A New Venue In Dublin?

green day rule

Do You Think That We need A Venue That Has A Capacity Of About 5,000 For Bands That Are Too Big For THe Olympia And Too Small or The o2?
If No Tell Me Why!

Just Like Heaven

I think there was plans to build a little 02, like the indig02 at the london 02, beside the Dublin 02. But, it's not really a great time to go building music venues.

DrumSteve

Just re-open the ambassador for gigs.

Problem solved.

Furious-Red

DrumSteve wrote: »

Just re-open the ambassador for gigs.

Problem solved.

Still too small though , think capacity was 2000 . We really need a place like Brixton Academy size or roundabout , personally the RDS would be perfect if they put money into it and made it a good venue

JJ

I remember reading that MCD were looking into a "medium-sized" concert venue in Citywest. I haven't heard anything about that since. We do have the Grand Canal Theatre but you can't remove the seats in that venue.

sweetie

what does the helix hold? was there yesterday with the seats removed and it seemed at least as big as the ambassador

karaokeman

JJ wrote: »

I remember reading that MCD were looking into a "medium-sized" concert venue in Citywest. I haven't heard anything about that since. We do have the Grand Canal Theatre but you can't remove the seats in that venue.

Grand Canal is still 2,000 so wouldn't be big enough for a medium-sized venue.

Toast

If it didn't happen in the good times I don't see it happening now. The O2 should offer some sort of cut rate half capacity mode for promoters. It isn't exactly used all that much. Also the Ambassador had awful sound. It should be demolished before someone gets the idea of reopening it. Look what happened when we lost Crawdaddy/Tripod... The Village started being used for gigs again... truly the worst thing to happen as a result of the recession so far.

Furious-Red

Toast wrote: »

If it didn't happen in the good times I don't see it happening now. The O2 should offer some sort of cut rate half capacity mode for promoters. It isn't exactly used all that much. Also the Ambassador had awful sound. It should be demolished before someone gets the idea of reopening it. Look what happened when we lost Crawdaddy/Tripod... The Village started being used for gigs again... truly the worst thing to happen as a result of the recession so far.

Yea the fact the O2 can be cut off it could be used . E.g say if a band want to use it for all standing they could just open up the floor and totally cut off the seating in the upper levels

Grid.

Look what happened when we lost Crawdaddy/Tripod.

Are they gone??:eek:

Furious-Red

Grid. wrote: »

Are they gone??:eek:

Yup gone since Feb of this year

languagenerd

Definitely. I don't know why the RDS isn't used more often for gigs. The Main Hall holds up to 5,000 (I saw Fall Out Boy there in 2008, the sound wasn't the best, but I'd rather see a band with average sound than not at all!) and Simmonscourt holds around 7,000. I guess it's often booked up for exams and exhibitions and the like. Some gigs in the O2 have had terrible turnouts (30 Seconds to Mars was only 4,000 and MCR was 6,000, even though it holds 14,000!), they could have been held in one of the R.D.S. halls instead.

But there's still a big gap between 7,000 and 14,000...

Miguel_Sanchez

languagenerd wrote: »

But there's still a big gap between 7,000 and 14,000...

I don't think we need another venue that size at all. The O2 is more than adequate.

Mickolution

I've never been to music in the RDS, but isn't it awful? I'd always heard that it was a terrible venue.

In an ideal world we'd have something with a capacity of around 4-5k, but that's just not going to happen at the moment. It needs to be central, so the idea of MCD taking over and using the Conference Centre in Citywest isn't a goer, at all. Down by the o2 is the only real place it could go, but if that hasn't happened by now, it's not going to happen.

iamstop

I'm not a fan of massive venues really. Much prefer gigs in the small to medium range. Was at the O2 for the Gorillaz, never again. Place had no character or any kind of soul whatever. Some of the staff were so anal about petty rules that they literally sucked the fun out of the gig.
Button Factory/The Village/Andrew's Lane/Tivoli size venues are best for the type of gigs I like to go to.

CiaranK

Probably isn't that big of a need for it because the O2 can be changed so much. Optimum standing, theater setting, balconies closed off etc. Can be made to suit many sizes.

languagenerd

Mickolution wrote: »

I've never been to music in the RDS, but isn't it awful? I'd always heard that it was a terrible venue.

