New in the video section: LethalFX Woodland’s Tavern, Columbus Ohio

Brostep is the EDM equivalent of Disturbed, Godsmack and the like, but to Rusko’s credit, he is on the record saying, “Brostep is sort of my fault, but now I’ve started to hate it in a way… it’s got too noisy for noisy’s sake.” Apart from this genre, he is a solid producer. Tracks like “Somebody to Love” and “Woo Boost,” with their old school rave vibes via keys and sirens and “Hold On,” (the Sub Focus remix), were my introduction to Rusko. Those are all great tracks and minor offenders as far as bro-ness goes.

But my skepticism about the show was misguided. It was great. First of all, the Bluestone is a fantastic venue. Secondly, the separate side room provided a nice respite from the mainstream sounds in the sanctuary room. Acts like Lower Frequency and Indirect Audio offered up some acid house and drum and bass, respectively. My only complaint of the night was the poor quality sound system in the side room. While the acts were awesome, the system didn’t do their sets justice. Most importantly, though, UK DJs know what’s up. So, expectantly, Rusko’s set featured a diverse array including remixes ranging from dubstep to ragga, drum and bass and back again.

I can’t help but get my skank on when drum and bass is playing, so I got fairly sweaty during his set. The visuals featured 80s and 90s throwback content, including Rusko sporting his keytar featured in the “Woo Boost” video. The go-go dancers, nearing baring all, didn’t hurt eyes, even if they couldn’t really dance, and the sound was on point. Despite Rusko’s skills and the positives above, my personal highlight of the night was LethalFX‘s 15 minute beatbox performance introducing Rusko. The Youngstown native provided the heaviest bass sounds of the night, and all with an instrument he was born with.