- Somewhere nestled in the meatpacking district of Chicago's near west side, there is a warehouse basement. Above it, depending on who you ask, there is an abandoned salon, some warehouse storage or maybe an egg processing plant. The basement itself is adorned with enough trimmings to hint that it has housed a few parties in its time, and, sure enough, it reportedly can be booked for "super exclusive events." Mysterious. Within that basement on a Saturday in mid-August, two of Chicago's stars (Mazi and Kate Simko) bookended Underground Quality owner, Jus-Ed.
Around midnight, the basement wasn't yet full, but Mazi was already doing his best to raise the energy levels of those who came "Chicago early." Off to the side of the venue, a retro burlesque film was projected on the wall above a gathering of people lounging on couches. As more people began to descend the staircase and fill the basement, Mazi churned through a varied but house-centric set with lots of '70s throwbacks. A notable highlight came at set's end when he played an upcoming vinyl-only release from his Audio Soul Project called "Call of Grace"—which invited people to "raise your hands if you feel it." (Many did.)
Jus-Ed came up next and cleared the sonic slate by stripping things down to the basic elements and starting the first of three noticeable sections of his set with slow-burn deeper shades of house. One of Ed's signature moves is getting on the mic, talking over bits of his set, announcing the name and availability of a track when he senses the information is desired. Early and often, he was letting the audience know track names and labels. Eventually the second section of his set arrived and peaked with a sweat-inducing workout of the classic "Show Me Love," proving the 20 year cycle right (the '90s are back). To close things out, he brought things back to his signature Underground Quality sound—raw, live-sounding drum machine workouts accentuated with subtle melodies that fit the vibe perfectly.
It was nearly 4 AM by the time Kate Simko got behind the decks, but there was still a good amount of people waiting to hear what she had to add to the night. They were treated to a nice change of pace: Kate was the polished techno counterpoint to Ed's raw house. She did a great job of keeping things fresh throughout her set, bouncing nicely between abstract and harder shades with grace. Eventually, through no fault of her own, the party ran out of steam. Everyone was a bit exhausted when the scheduled closing time of 6 AM rolled around.
Despite not ending on a high, the (re)ed-Ucation was a success. Despite a varied line-up of house and techno, we were treated to three artists staying true to their own style, and the Volatl crew did a great job of making sure everything was put together, from the artists to the sound to the bar to the bathrooms.