand out as anything unique musically, it was perfectly acceptable, 'normal' to conevntions and a lot of fun for me personally (as well as all the others who were dancing, including Hattie for a while) :thumbup:

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I have to admit (does my opinion count even though I didn't attend?) the only reason I didn't attend was because it was held in Bedford. Shockingly, there is actually an entire population of people living north of Northampton, and Northampton was awkward enough to get to - but at least wasn't quite so appalling! I was literally in tears because of the transport conditions (and the hotel, though that appears to be getting up to scratch slowly) so there's absolutely no chance of me (and quite a few others I spoke to) attending an event in Bedford again. I'm not sure what logic - if any - was used in deciding to use Bedford, unless it was the "it's easy from Milton Keynes/London" logic. A 2.5 hour journey home from Northampton vs an almost 5 hour journey home from Bedford - and that's if London Midland actually have any staff for the Bedford route, which it rarely does! If London Midland are short of staff, I'd be happy to take a job :thumbup:

 

Don't know what cons we will be attending next but a combination of my wife, my son and I will be going (at least two, possibly all three). So there would be room in the car for one or two!!! If you would like a lift, you would be most welcome. We live at Leek. John, Pat and Richard.

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Well, I am back from Massive Events first ever Red Dwarf Weekend. As a weekend convention veteran and a mind of Red Dwarf facts, figures and history, I thought I would give my honest opinion and run down of the weekend.

 

The High Points:

 

The Organisation – Flawless. I have seen some right shams in my time but these guys really knew what they were doing. Everything was so smooth. Full marks here.

The Atmosphere – Brilliant! Everyone was in high spirits!

The guests – A good selection (except for the obvious cancellations, which they could do nothing about) and they were all very friendly

Good use of initiative when Craig no showed by giving everyone a free group photoshoot.

 

The Low Points

 

The Saturday Party – 0 out of 10 here. The music was AWFUL. Most people disappeared to the bar as they gave up hope of their request being played. I even saw some bloke have a go at the clueless DJ for the poor effort he was making... Normally I would of stepped in but I have to say I thought he was justified in having a go. I know Massive Events are trying to save money, but my advice is to pay someone no more than £200 so we have a DJ that has some idea what they are doing. The guy working behind the bar says it was the worst DJ he had ever heard in the 3 years he had worked there.

The guests cancelling – As I say, not really their fault, but it did upset a few people.

 

So the burning question is…Could Showmasters/massive events put on an Unofficial Red Dwarf Convention that was better that the OFFICIAL Red Dwarf Fan club that has been running for years? And my verdict is: No they could not.

 

Why? Well, despite the fact that there organisation is a million times better, they offer full professional photo shoots and the rather nice extras such as the Drinks reception, they just ballsed up the Saturday night party. This has historically been a dance floor filled extravaganza, with a fun filled atmosphere, and the highlight of the weekend. Most people in the bar downstairs were moaning that the music was crap (yet were having a good time drinking and playing pool anyway!!) and the dance floor barly had anyone on it all night. I had to laugh at the end of the night when the ‘DJ’ came on the mic and said ‘It had been a tough night and difficult to close the right tracks’ Well, I am no pro DJ (or maybe I am…) but my advice would be less rock and a mixture to cater for EVERYONE.

 

To be fair, this was the first RD Con that Massive events have done, so I can understand that they didn’t quite match the official one, but they almost did, which is more than I thought they would. Get a half decent DJ next time and you are sorted!

 

 

Totally agree, leave it up to the people who have been doing it for years. Bedford is pants, terrible to get to. Been there before it hasn't changed. Segregating by means of profit for the organisation isn't very nice for the humble student fan. One price for all. You pay more and you get a better experience? That shouldn't be the case, everyone should have the same chance as the rest.

 

There must have been a profit, otherwise an event announcement so soon wouldn't have happened. Make better use of the money next time, or donate it to charity and save yourself the bother.

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So you're basically criticising the organisers because they're a business and they want to make a profit?

 

To be honest, Jason is a huge Red Dwarf fan and if he wasn't, the con would probably never have happened.

 

Compare the attendance of BTL to a Twilight con for example, and BTL isn't the huge money spinner for Massive Events that you seem to think it is.

 

But even if they DID make some money out of it, what's the problem?

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Totally agree, leave it up to the people who have been doing it for years. Bedford is pants, terrible to get to. Been there before it hasn't changed. Segregating by means of profit for the organisation isn't very nice for the humble student fan. One price for all. You pay more and you get a better experience? That shouldn't be the case, everyone should have the same chance as the rest.

 

There must have been a profit, otherwise an event announcement so soon wouldn't have happened. Make better use of the money next time, or donate it to charity and save yourself the bother.

