On the 27th of March, we were set to bring Bill Brewster to 212. Unfortunately, due to the current circumstances, the party couldn’t go ahead and is postponed until this is all over.
In place of our event, we were asked if we’d like to do a live stream. 212 and their sister venue Doghouse, have been putting out regular live streams since that night, where possible with DJs who would have been booked to play in the two bars.
It’s been great to listen to everyone streaming mixes while all this has been going on, and I spoke to Marta, who’s the manager at Doghouse, and who has been organising all the live streams for there and 212, about what they’ve been doing…
DIY Leeds: The run up to the government’s official order to close venues must have been a very uncertain time; what was your immediate response when they finally made the announcement ?
Marta: Obviously, it was sad for us that we had to close the bar, but it has to be done for the sake of everyones’ health.
DIY Leeds: Did you feel better about things than after the Monday announcement, which must have caused loads of uncertainty.
Marta: Yes, we did. It would have been difficult to stay open, but also we couldn’t just close, and without many people coming in, it’s very costly to businesses and hard with nobody knowing what’s going on.
DIY Leeds: You’ve decided to maintain your weekly rotation of DJs by making use of online broadcasting; how important has this accessibility been and how have your regulars responded?
Marta: We’ve had a really good response. We’ve kept our weekly rotation where we can, but some people haven’t been able to do it, so for those nights, we’ve asked other DJs. We started with you guys on the 27th, then had Reeshy the night after, who would have been playing at Doghouse. And we’ve had Scott Broadhead, the FiftyFifty guys and The DJs Calling. On Easter Sunday we’ve got Compound – they would have been playing in 212.
Marta: It’s been great. Last weekend at one point we had over 2000 people listening. It’s good because it keeps things going, it reminds people of the bars and the DJs and it gives everyone something to look forward to I think as well. For me, while I’m having to stay in I don’t want to be watching TV, I want to listen to music and feel positive and what can be better than listening to all the DJs you love playing live?
Absolutely, Marta, we could not agree more!
Words: Roya Brehl
