Starting a clubnight

mrg123

Hi all, I've been thinking about starting a clubnight for a while. The music would be house/ techno, and it would be a monthly thing, possibly a friday night.
I've read the old threads on here and a few other things online but I'm still not sure of the best way to proceed. My main concerns are venue and the money. I'd like a small enough venue so that even if not many come it would still be good craic an not look completely dead! The only one I can think of off the top of my head is lost society bassment. The money and organisation is the other worry, Im really only doing it because I love the music and want to throw a good party, I also want to get out of the bedroom and start playing myself! How does it usually work? Will most venues provide security etc. And will the financial commitment break me! If I could break even I'd be more than happy. Its not about the money but I know Ill have to charge something (fiver maybe) to recoup some of the costs. Ive never done anything like this before so any advice I can get off you boardsies will be greatly appreciated!

ianuss

I wouldnt worry about the money. Most (small) places will have no charge and they'll provide securiry etc.

They'll be glad you're bringing in drinking guests. If you're just starting off you could get your friends to play sets so that'd be free as well. After that it's up to you to try build a night/following.

You're probably best off going around town and having a chat with a few venues, tell them your plans and take it from there. But you should definitely give it a go. And dont be worried about losing money. It's only when you start doing bigger nights, renting venues, paying artists and putting them up in hotels and flying them in that you start to spend some cash.

Best of luck with it.

mrg123

ianuss wrote: »

I wouldnt worry about the money. Most (small) places will have no charge and they'll provide securiry etc.

They'll be glad you're bringing in drinking guests. If you're just starting off you could get your friends to play sets so that'd be free as well. After that it's up to you to try build a night/following.

You're probably best off going around town and having a chat with a few venues, tell them your plans and take it from there. But you should definitely give it a go. And dont be worried about losing money. It's only when you start doing bigger nights, renting venues, paying artists and putting them up in hotels and flying them in that you start to spend some cash.

Best of luck with it.

Cheers man, definitely gonna give this a shot. I'm gonna go in on saturday and suss out a few places anyway. Any suggestions? I know the grand social have nights on but I think it's a little bit big for starting out. I'm thinking the dark horse could be a good place to start!
I'd say getting djs will be the handiest part of it, a lot of people into the mixing these days 😊
Ever run any nights yourself man? Any things you would have done differently if so?
Cheers P

Tin_Cup

Hey mrg123 best of luck and keep us posted how you get on. Something I would love to do myself down the line!

mrg123

Tin_Cup wrote: »

Hey mrg123 best of luck and keep us posted how you get on. Something I would love to do myself down the line!

Cheers Tin_Cup, will do!

ianuss

mrg123 wrote: »

Cheers man, definitely gonna give this a shot. I'm gonna go in on saturday and suss out a few places anyway. Any suggestions? I know the grand social have nights on but I think it's a little bit big for starting out. I'm thinking the dark horse could be a good place to start!
I'd say getting djs will be the handiest part of it, a lot of people into the mixing these days 😊
Ever run any nights yourself man? Any things you would have done differently if so?
Cheers P

Myself and a few other lads ran a night a few years back. We did small gigs and bigger gigs. All our gigs were in TP. They had a great small space downstairs called The Box. Capacity can't have been more than 40 or 50. It felt really busy when you had 20. It was perfect for what you're looking to do now.

On the nights when we were in The Box some other promoters would have been putting on international acts in the main rooms. I'm not sure what current clubs would have a similar setup. I don't go gigging enough anymore to know where might be a good spot.

I don't really think there's much we would have done differently. Only advice I'd give is don't compromise on whatever it is you want to do. Whether that's the music you want to play or the people you want to play, or whatever. You might get someone from a venue trying to push their ideas. Don't be afraid to say no and don't take **** from anyone.

mrg123

ianuss wrote: »

Myself and a few other lads ran a night a few years back. We did small gigs and bigger gigs. All our gigs were in TP. They had a great small space downstairs called The Box. Capacity can't have been more than 40 or 50. It felt really busy when you had 20. It was perfect for what you're looking to do now.

On the nights when we were in The Box some other promoters would have been putting on international acts in the main rooms. I'm not sure what current clubs would have a similar setup. I don't go gigging enough anymore to know where might be a good spot.

I don't really think there's much we would have done differently. Only advice I'd give is don't compromise on whatever it is you want to do. Whether that's the music you want to play or the people you want to play, or whatever. You might get someone from a venue trying to push their ideas. Don't be afraid to say no and don't take **** from anyone.

Ah that place was quality! The only 2 times Ive played myself were in the box and in the cafe in the pepper. Something like that is exactly what I had in mind man, I'll find something anyway. What night were yous running? I miss the pepper! Best club in dublin it was.
Cheers
P

ianuss

mrg123 wrote: »

Ah that place was quality! The only 2 times Ive played myself were in the box and in the cafe in the pepper. Something like that is exactly what I had in mind man, I'll find something anyway. What night were yous running? I miss the pepper! Best club in dublin it was.
Cheers
P

Kitchen Sync

Zymurgist

Downstairs in the South William is a nice small space too. Bigger than the box in TP, but wouldn't take too many people to make it feel busy