Wings of Desire

So I went out with Jordan to Punk again. I had my Lucozade and pizza combination again which helped rectify the tiredness I was feeling from staying up too late and watching old episodes of Doctor Who. Such is the state of my life currently!

We knew from last time that we had to get in a set early. Not only because it gets pretty loud in there later on, but also as a warm up, but also if it goes well there’s a nice bit of social proof.

But what today really showed me is how wings can work well and work badly. As I’ve mentioned before I used to think that Jordan wouldn’t be a great wing for me, but lo and behold I was proved wrong with a night of glory at Tiger Tiger. And last Monday we managed to replicate it, albeit to a slightly lesser extent. At least Fargo managed to lay an Oriental because of it.

But despite that night of glory, me and Jordan are different people. He’s high energy and I’m low energy. In a venue like Punk I don’t think it’s egotistical to say that I’m more socially calibrated than him – it’s just the way things are. And I think it’s important to have a wing that compliments you well.

For example Jake is an awesome wing for me because I see a lot of myself in him, and as we’re quite similar we can vibe together very easily and drive each other on well. Fargo and I are similar too, although he’s more high energy and probably more socially calibrated than I am. Liam is quite similar too but lower energy than me. And so it goes on. Each wing is different.

But tonight in Punk it showed me how important it is to have a wing that is somewhat on the same level as you are, particularly in a venue where the type of people demands a fair level of social calibration. What people will forgive you for in Tiger Tiger or On Anon, you can’t get away with in Punk and vice versa. And to be fair to Jordan he wasn’t on top form as he hadn’t slept well the previous night and gets tipsy quite easily. So his calibration was out the window.

So we had to open a set early. Jordan pointed out two girls walking past. As I know it helps me when others force me into set, I asked him if he wanted to kick things off or not. He said he didn’t. So now I could force myself to open, such is my twisted logic. I chose my default hair opener and told Jordan to join me a minute after I went in.

I did my opener and girl nearest me was into it. I managed to force the transition to asking about who they were and found out that they were Swedish and here on holiday. Then Jordan entered so I introduced him, mentioned that the girls were from Sweden and we found out their names. But then Jordan’s calibration went out the window as he asked them if they were Irish. The girls got confused, made their excuses and left.

It was no worries, at least we opened them and got things started. I gave Jordan some feedback on calibration and we kicked back for a bit. Then after a while I knew Jordan needed to open, so I picked out a couple of sets and let him choose one. He opened it. I hung back for a bit and then tried to join in. Unfortunately Jordan ignored me at first and didn’t introduce me which is bad winging (though it was just an oversight on his part and not deliberate), but I forced the introductions anyway.

The girls were from Essex and I made a subtle tease about that without it being too negative, and chatted to them for a bit but two factors were against me. Firstly I couldn’t really hear what they were saying, and secondly Jordan was not calibrating or vibing with them very well. As I said in my feedback to him afterwards, it was like he was putting on a presentation and talking at them rather than with them. I cut out as I could only continue by breaking up the set, which would blow Jordan out.

What Jordan did well though was to stick in there, and he was getting some physical contact and interest from one of the girls. Then the main DJs for the night – the Queens of Noize, dressed in matching Minnie Mouse / French maid crossover outfits – turned up and joined the set. It turns out the girls were their friends, and therefore some of the highest value people in the club. Jordan was not calibrated to them at all.

So Jordan was blown out and I gave him my feedback, for what it was worth. And he was graceful enough to appreciate its value. We spent the rest of the night on some dancefloor game and though Jordan told me we were getting some interest from some girls I couldn’t see it once again. But it was too loud for me to open and my dancefloor game isn’t powerful enough yet. Plus having to explain to Jordan the subtleties of different calibration was wearing me out. As I’m off to Amsterdam tomorrow I couldn’t stay out late (Punk requires a late night out) so we called it a night and made our way past the paparazzi waiting outside for whichever C-list celebrity was in there.

Summary of the night: Sets opened: 1 For more than five minutes: 0. But a lot of things were learnt tonight, for Jordan if nothing else!

What went well

• Managed to force myself to open the first set of the night early on

What could have gone better

• Better dancefloor game

What did I do well that I haven’t done before

• Gave lots of constructive feedback to Jordan

I’m off to Amsterdam tomorrow (then Croatia and then Barcelona) so I’ll probably forget everything that happens over the next few days, plus I won’t be updating my blog too regularly. But I’ll try to add a few bits and pieces when I can.