Venue Design (1 Viewer)

[Dixer]

Duders,
need two cents from each of you re: good venue design. Whats good and bad about venues here or anywhere else you may have been and whats fixable.
Buiochas
The Dix.

 

[#10-7]

Whelans is a cool little venue with usually decent sound, but its hell to get to the bar when its packed, also if its busy its difficult for the band to get to the stage.
the village is good, but the stage is deeper than it is wide and its a pain. also the sound can be erratic. and the backstage area is too small.
The TBMC is a decent stage with a decent back-room, but the sound can be terrible unless its fairly full.
umm....

 

[Latex lizzie]

Dublin is filled with two sorts of venues...

type a) Crappy chrome and glass affairs that try to minimalist and end up missing the point by mixing styles and look filthy in about a month

type b) faux rustic nonsense.Rag rolled walls and fake marble painted finish(I'm looking at you whelans!)

these can be fixed by burning them all to the ground and inviting desingers from any country but Ireland in to do something special.

 

[Unclealo]

Vicar Street is the nicest venue in Dublin, best overall sound, good views from most places, nice design, good access to bars etc.

 

[Latex lizzie]

agreed..but it is still not anything special. I want to be wowed. Why does dublin lack the wow factor???

 

[moc]

Whelans is a cool little venue with usually decent sound, but its hell to get to the bar when its packed, also if its busy its difficult for the band to get to the stage.

noel is the worst engineer ever. gerry is brilliant.

i hope noel posts here so i can take rep off him.

 

[snap-apple]

for me the main problem is that most dublin venues just aren't the right shape for good acoustics. it's like they design the venue with three things in mind:

1. bar
2. stage
3. pack as many punters in as possible

the one thing that is never on the list is

4. sound quality

 

[Latex lizzie]

..or the aesthetics !!!

 

[snap-apple]

..or the aesthetics !!!

ah bollox to aesthetics, you're going to listen to a band in a dark, packed room. give me a well-shaped barn with the stage at the top, bar at the back and loos on both sides and everyone will be happy.

 

[Latex lizzie]

..that's why we have crappy venues. It's a whole package. The venue is not just about the sound..it's about an atmosphere too. Some of the places in Berlin we saw had you awed before you even heard a sound...

 

[Latex lizzie]

ah bollox to aesthetics, you're going to listen to a band in a dark, packed room. give me a well-shaped barn with the stage at the top, bar at the back and loos on both sides and everyone will be happy.

actually this pretty much describes the point, or the music centre..

 

[Jim A. Morrish]

most architectural pieces i've read on venue design seem to agree that the best is what's called the 'shoebox' shape, i.e. long and narrow with a good stage at one end and everything else at the far end.

 

[nEiLo]

..that's why we have crappy venues. It's a whole package. The venue is not just about the sound..it's about an atmosphere too. Some of the places in Berlin we saw had you awed before you even heard a sound...

i agree with conor. the aesthetics are not important at all. it's true, some of the places in Berlin were cool, but really, if it is comfortable, well ventilated, with good sound and you can't hear all the fucks yabbering at the bar, then I'd be happy.

 

[moc]

and you can't hear all the fucks yabbering at the bar, then I'd be happy.

love that about the music centre, pity about the venue itself.

 

[snap-apple]

most architectural pieces i've read on venue design seem to agree that the best is what's called the 'shoebox' shape, i.e. long and narrow with a good stage at one end and everything else at the far end.

would that be vicar st. style? i.e. long from left to right when looking at the stage? the sound is usually decent in there actually.

 

[Latex lizzie]

i agree with conor. the aesthetics are not important at all. it's true, some of the places in Berlin were cool, but really, if it is comfortable, well ventilated, with good sound and you can't hear all the fucks yabbering at the bar, then I'd be happy.

 

[Dixer]

most architectural pieces i've read on venue design seem to agree that the best is what's called the 'shoebox' shape, i.e. long and narrow with a good stage at one end and everything else at the far end.

Thanks fer the thoughts, keep them coming. What architectural pieces do you know that refer to venue design, Jim? Know any 'net sources for this kind of informaion?

 

[Jim A. Morrish]

alas i didn't bookmark the articles i came across.


sir henrys in cork was a perfect example of the shoebox. Stage at one end, withj entrance/exit, dj box, bar, toilets, cloakroom , etc all at the far end AND it has raised platforms running down almost the length of either wall so that smaller folk could see too. Best mid size venue i've ever been in.

Garage in london is similar apart from the jacks being by the stage

 

[wrafter]

Any comments on Ambassador, Doyles, Eamonn Dorans, Isaac Butts (is that still running - saw a cane141 gig in there once)

What about odd-spots like Temple Theatre and Guinness Storehouse?

Where's the oddest place you've been to a gig in Dublin city? - there seems to be few alternative venues for smallscale/more artistic gigs.

 

[broken arm]

i reckon the closed cinema in harolds cross should be converted into a multi-venue.