WAX Lounge New Haven
The Cannon
March 29, 2025
On Saturday night the vegan/vegetarian spot The Cannon turned into an old-school hip-hop party for WAX.
Hosted by Dooley‑O, the monthly party event features local and well-known DJs who spin from their personal vinyl collections. This time Billy Bush out of Norwalk crushed the 1s and 2s for three and a half hours, moving the crowd of 70 or so to their feet. Every time I started to take a breather, he’d mix in another banger, and I’d keep dancing.
Dooley‑O hosts a few events around town. He’s a homegrown hip-hop aficionado who lives hip-hop culture. His artwork graces the walls of local galleries. And his photography and videography document and capture the essence of The Culture from its roots in the late ’70s and early ’80s to today. You feel the vibe as you watch images flash on the screen as the beat pumps and dancers groove on the floor. Dooley MC’d and DJ’d as a kid and cut a few albums that he sells with his artwork at the parties he hosts at The Cannon, The New England Brewing Company, and Firehouse 12.
When my friends and I arrived at The Cannon the kitchen was closing and the crowd transitioning from neighborhood folks and Yalies to hip-hop heads and March Madness watchers. Dooley did a set as people drifted in and out, a warm-up before the main event.
DJ Billy Bush jumped off his set at 10 p.m. with some disco and funk, songs that paved the way for hip-hop and some of which were sampled on tracks and laid under lyrics and beats of tracks that you “gotta know to know,” as my DJ friend Stacy in Oakland says. Songs like KC and The Sunshine Band’s “That’s The Way” sent an “Oooh!” up from the crowd. That happened every third song or so, as a collective memory sent heads and hips swaying.
Bush then guided us on a journey into sound that had my friends and me sweating and pulling off hoodies and sweaters as we gulped water and Tecate. Bush worked magic with his playlist and fingers, scratching, mixing, and blending beats on 45s no less. The last time I went to WAX the DJ spun 45s, a true lost art. Before 12-inch LPs that gave DJs the space, time, and room to cut it up, they worked 45s and album tracks. DJs like Mike Howard King, The 45 King, used 45s to spin.
Dooley, who acted as MC for the night, shouted, “This ain’t no computer, here.” So many DJs today don’t use vinyl anymore. They rely on computers, which are aesthetically different from the wheels of steel. Vinyl, too, posses a different sound quality than digital music, so when I can catch a DJ spinning vinyl, I’m there.
Saturday night brought me back to the days when my girls (the same women I was rolling with on Saturday, by the way) and I danced at clubs like La Joint, Executive Suite, and The Oasis. When we danced so hard fans could not cool us down and sometimes the walls would sweat from the heat of our gyrating bodies. Bush showed his passion for a knowledge of R&B, rock, disco, and hip-hop. He even threw in a little country and reggae for good measure.
Bush started cuttin’ the intro to “Gettin Jiggy Wit’ It,” not one of my faves, and I dragged myself outside to catch some air. A few guys stood outside by the picnic tables in front of The Cannon. One intoned, “Only this guy could play a Will Smith song and have them up dancing.” Another laughed as he blew smoke into drizzly night air. Everyone else concurred. Smith, while a rapper, is not always considered a heavy hip-hop hitter.
Bush showed that it’s not what you spin, but how you spin it. He ran it back and cut it up, letting the hook run over and over before cueing the next beat. Dooley told him, “Yeah, because he’s fearless,” which means he’s willing to take chances with his selections and hit them just right creating a conversation between the music and the crowd.
No hip-hop party really vibes without a hype man. Dooley stepped into the role with bang. Call and response is another part of the conversation a way to get the vibration higher and engage the crowd, get them hyped and on their feet. Dooley called out, and the crowd responded in kind as DJ Kool’s “Let Me Clear My Throat” bumped. This crowd knew what to do when the song and Dooley called out, “Somebody freeze!”
Then Bush slid into Slick Rick The Rula’s “Children’s Story.” The crowd sang along as the story told who was on the roof of the abandoned building the song’s protagonist ran into: “Dave the dope fiend shootin’ dope who don’t know the meaning of water or soap,” they cried.
Whether you’re a hip-hop head or just like good music and like to dance, WAX is a great bet. WAX happens on the last Saturday of the month at The Cannon on Dwight Street. Get there early and eat. You can also catch Dooley‑O at The Ordinary on Chapel Street on April 13, the New England Brewing Company on Amity Road on the third Saturday of the month, and on Wednesdays at Firehouse 12 on Crown Street. @Dooleyo on IG. You can find Billy Bush on Hot 93.7 and on IG at @djbillybush.