There are so many different halls, it might depend on which one you're in. I've only been to Main Hall for gigs. Like I said, it wasn't the best sound ever - but if it's a choice between not seeing a band because there's no suitable-sized venue or seeing them there, I'll take the latter!

sweetie

saw the beastie boys/jon spencer blues explosion in rds main hall in 94 I think. fuppin great!
I haven't been to a gig in o2 yet and dont intend to...intimate or outdoors for me too.

jimmy_presley

Went to see Korn / Puddle of Mudd in the RDS back in maybe 2004?? or 2005?? could be wrong on the dates but the sound was pure ****e. Only for the crowd was so amazing and the bands full of energy it would have been a disaster.

Plus, the place is such a kip it's almost indescribable. Health & safety probably shut it down.

Beekay

jimmy_presley wrote: »

Went to see Korn / Puddle of Mudd in the RDS back in maybe 2004?? or 2005?? could be wrong on the dates but the sound was pure ****e. Only for the crowd was so amazing and the bands full of energy it would have been a disaster.

Plus, the place is such a kip it's almost indescribable. Health & safety probably shut it down.

That was 2002.

jimmy_presley

Beekay wrote: »

That was 2002.

Wow, 2002?? I was only 23 and remember thinking, along with my mate the same age, "how old are WE!" looking at the 16 to 20 year olds running around the place!

As i sit here now age 35, I feel proper old haha. Then again, in another 14 years i'll think 35 was young!

They were good times when people clapped more and paid more attention compared to everyone nowadays when every second person is trying to record the band and take pictures with their phones or worse still update there status on facebook!!

Toast

There was no booze sold at that gig. Might have had something to do with people paying more attention.

jimmy_presley

Toast wrote: »

There was no booze sold at that gig. Might have had something to do with people paying more attention.

Jeez can't remember, just from what i do remember the crowd were nuts!

NIBBS

We've needed a 3-5000 cap venue here for the last 20yrs, we've also been promised one for the last 20yrs - by the same person that says we really really need one and never does it...........yes the O2 is easily adaptable and has many configuration options - but can be to the detriment of the show..........and certain bands just don't make sense to add to a venue like that.....

I don't see it being built but you never know......there's plenty of bands that in their own head believe they could sell out the O2 but a promoter wouldn't take a risk on it where they could put them in a smaller venue and make it work.....

Furious-Red

Mr.S wrote: »

What ever happened to that MCD venue in City West?

Nothing by the sounds of it :mad:

paulbok

A Citywest venue is a bad location, poor transport links and it would put people off going to it. I know the luas goes there but that can't handle the crowds leaving after a gig, it's bad enough from the point when 3/4 of the crowd would be driving or walking to/from it.
It needs to be relatively central in the city.

Never been to a gig inside the RDS itself, but the Simmonscourt pavillion is terrible for sound, it's like playing in a hayshed.

Bummer1234

I remember been at Deadmau5 for a gig,Last year i think and it was in simonscourt,Was a great gig but what ever it was the sound seemed to bounce of the backwall, Better at the front. Another crap thing was you couldn't bring your drinks in the music area at all, You had to drink it in the side room. That was an absolute shambles!!!

JJ

If the Luas can handle a capacity crowd at The O2, it can surely handle a crowd at a medium sized venue in Citywest. I realise that not everyone takes the Luas to and from The O2 but if only half the crowd did, it probably be more people than a capacity crowd at a medium sized venue.

Planemo

paulbok wrote: »

Never been to a gig inside the RDS itself, but the Simmonscourt pavillion is terrible for sound, it's like playing in a hayshed.

Was at My Chemical Romance inside the RDS a few years ago (don't judge me I was only young!) - sound was muddy from what I recall, very disappointed at the time.

melekalikimaka

just have double dates in olympia, city west is a kip of an area and luas wouldnt be able to support the crowd, many walk from 02, wont be from city west

Furious-Red

melekalikimaka wrote: »

just have double dates in olympia, city west is a kip of an area and luas wouldnt be able to support the crowd, many walk from 02, wont be from city west

If you are driving it would'nt be to hard to get to and the luas/bus will be able to handle it . It would be cheaper for the bands just to do 1 show in a bigger venue then 2 nights in a smaller venue like the Olympia

languagenerd

Furious-Red wrote: »

If you are driving it would'nt be to hard to get to and the luas/bus will be able to handle it . It would be cheaper for the bands just to do 1 show in a bigger venue then 2 nights in a smaller venue like the Olympia

The Luas only run a shuttle from Saggart (Citywest) to Belgard in the evenings and weekends. Everyone would have to change at Belgard, which is a centred platform (meaning there's nowhere to queue) and which was packed beyond belief during the weekends of the All-Ireland finals. A large crowd coming from Citywest would be difficult to accommodate there...

