Daithí's Guide To Galway

EATERIES
LA SALSA
6 Mainguard St.
Tel: (091) 539 700
There’s a tonne of places you can eat in Galway. It’s really good for restaurants. But I think for students and musicians, La Salsa’s definitely the one to go for. Any bands playing in Galway are instantly recommended it, because it does really, really tasty food that’s also very cheap. The last few times I’ve been, a lot of Irish bands are hanging out there. Squarehead are seriously addicted to La Salsa! It’s a fantastic place for burritos, tacos... high quality, delicious Mexican grub. And it’s perfect if you’re absolutely starving, they do massive burritos! I’d go there an awful lot, usually before I play. There’s actually two of them, but you’re most likely to find me at the Mainguard location, just off Shop St. and down the road from the King’s Head. Not too far from all the bars, the Roisin Dubh and The Spanish Arch, La Salsa is so central and super cheap.

KUMAR’S TASTE OF ASIA
Swan House, Spanish Arch
Tel: (091) 566 696
kumarstasteofasia.com
This would be my favourite restaurant in Galway. It’s a family-run Indian restaurant just off The Spanish Arch. It’s a very small place, almost like you’re in a little cave, so you’re extremely close to everybody. It makes for a really great atmosphere and the staff are extremely friendly. Really nice food too. It’s all homemade, their own recipes, stuff like that. Delicious. I’d go for the Tandoori chicken generally when I’m there. They also have a specials menu and everything on it is guaranteed to be delicious. It’s very hard to go wrong. It would be a bit expensive for me to be going too often but for special occasions it’s perfect. If there’s something to celebrate, Kumar’s is where I’ll be!

DRINKERIES
MASSIMO
10 William St. west
Tel: (091) 582 239
facebook.com/massimogalway
If I’ve a gig, this is the kind of pub I might nip into for a few beforehand. It’s really lovely bar, just down the road from the Roisin Dubh. The vibe is great, the crowd is slight older than some other student-y places, say between 22 and 30. There’s a very expensive, very famous restaurant in Galway called Cava and recently the chefs from there did a new basic menu for Massimo. So they have fantastic food now, making it an excellent choice if you’re taking friends out. Go down, have a couple of beers and order some great food. Good eats and good beer at the same time – a great combination!

THE SPANISH ARCH
East Bank of The River Corrib
As something different, rather than just going to the pub, The Spanish Arch is a great place to hang out! It’s absolutely the place to go. It’s not a bar of course but, located just off the river, it is the spot where everyone congregates. If it’s sunny and I’m going out to the Roisin Dubh or going to clubs, I’ll head for The Spanish Arch first. You could literally spend the whole day there and on a decent summer’s day, it will be packed full of people just chilling. Absolutely brilliant. A real social space.

RÓISÍN DUBH
Dominick St.
Tel: (091) 586 540
roisindubh.net
You’ll see this cropping up twice but that says it all about the Róisín Dubh. Aside from the fantastic gigs, it’s my real local! I literally don’t go anywhere else these days...

SOUNDERIES
RÓISÍN DUBH
Dominick St.
Tel: 091 586 540
roisindubh.net
The absolute stand-out. It’s a total behemoth in Galway. Nowhere else stands up to it in terms of the music and the passion that’s put into it. No-one else puts on gigs the way the Roisin does. If you’re a musician, they look after you really well and even have an apartment that you can stay in. It’s such a small venue but they manage to book such big acts. I know they had Franz Ferdinand there recently, which you’d think was odd because it’s relatively tiny. But you often get acts of that size. It’s the reputation the place has. When I first came to Galway, my big aim – if I was to do anything in the city – was to play there. That was my dream as a musician. It’s such a well-known venue that anyone would jump at the chance. They’re really ahead of the game as well. [Music promoter] Gugai’s in there and he knows what bands are going to blow-up. I saw Two Door Cinema Club before they were playing sold-out venues. Foals played there before they were big. You can go in and see a band you’ve never heard and there’s a big chance they’re going to be big before too long.

