Ben UFO performs at Ten Tigers Parlour on Thursday (photo by Anze Kokalj).

Since the beginning of the decade, the 9:30 Club and U Street Music Hall have had a symbiotic relationship. When an act isn’t quite ready to headline the 1,200-person 9:30 Club, it often finds a better fit at U Hall. When an act has outgrown those friendly confines, it graduates to the world-renowned warehouse.

But what about acts that can’t quite sell out U Hall, but are looking for the intimate, no-frills approach that the club provides? To solve that problem, U Hall will begin presenting shows at Petworth’s Ten Tigers Parlour, starting with a set by well-regarded London DJ Ben UFO on Thursday.

U Hall owner Will Eastman and his team have been looking for a smaller 200-capacity space for the last five years, and he found it in Ten Tigers, which opened last December on Georgia Avenue in Petworth,

“The room is just a perfect little spot to see great house and techno DJs,” he explained. “There’s no barrier between you and the music … it’s just like our vibe at U Hall.” (For the audiophiles in the audience: Ten Tigers has a Martin sound system, that—like U Hall’s—was installed by ITI.)

Ten Tigers Parlour show space (Photo by David Hamilton).

Not only do U Hall and Ten Tigers share a vibe, but there’s also a “family” connection: Ten Tigers co-owner Scott Herman was the general manager at U Hall from the time it opened until Ten Tigers rolled out the welcome mat. Eastman says he’s “delighted” that Herman, a longtime fixture in the D.C. music scene, had the opportunity to have a place of his own. Eastman describes him as a “silent ninja” who always manages well-run events.

Under Herman, Ten Tigers has been running DJ nights by leading figures in the D.C. music scene all year, and has quickly established itself as a go-to room for low-key dance parties (earlier this year, I selected it as the Washington City Paper’s “Best New Dance Floor To Zone Out On”). And when Ben UFO approached U Hall about a D.C. gig, the time was right for the club to hook up with Ten Tigers.

Ben UFO is a perfect fit for the cozy Ten Tigers dance floor. The label he co-founded, Hessle Audio, has been a reliable source of leading edge electronic music for a decade, and as a pure DJ (one who doesn’t produce any of his own music), he’s an unparalleled crate-digger of experimental tunes that keep dance floors moving.

“He’s a pleasure to watch and hear in the booth,” Eastman said, encouraging people to check out his Boiler Room performances for proof.

The DJ will be joined by the crew behind D.C.’s 1432 R imprint—Sami, SuYung, and Dawit—and more shows will be announced soon. Audiences can expect artists both on the feeder end of the spectrum, those acts that are coming up and can’t quite sell out the 500-capacity U Hall , and DJs like Ben UFO, who want to play in music-focused rooms without bottle service, a velvet rope, or light show.

Eastman’s pitch for DJs is simple: if they want to play a small room and love connecting with people, Ten Tigers is for them. And for revelers who want to get up-close-and-personal with their favorite DJs? “You can see the sweat on their foreheads.”

Ben UFO and 1432 R DJs Sami, SuYung, and Dawit perform at Ten Tigers on Thursday, October 5, at 10 p.m. $15 advance, $20 at the door.