Located at a central location in downtown Toronto, the club Vertigo has steadily been building a reputation over the last few years as a premier late-night destination for lovers of dance music and club culture.
Affected in the same way as most venues that are associated with the entertainment industry, Vertigo has reopened after the initial quarantine due to COVID-19, and has adapted with the new restrictions during this global pandemic. CRBN sits down with Rudee Nik (Venue Manager, Music Programmer, and Resident DJ of Vertigo) for a chat ahead of their 3-year anniversary this weekend.
Hi Rudee,
Thanks for taking the time to chat with us today!
Can you tell us a bit about yourself, and what your background is in the Toronto dance music scene?
I believe it all started with a passion to find quality music outside of what was on the mainstream radio in the late 90’s. I quickly discovered house and electronic music through late-night pirate radio shows and the emerging Toronto inspiring rave scene — such as Kenny Glasgow’s performances behind the 1’s & 2’s at the legendary Industry nightclub.
After a very short time of shakin’ my ass on various dance-floors and raves, I quickly realized that I’d much prefer to be in control of playing records for the crowd, and be behind the scenes involved with organizing events.
DJ’ing and hosting events naturally led to the nightclub business, where I helped run The Basement from 2008-2013 (an intimate underground nightclub located at Queen & Bathurst). After a short hiatus from clubland we came back with Vertigo in September 2017. I help with the general management of the venue, and programming of the nights — also, I’m one of the main DJ residents at Vertigo.
When did you open Vertigo, and what was the concept behind the venue?
Vertigo was born on Sep 29th, 2017 — which makes this coming weekend our 3 year anniversary. Quality and Culture — the concept is to deliver a consistent top quality experience to our loyal clientele, and to continue to build a culture within the intelligent electronic dance music community — all in a positive inclusive environment.
With that being said, programming and cutting edge music is always at the forefront of our focus.
What are the different types of people that come to the club?
By providing consistent service through our professional friendly staff, and creating a safe clean environment, we’ve been fortunate to have a super diverse and open-minded clientele that put their trust in our brand — it is this diversity that essentially contributes to the Vertigo vibe.
Covid-19 has been devastating for the entertainment industry as a whole. What have been some of the main challenges as a venue operator since the shut down in March?
Executive decision making due to lack of certainty of the near future, immense carrying costs, lack of direct aid from the government, keeping all of our wonderful staff, content and creative bookings, capacity limitations, and much more…
Since venues in the city are now reopened, but at a much limited capacity, how has Vertigo pivoted to adjust to this new world?
We have rearranged and renovated parts of the space, minor adaption in hours, added a new food menu, reduced operating costs as much as feasible (without sacrificing safety or quality of service) — not much else to adjust really at this point. Thankfully our wonderful clientele have quickly accepted and adapted to the new setting, which is still a fun time.
What are your next events coming up?
Our 3-year anniversary event is coming up featuring Kenny Glasgow, Manzone & Strong, and friends. Some of our favourite artists coming up, and residents: Greg Gow, Mark Oliver, Christina Cruise, Gera, Chris Larsen, Nature Of Music, Butrous, Borella, Umî, Flipside, Larry Benjamin, Miz Megs, Alberto Jossue, Ali Black, Nightvision, Jay Force, Ceelos, Jackie Spade, Mina/Daniyal, + more.
Given the current situation with travel limitations obviously our hands are tied for creative bookings and cutting edge international artists, for now — we will be focusing on bubbling-under local DJ’s who are contributing to save/rebuild our scene in anyway they can, while peppering in the pioneers of our industry.
Click here For info on the 3-year anniversary this weekend
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