CURFEW @ THE CELLAR
Eglington St.
Tel: (091) 563 966
facebook.com/cellarbargalway
A really good club night on the first weekend of every month. If you happen to be in Galway when it’s happening you won’t be disappointed if you head along. It’s on in The Cellar, a bar just off Eyre Square, and the guys that run it are very cool. The DJs used to be in the band Lost Chord. They play really good indie-oriented dance music. It’s a nice mix. The place I’d compare it to would be the Twisted Pepper in Dublin. That kind of night. I remember the first time I went just out of curiosity and I ended up having an absolutely brilliant time.

SHOPPERIES
BELL, BOOK & CANDLE
Small Crane St.
Tel: (091) 589 060
For records and a huge amount more, definitely the best spot to head for. They’ve always been known as a great record store but they’re also a comic book store, they sell vintage books, stuff like that. For the past 18 months or so, Wingnut Records have been working there as well so there’s a lot of new Irish music to be found in Bell, Book & Candle. All the Richter Collective releases are stocked there. If there’s an Irish band’s work you’re trying to find, look no further. They’re really good at supporting the scene. It was one of the only places I put my EP in because people that visit are actually actively interested in Irish music. The staff are great for suggesting stuff as well.

PUBLIC ROMANCE
52 Upper Abbeygate St.
Tel: 091 568 771
publicromance.com
I’m not a huge vintage fan but I do know that anyone who’s into that kind of thing always raves about Public Romance. It’s a very cool vintage shop. Anyone I’ve told about it has been frothing at the mouth when they went. And it’s not in Dublin, so it’s a bit different from anywhere else. Again, they’re super friendly in there as well. It’s a nice little operation, I think they do alterations on the spot so if you go in, you can get your purchases tailored to fit straight away. It’s the kind of boutique place that fits the Galway vibe – a small city but full of artistic people and students that are into their music.

OTHER ATTRACTIONS
CONNEMARA
West of Galway city
Tel: 095 22622
connemara.ie
If you have a spare bit of time, a couple of days free, the very best thing to do is go to Connemara. I’ve been going out for three years now and love it. I went to college there and everything. Galway is such a good hub to get out to Connemara – and also the Burren, which I’d highly recommend. You have various bus tours running from the city centre right out into the countryside. Personally, I reckon you’d be best off just driving yourself. You’ll always end up somewhere you haven’t been before and it’s a real adventure.

GALWAY ARTS FESTIVAL 2012
Various venues
Tel: 091 509 700
galwayartsfestival.com
Galway as a city is festival-mad, everyone knows that! Every single summer, every week has some kind of festival taking place, it’s absolutely ridiculous. You’ve got the Super8 Festival , the Cúirt Festival, the Volvo Ocean Race. But of course the Galway Arts Festival is the big one. Known all over the world, it always has a jam-packed schedule. For me, there aren’t many ‘tourist attractions’ here that I’d bring people to, but I always bring people to these events. That’s the aspect that really makes Galway stand out. If you come here this summer, there’s no doubt that you’re going to wander into a festival, whether you like it or not!

NEXT BIG THING
A Galway act I always mention is Elaine Mai but to be honest she’s already a big thing, not quite the ‘next’ one anymore! Somebody else who has been doing really well in the last few months is a band called Dott. They’re fantastic. I didn’t really know much about them until I played with them in the Roisin a couple of months ago. They absolutely blew me out of the water! They’re brilliant live and really good guys. They’ve all been in different bands before but they’re really coming into their own right now. They’ve a new EP out called Buttons, four great tracks that will only cost you €4 on Bandcamp. It’s such good driving music! I’m always playing it in the car, it sounds great. The vocals almost have a taste of The Chalets but combined with a garage, surf rock feel. A lot of bands are doing that really well at the moment but Dott are my favourites. I know they’re touring around right now so check them out.

Daithí is set to play Body & Soul (June 22 – 24) and Indiependence (August 3 – 5) this summer.