The date: 21 October 1977. The venue: Trinity College. The band: The Clash. It was the gig of the year. Dublin had seen nothing like it before – the energy, the anger, the gobbing – and the legion of rock aficionados who were lucky enough to be there that night have never forgotten it.
It could happen again.
College is the perfect place to catch the next big thing before they pack The Point to the brim. College bands cut their teeth in SU bars and they are often really worth catching at that formative stage. But there’s lots of student-directed stuff going on in venues outside college too.
One look at the What’s Going On section of this magazine and you’ll see that Dublin has the lion’s share of the listings by far. Of course this makes sense, it being the capital city with the largest population and all, but it doesn’t necessarily follow that students in other counties are being neglected.
Take Galway, for example. The small size of the city and central location of NUIG, with GMIT just a little bit further out, means that Galwegian students can benefit from seeing bands in intimate surroundings any night of the week.
The Róisín Dubh reigns supreme, bringing over international acts as well as the finest of home-grown talent. The coming months will see We Are Scientists, Director and Final Fantasy take to the small stage in the pub, while the venue will also host The Go! Team, Ryan Adams and The Cardigans in The Black Box.
The relatively new Radission SAS is a larger venue, suitable for bigger names, while The Cellar bar picks the lesser known musicians. Cuba has also got more active with live acts recently, which is a very healthy development from the point of view of both bands – and students! Oh, and let’s hope the change of management at Richardson’s on Eyre Square doesn’t affect their alternative and punk night on Thursdays.
And as for clubs, The GPO has some big names in the offing: Roni Size on September 15, Cagedbaby on September 21, Brestfed label owner Linus Loves on October 6, Simian Mobile Disco on October 27 and Tim Delux & Ferg on October 28. Clearly students in what is the capital of the west are going to be well catered for.
As for Cork, the city by the Lee is officially the most musical county in Ireland and again the two main colleges, UCC and DIT are in the middle of it all.
In UCC, there are weekly soirees at lunchtime, monthly classical events and plenty of gigs in the college’s two bars. Their freshers’ week will definitely be something to look forward to.
Off campus, Cyprus Avenue is attracting the cream of the popular crop: for example, Jim Noir is headed that way on October 4. An Crúiscín Lán, the Cork Opera House, the Half Moon Theatre, the Savoy and the Everyman Palace Theatre also host some of the bigger acts.
But Cork has something for everyone. There’s reggae in the Tikki Lounge, heavy rock in An Bróg, trad sessions in the Corner House Bar, never mind the array of live music featuring in de Barra’s, Clancy’s, The Old Oak, Fred Zeppelin’s, Triskel and Nancy Spain’s among many other venues.
When you think about the talent Cork has to work with – Exit: Pursued By A Bear, Kilterr, Rulers Of The Planet, Lotus Lullaby, My Corduroy, My Remorse, Playt0h – there’s no shortage of good local talent for students to get into.
Students attending Queens University in Belfast benefit from the superb Speakeasy Bar and Mandela Hall in the Students Union. Tapes ‘n’ Tapes are fresh from a gig in the bar ahead of their appearance at the Electric Picnic, and there’s more good stuff to follow – The 747’s and The Long Blondes, for instance. November 29 is a date for the diary, as every student’s favourite band, Gomez, are supported by Josh Ritter in Mandela Hall.
Then there’s the four-pronged musical nexus of The Limelight, Spring & Airbrake, Aunty Annie’s and Katy Daly’s who, between them, will host a wealth of international talent in the coming weeks: The Pipettes, The Hidden Cameras, The Dears, James Yorkston & The Athletes and The Fratellis.
The SU in University of Limerick have their priorities right: this year they plan to bring more live acts in and to make UL a real musical hub of activity. Already, the University Concert Hall caters for acts at the more conventional end of the spectrum, but with plans to convert one of the student bars into another venue, things are about to get a whole lot more interesting. Watch this space.
Dolan’s pub, meanwhile, is a superb venue that enjoys a great reputation. Goldie Lookin’ Chain will bring the madness there on October 13, while Juliet Turner plays on October 28 and the Sawdoctors play on November 23.
The Trinity Rooms is closer to campus and hosts a lot more DJ’s – Groove Armada played there last year, for example. However, they still host an open mic night every Tuesday.
As for the smaller colleges around the country, there’s plenty going on.
Students in NUI Maynooth are in for a treat this freshers’ week, with the almighty Republic Of Loose headlining their Freshers’ Ball on September 28. The SU there would generally have 15 gigs a year – which is impressive for what is a relatively small college.
Carlow IT uses its gym as a venue, and with the Music Factory and Tower’s Sound Tree so close by, students are never stuck for live entertainment. Scrag’s Alley pub is a good haunt for local bands.
Sligo IT is bereft of any venue but is close to the Left Bank theatre, which hosts an open mic night every Monday and Jazz sessions on Saturdays. Better still, Director are lined up for a gig there on September 21. The Brewery pub, also nearby, is the place to find local talent.
Students in Dundalk IT are a little bit unlucky in that the college is on the outskirts of the town and far away from the excellent Spirit Store. But the college bar and Lawlor’s pub on Mondays and Thursdays offer decent music slightly closer to base.
As all of this suggests, the college gig scene has the potential to be really vibrant and exciting. And we know that this just a tiny snippet of what’s out there. So if you think a pub beside your university has the best open mic or alternative night in Ireland, let us know. Or if you are involved in running a gig, or are in a band, make sure to send us a list of your events. Hot Press wants to hear from all of you, so that we can get the message out there.
Send what you can to [email protected] and look out for the next “I was there when they played to 200 people in the SU bar…”