With yet another new gig venue due to open its doors, should we be saying enough already, asks SINEAD GLEESON
KARL GERAGHTY opens a battered blue wooden door and ushers me into a musty hallway. It’s not the most auspicious entrance into the Workman’s Club on Dublin’s quays, a soon-to-open and hugely anticipated gig venue. Work is very much in progress. The floor is sprinkled with plaster dust and we pass electricians and men with clipboards beavering around.
Geraghty formerly worked with Aiken Promotions and left to take up a job as booker for the Workman’s Club, which is due to open in September. “When I was first approached, I thought it was a crazy time to open a venue, but then I came and had a look around and thought the building was so unique that I got really excited.”
The building, beside the Clarence Hotel, was built in the late 1820s and was originally a china shop. The Dublin Workman’s Club took over in 1888, running a social club there until 2004. The new owners are keen to retain as many original features as possible, from the original curtain rail in front of the stage to fireplaces and furniture. Downstairs are the bar and venue for paying punters; upstairs is another open door bar. It’s a unique, atmospheric space that will hold 300. Geraghty believes it is a “blank canvas” and hopes to appeal to more than just independent music promoters.
“Already, we’ve had interest from people who want to put on exhibitions or show films. We want to involve creative people and for the space to be very inclusive.”
Opening a venue mid-recession seems like financial hari-kari, but taking a multi-disciplinary approach and looking outside of music may mean it will work.
Across the Liffey, Brian Montague is taking a similar approach. The new owner of Pravda is overseeing a major redevelopment of the bar. Two distinct new music venues will open there in September. The larger space will hold 250/300 people (similar to the Workman’s Club) and aims to bring in international acts. A smaller space will host club nights, midweek jazz and ska gigs. Along with the bar, the total capacity will be 500, with separate venue entrances. Music will dominate, but there are plans to run a movie night and curate exhibitions. To the rear of the building will be free artist studios, with a view to exhibiting the work in the venue.
“We want to have an eclectic mix going on,” says Montague “but we want this to be a music lover’s venue. Everyone says not to do this in a recession, but I think there is a demand for another good, live venue here.”
Along with the Workman’s Club, Montague believes there is a resurgence in this part of the city. In the centre of Dublin, on Dame Street, Dublin’s Mercantile bar and hotel is also undergoing refurbishment. A similar story emerges, with another mid-capacity gig venue (250) opening in the same month.
Owned by Whelan’s owner, Frank Gleeson, it will initially open for four nights a week, eventually extending to seven. Dave Allen, the entertainment manager, believes the location and its niche roster will make it successful.
“It will be a casual pub venue, with a very old theatrical feel but our market will be roots and world music. We’ll put on Balkan music and trad bands, focusing on a local fanbase. Because we’re so central, we hope that half the business will be footfall, based on the amount of people who already wander in to the existing venue. A good venue in a good location will always have the edge.”
It will also help, Allen says, that cover charges will be no more than €10. A new restaurant is planned in the same building, run by Nick Munier of Pichet.
IN MARCH THIS YEAR, another new venue – albeit on a different scale – opened in Dublin. The Grand Canal Theatre has a music, comedy and theatre remit but with a 2,111 capacity, it must be a challenge to fill every night. “We knew it would be a challenge to open a venue of any size,” says manager Stephen Faloon. “We’re in the middle of a huge recession, but a lot of people used to go to London’s West End for shows. Our stage is bigger than a lot of those stages, so we can put on any kind of show. Half of our shows so far have been sold out.”
The other venues have all stressed their diversity, something Faloon sees as important, but not the sole reason a venue will succeed. "Ticket pricing is so important, because people don't have money they used to have. For us, Chitty Chitty Bang Bangis a huge production, with over 120 staff, but tickets start at only €25. What I would say to new venues is that you've got to promote the shows and your venue. You can't rely on a Field of Dreamsidea, where you just build it and hope people will come."
