2009-05-31 Sun - Bright Times Vol 1. Bar Story SE15 4QL 4 til Late

i was doing drunken skid practice with some other dude who was on a brakless ridgeback..... i don't remember crashing in to anyone though!...... i do remember scaring someone as i did a drunken 180 skid around them..... but no crashing.
sorry if it was me!

definitely wasn't you, i know you. he was a young black dude. never met him

yeah... that was the guy on the brakless genesis (ridgeback?) flyer.
he kept challenging me to track stand competions.
i kept winning.
woo-hoo!

I couldn't believe how much it looked like we'd just stepped through a wormhole and into Brooklyn!

i was thinkin' this the whole night too! great space.

I shall be arriving 4 hours late and i'd like black orchids in a white vase...a black bowl filled with only white jelly belly jelly beans...an urn of tea with white china crockery and a spoon carved from illegal whale bone to stir it with...then when i'm ready to begin i'd like everybody to turn their backs until i press the start button to play my first record...i'd like that to be followed with a round of applause....and make it at least appear to be genuine!

Seeya there!

Ah the prima donna's ryder is here ;)

Great photos Coppi... none of me... just trying to keep up this whole "you never come to shit" thing you got going - ha!

@ Greasy... fucking funny

@ Joe and MG's - depending on set-up*, i'll do a set at the nxt one.

*hand carved, diamente-emblazoned decks only please.

Ah the prima donna's ryder is here ;)

he'll be asking for a winonabeggo next...

Firstly the good:

That was one the best days I've had EVER!
Whoever was fretting about the lack of female company...IN YOUR FACE. Big respect to all the luvly ladies that graced us.

The music, ALL of it, was great. (Gerrald's ham fists on the wheels of steel were a joy. Pajamas dropped some great wonders.)

The vibe of the place was one of the nicest I've experienced. However just because folk weren't dancing doesn't mean their ears were plugged. If you put speakers outside that will surely compound the folk staying outside?

I'm pretty disappointed to see the amount of negativity and passive aggression on this thread. It is interesting to see the biggest moaners are the ones YET to actually bother adding a specific Bright Times mix. The same folk that have contributed little to the setting up of this. FFS Graham, firstly you threaten not to turn up cos of the decks (not as though you were asked to use belt drives, just a superior machine....workmen and their tools) then you didn't even turn up and now you've got all these better places in which to hold the event. Well, if this is what it takes to get you all more involved then its all good.

I will agree that the staff were piss poor.

How many people did the unhappy djs bring? I brought a fair few non forum/bike people yet played a really early set, no biggie. If you wanna rock a packed dance floor then make the effort and bring some of your own people down to get the floor going. There are many people that have dropped some wicked mixes and haven't had an opportunity to play yet let alone bemoan everything that was wrong on such a perfect day.

You think living on blighty you have any chance of beating Sunday's weather? Really?
If you put on a night in a 'proper' venue then expect few to leave the sun to come indoors or to have a much later event.

Yes, at times it felt lonely (wouldn't go as far as thankless tho, Pajamas, as you were all getting big ups throughout the day/night) but if there isn't a wall of bodies to soak up the sound and you crank up the volume it makes everything sound aggressive when you do come in to dance/talk/buy drinks.

We looked at the Three Blind Mice that is a good kinda venue for the music we wanna play but the idea of getting everyone into a dark building early doors on a sunday was a no no.
Personally I wanted an inclusive venue with inclusive hours where parents don't have to think, 'Oh, I've got kids therefore I can't go out.'
Any party that doesn't have Tika's Francisco is poorer for that- FACT.

We need to make a decision as to the type of party that we wanna host. If you want to book the Ministry of Sound and do the whole superstar dj thing then fine but lets keep it positive. As long as you can find a way to raise the cash that some of these places want for retainers and go through the flypostering and flyering and can deal with zealous mangers demanding you guarantee to sell x numbers of tickets, coolio but please come into the fold and get fully involved.

If you think I've been a little harsh then please say.

Great photos Coppi... none of me... just trying to keep up this whole "you never come to shit" thing you got going - ha!

What are you talking about? There's one of you picking your nose.

see?

@ Joe and MG's - depending on set-up*, i'll do a set at the nxt one.

YOU MUST PLAY THE NEXT ONE.

MultiG: Damn right.
Teenslain: Still good in '09!

I'm sorry I missed this one, it does indeed sound like bright times.

On another note;

this seems to be a case of the pot calling the kettle black (racist), remember Wests birthday?

Just saw this Tim. Again, a case of: Me shouting and whistling at someone who was riding away too fast, drunk etc. And me saying: Meh. Ride it like you stole it if you must.

finally

http://www.flickr.com/photos-bright times through my lense

Ohhhh god. Please delete this photo from your databanks.

finally

http://www.flickr.com/photos-bright times through my lense

chris evans was there!

HAHAHA!

Don't forget your toothbrush!

my penny's worth:
it's about us all hanging out, listening to records we may have, we may not have, we know we should have. having a beer, having a chat, bringing our friends, on our bikes, by taxis, by buses.
isn't it more about rounding out the weekend, taking the edges off the week?
that's what the C+H birthday was about.
i thought that this is what vol 1 on a sunday would be about.
if it's bright and sunny, people want to chat and talk and smoke. tailor the tunes around that?

i'm sorry i missed this, but if it's any help, my hour at the wedding disco didn't go down a storm. my wife lost it when someone walked up to her and said "the music's a bit crap isn't it?" after "i believe in miracles". and then had to walk away when the same person said "what they want to do is play some abba".

so, if the only thing you had to worry about was hot weather keeping people outside, snapping their necks to your music and drinking cold beer while talking to their friends, i'd gladly swap it.

@Mr Smith: No Bright Times, no talk.

So what's wrong with being critical of things?
It has nothing to do with how many people the 'unhappy dj's' brought...or how many lovely ladies were there....it's nothing to do with wanting to be superstar dj's and rock a packed crowd.
My personal opinion is that the venue and sound system were no good for something that i wrongly assumed was going to be first and foremost about music.
Like i said already, yes it's nice to sit out in the sun with friends chatting...but when the place everybody is doing that is 50ft from the speakers it's kind of pointless having DJ's...you could have played the bright times cd's and nobody would have been remotely bothered.
I know everyone keeps saying that they could still hear it outside, but i was outside and i could hear muffled bass and not much else...hearing one track as you go to the toilets or buy a drink isn't really the same thing.
As Phil pointed out....people came across town with records that they had spent time and effort choosing...Phil is injured...my back is fucked...but as i thought this was gonna be a gig where the music took pride of place instead of providing background noise i figured it would be worth it.
But basically i spent £42 on taxi fares to dj to an empty room...quietly.

I'm truly glad that everyone had a great time regardless...and i hope that it continues to grow and get better....but you can't expect the minority to not criticise things just because the majority enjoyed it.

If you think i've been a little harsh, then please say also.

I wish I didn't get there late. I had the thirst of a bear and had to slake it.

Bright times indeed.
Cheers to the organisers/djs/cool cats.

he'll be asking for a winonabeggo next...

=D

i dont see what all the fuss is about.... i had a superb day.
good music, good company, and good Mojitos.

btw, rob, I said goodbye to you when you left.

fuck off did you.
you were not there.....the people who said you were there are telling lies.
it's a motherfucking conspiracy.

and i was NOT drunk.

He turned up just when I was out the front riding your ArmyBike dude.

lies.

He was there, you didn't recognise him because he had inexplicably covered his face with red paint.