but1er

please set up a new arena!!!

you play dublin as a starter in the academy then go to the olympia then you have to go to the o2

its sooooo annoying!

look at the luminars kodaline, just wouldnt pay to see them in the o2 YET!!

im sure crawdaddy/tripod reframped could do the job!

melekalikimaka

but1er wrote: »

look at the luminars kodaline, just wouldnt pay to see them in the o2 YET!!
!

wouldnt pay to see anyone in the O2

LOTD

melekalikimaka wrote: »

just have double dates in olympia, city west is a kip of an area and luas wouldnt be able to support the crowd, many walk from 02, wont be from city west

Pretty harsh to call city west a kip, it's about a venue not the area itself, I would agree it's not a great place to have a venue though. Too far out.

Dublin has a weird mish mash of venues, from the O2 to The Olympia (my favourite) to everything in between, I think the smaller venues are what make Dublin a great city for seeing bands, unless you don't get tickets

rubadub

but1er wrote: »

you play dublin as a starter in the academy then go to the olympia then you have to go to the o2

Or you can play multiple nights. I remember REM did 5 nights in the olympia in 07.

I would not like city west, I don't see it comparable to the O2. If there was some problem with the luas or bus you might be stranded. I never get the luas to the O2, its a grand stroll with a few stopoffs for pints on the way if you want, safe in the knowledge its just a stroll away back to town with rakes of pubs & eateries.

City west would be more of an ordeal of a trip to me, I enjoy an excuse to go into town, gigs being the main reason I bother going in.

lordgoat

rubadub wrote: »

Or you can play multiple nights. I remember REM did 5 nights in the olympia in 07.

I would not like city west, I don't see it comparable to the O2. If there was some problem with the luas or bus you might be stranded. I never get the luas to the O2, its a grand stroll with a few stopoffs for pints on the way if you want, safe in the knowledge its just a stroll away back to town with rakes of pubs & eateries.

City west would be more of an ordeal of a trip to me, I enjoy an excuse to go into town, gigs being the main reason I bother going in.

The REM gigs were rehearsals and marked as such. AS in trying out new material and playing really old songs for fun. Went 2 nights of it and was brilliant for what it was, but if it was meant to be a 'proper' REM gig i'd have been annoyed.

Mickolution

rubadub wrote: »

Or you can play multiple nights. I remember REM did 5 nights in the olympia in 07.

Then the promoter would have to pay the band for multiple dates. It's not a logical option.

A venue of around 3-5k would be great, but it's just not going to happen at the minute, I'd imagine. Nobody's building anything like that until there's more money around. We're lucky we got the o2 when we did, it wouldn't happen now.

LOTD

Does Dublin have the space for a 3-5k type venue and being in the city centre itself, I don't think so. In fairness Dublin is not lacking in music venues regardless of what people think of said venue.

languagenerd

LOTD wrote: »

Does Dublin have the space for a 3-5k type venue and being in the city centre itself, I don't think so. In fairness Dublin is not lacking in music venues regardless of what people think of said venue.

Dublin's not lacking in venues in general, no. It IS lacking a good mid-sized venue though. We jump straight from 1500 to 14000 with practically nothing in between, meaning some bands who could sell 5000 (eg Fall Out Boy) end up only playing to 1500 in The Olympia, others (eg 30 Seconds to Mars) end up playing a near-empty O2 and others still just don't come here at all. If such a venue existed, it would certainly be in regular use... (and, in an ideal world, ticket prices could be cheaper as it'd be easier to turn a profit).

LOTD

languagenerd wrote: »

Dublin's not lacking in venues in general, no. It IS lacking a good mid-sized venue though. We jump straight from 1500 to 14000 with practically nothing in between, meaning some bands who could sell 5000 (eg Fall Out Boy) end up only playing to 1500 in The Olympia, others (eg 30 Seconds to Mars) end up playing a near-empty O2 and others still just don't come here at all. If such a venue existed, it would certainly be in regular use... (and, in an ideal world, ticket prices could be cheaper as it'd be easier to turn a profit).

