This was an extremely important event for our promotion. We’ve preached for years that the most fun doesn’t necessarily come from the parties with the “big” names. This booking put that theory to the test.

Include the always present danger of Canadian winters, that this was our first non sponsored I&U, the loss of Gabriel Sordo from the bill (we really missed you bro) and the three massive events going on in the city at the same time; we certainly had our work cut out for us.

Thankfully we have Toronto’s best crew, we hosted a rock solid DJ with great tunes and phenomenal energy and we’re in the coolest venue in the city. In retrospect, we really didn’t have much to worry about.

Felipe Callado is a 23-year-old star in the making. He has the musical maturity of a seasoned vet and the type of character necessary to make it to the top. You wouldn’t know that he’s only been DJing in big clubs for just under two years by the amount of poise he displays both in and out of the booth.

I think Felipe’s first statement after the lights came on tells the entire story; “I made a couple gross mistakes, but at least I never lost the dance floor.”

Asking even the most experienced of DJs to remain focused for five and a half hours is an extremely tall order, let alone someone making his debut in such a critical market. Felipe accepted the challenge with unflappable enthusiasm and delivered an “A” performance that not even the smokers wanted to leave the floor for.

His track selection and layering had Toika grooving all night. I was constantly receiving props on his behalf; Felipe you made bringthebeats look really cool on this night, thanks so much bro.

Download (left-click and unzip):
Felipe Callado – INTIMATE & UNDERGROUND v.3 – February 6, 2009 – 01
Felipe Callado – INTIMATE & UNDERGROUND v.3 – February 6, 2009 – 02
Felipe Callado – INTIMATE & UNDERGROUND v.3 – February 6, 2009 – 03

Much praise also has to go to the little niche we’ve managed to carve out of the Toronto scene. The INTIMATE & UNDERGROUND crew provides TO’s warmest vibe, without a doubt.

It’s important that our friends trust that we’ll book top notch artists, regardless of how “big” they are. And by establishing this trust we always seem to attract a crowd that is respectful, energetic and aware of the differences between what we do and what you get from most of the rest.

We’re not bringing in the overplayed, overworked and unappreciative. The talent we promote is out to make an impression. They work like madmen right up to game time, always making sure they have the appropriate tracks for whatever mood they encounter and a proper head space to give us the best night possible. Hosting such personalities is something we take pride in and is what makes doing this so much fun.

We didn’t get to enjoy the full Toika renovation. Next time expect the room to be a bit bigger and the booth located at the other side of the room. This will definitely improve the connection between the DJ. and the crowd in the early parts of the night. And we’ll certainly need the extra space if our events continue to progress as they have so far.

Huge props to Junior and Winston for creating a coat check window, increasing the size of the ladies restroom and for leveling out the floor. What a difference these improvements already make, we can not wait for the complete transformation.

And thanks to Jenn Meneses for bringing out such a wicked crew to celebrate her birthday. Hopefully we’ll see some of the newbies out again.  Don’t forget to check the pics!!

This entry was posted on Saturday, March 7th, 2009 at 3:32 pm and is filed under INTIMATE & UNDERGROUND. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.