 

So you're saying leave it to the people whose organisation is rubbish (Duke said ME were 'a million times better' and you agreed)? Hmm.. no thanks. You do realise that Showmasters/Massive Events HAVE been running events for years? In fact, if I remember correctly, they've been around for longer than the Official Red Dwarf Fan Club! Charging more for different levels of ticket is pretty much industry stanard these days. Yes, it means that 'humble student fans' don't get as much included as less 'humble student fans', but it means that more money can be spent on guests (and organisation).

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Totally agree, leave it up to the people who have been doing it for years.

 

SM/ME HAVE been organising this type of event for years and they're very good at it. If they weren't, people wouldn't keep going.

 

I was talking about a specific Red Dwarf convention. NOT a company run event.

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Totally agree, leave it up to the people who have been doing it for years. Bedford is pants, terrible to get to. Been there before it hasn't changed. Segregating by means of profit for the organisation isn't very nice for the humble student fan.

Yes, it means that 'humble student fans' don't get as much included as less 'humble student fans', but it means that more money can be spent on guests (and organisation).

 

Ahem. I'm a humble student fan and I find it easy to afford a gold or silver pass if I want one (in fact, I always get at least a silver and have had gold also before). It's called managing money and prioritising purchases.

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Ahem. I'm a humble student fan and I find it easy to afford a gold or silver pass if I want one (in fact, I always get at least a silver and have had gold also before). It's called managing money and prioritising purchases.

 

 

*high fives psychosis* Agreed! As soon as an event is announced, I save for it if I really want to go. I saved for BTL since xmas, and on little money each month, I got silver for that and did MK.

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This was my first proper con, but had been to a few collectormania's so I wasn't worried about anything, and I think my faith pretty much turned out to be justified.

 

The whole event was very well organised, found Saturday morning a little overwhelming as it was so busy but just kind of went with the flow, and managed to get everything done.

The crew were all really friendly and helpful.

Obviously Craig cancelling on Sunday was incredibly disappointing, and the atmosphere was horrible, probably not helped by someone starting the rumour that Danny was leaving at 11:30 which was clearly not true. Danny was a total pro on Sunday and his 'The show must go on' attitude was fantastic, he completely saved the day as far as I was concerned. All of the guests were really friendly and relaxed, and Hattie was just legendary at the Saturday night party.

Hotel was a little shabby ( we had one of the pre-refurb rooms)but to be honest I'd heard rumours of far worse so I wasn't overly fussed.

 

There seems to be a lot of complaints about the parties and the dj. As far as I'm concerned, the parties are what you make of them. Most of what was played wasn't to my taste but you just get on with it, as long as you're with the right people and drink the right amount of malibu, any party is a good one. :(

 

As some people have said, Bedford isn't the easiest to get to, but its a nice town and the hotel is near the bars, shops and restaurants etc so its all swings and roundabouts.

Met lots of very nice people that I'll hopefully be seeing at BTL2 :P Its nice to have some con experts when you don't have a clue whats going on, and everyone was really friendly and happy to help.

 

In conclusion, I'd give it 2 very enthusiastic thumbs up!!

Shelley

x

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:WAVE: Hello all..My first post on the forum to say a big THANK YOU to every one involved in organising this event...

 

It was my first 'proper' conventions, I've been to a few Collectormanias and The LFCC once before and I've always loved them. As soon as I found out there was a Red Dwarf Con I HAD to be there...

 

I was excited and all my expectations were met or exceeded. I have to say that I agree with the comments about the DJ, my other half and I felt that he was just playing his iTunes playlist through a PA...

 

Talking of my other half...seeing him eat 'dog food' and beat up a child was a true highlight (such proud mements for me :P )...especially as it all took place with Robert, who was just wonderful all day on Saturday!

 

I wasn't that fussed about the drinks reception, just meeting some new people and far too much free wine was enough to keep me happy. I am more the sort of person to listen to people that to ask them a ton of questions...Unless I am horribly drunk...which I was on Saturday...so I apologise if I annoyed anyone :(

 

I'm truely excited about BTL2 now :( ...

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Oh, and whoever put the ouroboros box under the pool table, you are a legend! It made me smile everytime I saw it, especially when I saw a barman looking at it quizzingly!!

:drunk:

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:drunk: your other half is the child beater? awesome :YAHOO:

 

That was one of the most surreal moments at a con I've ever seen!

 

I was like: :dance: and then: :drunk:

 

Oh, and whoever put the ouroboros box under the pool table, you are a legend! It made me smile everytime I saw it, especially when I saw a barman looking at it quizzingly!!

:drunk:

 

Yes that was great, should've put a baby doll inside it though :dance:

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I'm curious if the "child beater" knew the child or not? Also curious what the kids parents thought about some big dude shoving their little kid across a room :drunk:

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The problem is that we do it at all.

 

Clapper is all for the "other" event and would like to see us not do it at all.

 

Not really. I just give my opinion, and a different side to the story. Irrespective of the "other" event.

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