Fair point I've taught this about Dublin's music venues, it needs a in-between from Vicar st to the O2.
Where does it go because the general consensus suggest seems to be that people want it in a central location, I can't think of many place in city centre Dublin where a venue like that could be build.

melekalikimaka

LOTD wrote: »

Fair point I've taught this about Dublin's music venues, it needs a in-between from Vicar st to the O2.
Where does it go because the general consensus suggest seems to be that people want it in a central location, I can't think of many place in city centre Dublin where a venue like that could be build.

would a venue that size really be justified is the real issue, the O2 has dropped last few years in gigs, used to work the venue stage crew and it really died out work wise, maybe its picked up again but accross the board tours have dropped in recent years. especially this time of year

LOTD

melekalikimaka wrote: »

would a venue that size really be justified is the real issue, the O2 has dropped last few years in gigs, used to work the venue stage crew and it really died out work wise, maybe its picked up again but accross the board tours have dropped in recent years. especially this time of year

I think it would be overkill to be honest. Dublin has never had a venue that size. If it were to happen, reopen Tripod, into maybe just one larger venue if that's possible.

When you say the 02 has dropped gigs, is it because bands couldn't sellout the 02 and were too big to play a place like Vicar st, it didn't make financial sense coming to Dublin.

melekalikimaka

LOTD wrote: »

I think it would be overkill to be honest. Dublin has never had a venue that size. If it were to happen, reopen Tripod, into maybe just one larger venue if that's possible.

When you say the 02 has dropped gigs, is it because bands couldn't sellout the 02 and were too big to play a place like Vicar st, it didn't make financial sense coming to Dublin.

i just know a few years ago maybe 3, it wasnt as busy as it was previous years, wasnt alot of gigs going on especially this season, which is when you notice the most in that game, as no summer fests or winter xmas events.

from speaking to artists where i have gone to belfast to see due to no dublin dates, the reasons given to me were the costs playing gigs in dublin are far too high to justify it, well this was for smaller venues than o2, academy/olympia size

LOTD

melekalikimaka wrote: »

i just know a few years ago maybe 3, it wasnt as busy as it was previous years, wasnt alot of gigs going on especially this season, which is when you notice the most in that game, as no summer fests or winter xmas events.

from speaking to artists where i have gone to belfast to see due to no dublin dates, the reasons given to me were the costs playing gigs in dublin are far too high to justify it, well this was for smaller venues than o2, academy/olympia size

I would have taught Dublin has a better range of venues than Belfast, is it just cost alone that is making unattractive for bands to go.

melekalikimaka

LOTD wrote: »

I would have taught Dublin has a better range of venues than Belfast, is it just cost alone that is making unattractive for bands to go.

cost alone

LOTD

Mr.S wrote: »

Logistics is the problem. To play Ireland you need to take ferries, then to make it worth while you'll need to play 2 or 3 dates, so Belfast, Dublin. Cork or Galway at a push but thats rare.

What we need is a solid 3-5k venue that can double up as something else like a Theatre, event space etc as solely relying on live gigs will see it unused quite a bit.

Yes, the o2 can block off the tiers and have a reduced standing area to have total compacity of around 5-7k but the atmosphere is awful.

I reckon building a new venue is out of question, if the old tripod is not being used maybe try making it into one larger venue.

Toast

There are probably fire code issues with having X amount of people in a space. My basic understanding is you need to be able to get everyone out safely within X amount of time which means it is not just a case of adding extra doors but doors that are easily accessible. That's major structural changes to existing buildings. It also means any building that they'd want for the task would need to probably be free standing on at least 3 sides with assembly space which reduces the candidates in the city center significantly.

ghostdancer

LOTD wrote: »

Fair point I've taught this about Dublin's music venues, it needs a in-between from Vicar st to the O2.
Where does it go because the general consensus suggest seems to be that people want it in a central location, I can't think of many place in city centre Dublin where a venue like that could be build.

loads of disused spaces to the north/east of Jervis St., towards Smithfield/Stoneybatter etc.
some out to the south-east of Dame St., towards James' Hospital/Kilmainham etc.
both of those general areas are the same distance to Central Bank as the O2 is...
granted, not bang in the middle of the city centre, but a 15-20min walk, with Luas line close-by for people that have issues with the walk....

LOTD

ghostdancer wrote: »

loads of disused spaces to the north/east of Jervis St., towards Smithfield/Stoneybatter etc.
some out to the south-east of Dame St., towards James' Hospital/Kilmainham etc.
both of those general areas are the same distance to Central Bank as the O2 is...
granted, not bang in the middle of the city centre, but a 15-20min walk, with Luas line close-by for people that have issues with the walk....

Yeah there are a load of disused spaces, but turning them into concert venues is another thing and also could they fit 3-5 people I wouldn't be so sure.

I'm not sure a venue that size could fit in Dublin City Centre, given all the logistics that would go with it.

Furious-Red

If the put money into the RDS Simmonscourt or something then it would be perfect imo , easy to get too with a bus or even if its a dry day you can walk from town