Dooley‑O vs. Hugh Betta
Firehouse 12
45 Crown St.
May 25
Records, heads, and hips turned Sunday afternoon as DJs Dooley‑O and Hugh Betta spun back-to-back sets at The Bar at Firehouse 12 on Crown Street, playing old-school (with a little bit of new-school) hip hop, R&B, and house tracks in the underground lounge.
The event was set up as a bit of a versus: Dooley‑O vs. Hugh Betta. But if you came thinking you’d witnessed a real showdown, you’d be wrong.
“Let the people think what they want to think,” Dooley‑O said as he prepared to replace one record with another on his turntable. “The ‘VS’ stands for Vegan Soul food.”
He was waiting on a plate of vegan fish and grits from Chef Skyller, who took over Firehouse 12’s kitchen for the afternoon.
Chef Skyller used to work at the Heirloom on Chapel Street, where Dooley‑O ate a dish one day and asked, “Who made this?” The two are now friends, setting up events like Sunday’s for the community. “He cooks everything, you know what I mean?” Dooley‑O said.
Sunday afternoon, Chef Skyller’s menu was vegan soul food, from mac and cheese to collard greens, yams, and banana pudding. The yams were syrupy, soft, and savory, glistening in the daylight filtering in from windows at street level. You might guess the mac and cheese was made with something other than cow’s milk, but you wouldn’t be mad. It had an inviting creamy texture, delicious not as an imitation but its own innovation.
Dooley‑O leaned over the turntable, attuning his ear to both the music and the vibe of the room. It was a daytime event, but if you ignored the upper windows you would never guess. The cavelike interior of the lounge and low purple lights made it feel like a much later hour. Stepping out of the space was like exiting a movie theater after a matinee: It’s still daytime? There’s a world outside of this one, and the sun is up?
Back in Firehouse 12’s underworld, Dooley‑O split up the ’80s and ’90s classics with Anderson .Paak’s 2016 hit “Heart Don’t Stand a Chance.” Behind Dooley‑O was the earth-toned sleeve for the record that track was from, Malibu.
DJing like this put every song in context. Songs didn’t come from nowhere; their homes came with them, and people could look up or peer over the turntable to see what was spinning. Dooley‑O took it back to the ‘80s with rocksteady track “We Are All One” by Jimmy Cliff, easing into the grooves and philosophical messages of reggae mixed with R&B.
Hugh Betta joined Dooley‑O by the DJ table as the two prepared to switch off. “I’m trying to lift it up a little bit,” Hugh Betta said, starting his set with Soul II Soul’s 1989 “Back to Reality,” dancey with an element of house. “Sick choice!” someone called out from the bar.
“I like the New Haven music scene,” Hugh Betta said between transitions. He sets up music events around the city, including a DJ series called The Vinylry at downtown cocktail tavern Ordinary.
“I’m feeling good, supporting my friend,” said bargoer Pierre Gonzales, enjoying the evening’s chill environment. “It’s beautiful to see this,” said Celia Cipriano, who knows both Dooley‑O and Hugh Betta. “They both have such a belief in the community — the DJ community and the New Haven community.”
Let your body move to the music, Madonna called out from Hugh Betta’s turntable as Firehouse 12’s patrons started to get up and dance. The afternoon might have been staged as a DJ battle, but in Dooley‑O’s words, “We’re just playing music, having a good time.”
