Music
20 Sep 02

The wide 'Street commission

Dublin's Vicar Street venue, widely held to rank among the finest in Europe, to undergo major renovation and expansion

Vicar St., the leading Dublin venue, has announced a major expansion plan. In a move that is likely to shake up the Dublin live music scene considerably, the capacity will be increased to 1,200, enabling

it to compete on more favourable terms with both the Olympia Theatre and the Ambassador - which are run by rival promoters MCD.

Vicar St. has been closed for the past few weeks, and renovation work is already well under way.

"We should be ready to re-open in October," venue owner Harry Crosbie told Hot Press. "Things are shaping up really well. There's a great buzz about the place now that the work has started. We created something special in Vicar St. in terms of comfort and the quality of the space - but, with the Olympia just up the road, it was difficult to compete in terms of the money that could be paid to acts. The extra capacity that we are creating will open up a whole new range of possibilities for us."

The renovation includes the re-positioning of the stage, with additional space being created by an expansion to the rear of the premises.

With all of the planning issues having been dealt with, it's now full steam ahead for the October 4 ribbon cutting.

"Aslan are in the first night followed by Norah Jones on the 5th, which is selling extremely well," enthuses venue booker Bren Berry. "Shortly after that, Lloyd Cole, Blind Boys Of Alabama, Sinéad O'Connor, Beth Orton and Darren Hayes of Savage Garden fame are in, so it's going to be a busy few weeks. The important thing is to hold on to Vicar St.'s unique atmosphere, while at the same time opening up the range of acts we can have in."

Since opening four years ago, Vicar St. has hosted some of the major names in contemporary music, with the visit of Bob Dylan for a special show in September 2002 ranking as the highlight so far. Paul Brady has also broken box office records there, drawing an unprecedented 15,000 fans over a 21-date run towards the end of 2001. Ronnie Wood, The Cranberries and Alanis Morissette have also appeared at the venue, which has been described as one of the finest in Europe by industry sources.