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Review: DJ Rudee hosts killer Basement morning session – Matt Brennan gets his shot
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| JohnnyAction |
Hey guys, it’s been a while. I haven’t written anything since.. well.. since my buddy Matt got a gig at the Basement this past Sunday. K, let’s roll back a bit. This week was my 3rd time at the Basement. If you haven’t been there, go check it out. I used to love waking up early Sunday mornings and hitting zone for the day. That way I was super refreshed with a full night’s sleep. No worries about staying out all Saturday night and dragging yourself through Sunday mornings. Basement opens up an alternative with a very impressive DJ line up. The “New” Basement is a third the size, feels safe, and kicks the underground tunes hard. While opening at 5am, to get the Saturday night crowd, I found myself waking up at 5:30ish, and driving down for 7am.
Much to our surprise, someone at Basement had gotten wind of Matt Brennan’s keen ear and passion for spinning, and had offered him a one-hour spot to test his skills on a club sound system. I was completely stoked.
7am – Sheldon and I went down to Basement on a hyper-dancing, Matt-cheering mission! At this point, the place looked about half capacity compared to last week’s killer long weekend Addy set. DJ Rudee was on the desks. I’ll be the first to say ‘Who’s DJ Rudee?’ I’ve seen his name on flyers, but hadn’t heard him spin until visiting the Basement. Known as a veteran Toronto DJ, I see why. DJ Rudee looked cool as a clam shell behind the desks. He had things organized and flowing just right.
8am – the next hour was crucial to the morning. It started getting busier and busier. Friends arrived with darkness piercing their eyes and beats pounding their souls. <- wow, that sounds deep.. ahah. I didn’t think I was that profound. I met a few people outside talking about their first time experience. Never having the courage to do Zone, and coming to Basement straight from FW’s Lee Burridge set, they found the Basement a perfect transition.
The pinnacle turning point of my morning was DJ Rudee dropping ‘sexy back’ while increasing bass levels in the club. Instantly the vibe kicked up a notch and the dance floor was rammed! The next hour was pure dancing madness. DJ Rudee stocked the 8 o’clock hour with high energy tunes while keeping his cool, flawless mixing.
9am – I found myself taking a break to run the car after my dance-off to cool down a bit. When I got back, I ran into (literally—I was blind from being outside) Sheldon and DJ Rudee chatting it up on a couch near the back. You know how Sheldon is—he feels the need to talk to any DJ that’s pumped out a great set. As I sat down, Sheldon got up and started dancing to El Duran’s set. I don’t normally talk with DJ’s after their set for two reasons: 1. They aren’t usually around just chilling on a couch. (How many times have you seen the DJ bolt out of the club, winter jacket and CDs in hand? ) 2. Cause my conversations usually end up like this.. ‘Hey, great set.’ ‘Thanks’....... silence.... ‘so... see them Leafs play?’. Talking to DJ Rudee was different. As he sat on the couch, he was watching the crowd. I’m a watcher too. I like to see what people are doing, dancing around, drinking what, and eying people up. DJ Rudee was truly interested in how his set affected the crowd. We talked for a while, mentioned the direct increase in vibe when the bass was added. He really appreciated the comments. Every few minutes someone would come up and compliment his set, and he would gracefully say thank you.
The next couple hours were a blur—I hear Damon Rush was spinning (a Film resident DJ, I think?) while I was MIA. After talking to DJ Rudee, I was hungry. I went for a walk down Bathurst to King St, stood in line at McDonalds for a while. Then went to the car, saw a friend, ran around the block a few times in search of an RCA cable, then went back to McDonalds. Finally, I got my food.. ate it, and re-entered the Basement.
10:30am – Matt’s arrives at the Basement. I’ve known DJ Matt Brennan aka DJ ReeRun for a couple years now. You may find some of his mixes on your music collection and not even know it: House is a Drug, The Geoff Dennis Project and his famous New Years 2007 mix. With an underground residency at ‘House Club 225’, Matt’s music is crazy good. Working primarily from his Acer laptop mixing with up to 4 decks at a time, and a USB Hercules mixer board, he can throw in DekoZe-like clips & patches into Nathan-like drops (who are also two of his idols).
11am – He looked nervous for the first 15min—Rudee gave him a few words of encouragement while El Duran and Paranoid Jack looked on. Once relaxed, DJ Matt Brennan cranked hard into his set. With energy similar to Simon Jain bouncing around his equipment, the crowd was loving it! You could see the joy in his face as he not only played for his closest friends, but a hungry Sunday morning crowd asking for more. He played an extra 15min after his scheduled set, where he dropped one of his famous mash ups. (Montilla – From the Stars & Boza – She’s looking good.)
Last time I was at the Basement, the crowd got thin around 11am - shortly after Addy’s set. This week was different; Matt closed out the club with still lots of people bopping around. I’d like to put out a special thanks to Basement for hosting Matt Brennan and giving him his first chance to show the Toronto scene what he’s got. Matt did exactly that! If you see the name Matt Brennan on a set list, go check him out. Any DJ with vibe and passion for his tunes is good in my books. |
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| Ni-Cd |
I hadn't intended on heading to basement (or any after hours) for a while, but when I heard Matt actually managed to somehow get a gig, I had to be there to support him. And the bonus is, he doesn't suck! Matt has a fantastic ear...great programming and track selection. His first half was nervous, finding his feet in the sound, but the last half was solidly rockin'.
Good job matt!
Heard Damon Rush for the first time that day too...wow, some seriously dirty tunage was laid down by that guy. I think he's a resident at Film?
El Duran's set ruled me. Definitely when the bass was cranked during Rudee's set, the vibe increased a few notches. I think they're still trying to find the 'perfect' sound in there.
I didn't notice those pictures being taken! lol. |
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| Sasha |
traktor? lol |
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| Ni-Cd |
| Yup, Traktor. I know--I thought so too. But careful not to judge until you hear what he can do with the tunes--it ain't all beat matchin' with a button. ;) |
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| kotsy |
Nice review, Johnny!
It's going to take some getting used to seeing pictures for a review of a sunday morning after hours, lol |
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| samhouse |
| im working all night so since I get off at 7am...think I'm gonna stop by tomorrow on a solo mission. few hours at basement followed by a trip to CZ (maybe...I'll see how i feel). |
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| kotsy |
| quote: | Originally posted by samhouse
im working all night so since I get off at 7am...think I'm gonna stop by tomorrow on a solo mission. few hours at basement followed by a trip to CZ (maybe...I'll see how i feel). |
good plan |
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