Why small venues are the heartbeat of any city!!

"As a young man, trying to play in bands, sitting round chewing the fat with other pals in bands, I met a guy who was one of the promoters at the Bull and Gate, Kentish Town. He saw my expansive record collection and clocked my previously rather useless extensive knowledge of music and offered me one of his nights. A Wednesday. This was June 1993. I realised soon after that he was offloading it as it was very difficult to fill a venue midweek at what was a time of recession! But it set me on my way. "

Tony was one of the promoters that helped so many bands on their way including… Muse, The Libertines, Coldplay, Wolf Alice etc etc... All of these bands came up through small venues and some of us were lucky enough to be there to see this happening.

A packed room, a vibe, and everyone getting paid

What can you get from a small venue that you cannot get anywhere else? - "Intimacy of course- as I always say I wanna be able to look up the singer’s nose, see what he’s been up to… larger venues can be very impersonal, especially the more ‘corporate’ they are. Some small venues are kind of corporate too of course but the best ones are thoroughly independent and their uniqueness informs the atmosphere of the place. AKA Dublin Castle of course.

People now willingly go and pay huge amounts to tick off a list to see various big name bands in megadomes, eagerly buy all the merch and quaff the overpriced booze…but they balk at paying £8 in a pub venue. So that’s a challenge.

It was far more scene driven in the past. We came to prominence during Britpop when there were herds of AandR Men (not many women must be said) sweeping majestically across Camden in a blizzard of white powder…allegedly. This then becomes a buzz for the bands in question, the music papers mention them, their fanship grows…result, packed venues

So there were these various healthy scenes with camp followers making for packed venues. The last time that happened really was 20 years or so ago in the wake of The Libertines…all those early noughts indie bands, It’s so much more disparate now. There are no AandR bods to speak of and the internet has killed off the music papers and changed the way people consume music.

All of these years later The Dublin Castle is still there. Inviting us all to go take a chance on something new. For the price of a large cup of coffee and even some nights for free, you can go take a chance on some people that love music and want to show you their craft. What can you lose? Maybe a couple of hours... But come on lets get back out there and take a chance again!