dublin clubbing ?

[clubhappy]

Spent the weekend visiting a few clubs around Dublin and I noticed a huge change in clubbers attitude towards dance .
Apart from the usual run down toilets like ''Shoo**rs and the Te**le theater , most mainstream clubs are changing to suit their clientel and not many ''oh heres the biggest dance track around ''dj's getting employed by the managment .

One paticular club rocked to ''r&b , mainstream dance , pop, and an 80's groove for the last 30 miniutes , which begs the question ? has dance music lost it's appeal ?
Before the mr Spring brigade tear me apart with their views on clubbing in dublin let me say , there were over a thousand people jumping around , drinking ,having fun and the club was smiling .

I visited London 3 weeks ago and had the pleasure of spending a night in the company of ''Dave Pearce ''[radio 1 } .
His gig was very'' commercial dance , disco , and even a pop set mixed to perfection in a club very well known to irish dj's .

So whats my point ? The new generation of club goers are not expecting to be educated musically but are just hoping to hear a style of music which they can have fun to .

The good thing about all this ,is, House music will eventually establish a place in the hearts of good intelligent clubbers who dont listen to hot fm or similar stations, and a good remix of a pop song will have a big impact on dancefloors ...


Say goodnight to the f***in faries Mr Spring ........and get yourself into the 21'st century ......

[KJ]

Say goodnight to the f***in faries Mr Spring ........and get yourself into the 21'st century


:rolleyes:

*sigh*


Tis a shame you're back to slagging off Tim Clubhappy as Ive enjoyed your recent posts, yet now and again I just have to ask ye ........... "would you like some salt to go with that chip on your shoulder?"

Before the mr Spring brigade tear me apart with their views on clubbing in dublin let me say , there were over a thousand people jumping around , drinking ,having fun and the club was smiling


And what is this "Mr Spring Bigrade" you speak of Clubhappy?? You have me there

One paticular club rocked to ''r&b , mainstream dance , pop, and an 80's groove for the last 30 miniutes


Thats the way alot of mainstream jocks would programme their sets Clubhappy, me included. Nothing new or groundbreaking there. While you were checking out these clubs over the weekend Mr Spring was playing to a capacity crowd in Leitrim. Not bad for a scene thats dead eh?

Admitidly, "dance" as we know it IS slowing down, as seen by the recent closure of Cream in Liverpool. But what's going on here, to quote Mr Spring himself, is a *cull* ........... all the chancers and crap is been shown up for what it is. Dodgy promoters in Dublin are no longer getting away with it. I recently went to a Friday night in Spirit to catch Roger Sanchez .......... it was a tad over-crowded, but it leading the way for how clubbers should be treated. The venue itself is plush yet big enough to get lost in, there was a chill out room, head massages, tarot card readings, 2 rooms of music and a gorgeous, well dressed crowd. Not sure if you checked Spirit on your travels Clubhappy, but its leading the way for clubbing in Dublin




I visited London 3 weeks ago and had the pleasure of spending a night in the company of ''Dave Pearce ''[radio 1 }


Have to disagree again Clubhappy. Id be open to board censorship if I said what I thought of Pearce and Judge Jules ......... they are both about 3 steps away from been Jimmy Saville or Alan "fluff" Freeman. Sluts to their profession and not pushing the industry forward at all. You should have checked out a young chap by the name of James Zabiela. He uses CDR pretty much all night and his set is heavily based around "synergies" of tunes he's put together at home previous to his set (Eg; Sasha's "Xpander" with Underworld's "Cowgirl"). He's trying something different rather then playing souless hard trance (Jules) or tacky chart "euro" pap of the worst tuneless kind (Pearce)


So whats my point ? The new generation of club goers are not expecting to be educated musically but are just hoping to hear a style of music which they can have fun to


Hasnt it always been about fun? Clubbing is about fun, going mental on the dancefloor, the smell of hormones in the air and getting drunk (or whatever). Clubbers dont want to be *educated*, but they do want to be *challenged* .......... rolling out the same crap week in, week out just doesnt cut it any more ----- even at mainstream commercial gigs. There's too much choice out there now to NOT try something different




The good thing about all this ,is, House music will eventually establish a place in the hearts of good intelligent clubbers who dont listen to hot fm or similar stations, and a good remix of a pop song will have a big impact on dancefloors


I agree with you 100% there. A "good remix of a pop song" will always rock the shop and maybe the flipside of this the way forward for mainstream clubbing?? i.e. toned down versions of songs that are too heavy for Mecca clubs?? The radio edit of Underworld's "2 Months Off" been an example as it goes straight into the vocal ............ the bit your mainstream crowd will know


Im having a *debate* with you here Clubhappy, not a row. I only say you have a bit of a chip on your shoulder because of your closing statement re; Mr Spring and your recent put down on Agency DJs in Dublin (a subject I didnt even bother replying to as it would be longer then this one).

Just get on with your own gig and enjoy it!

I also want to keep this as a *debate* and nothing more, because

1) As Ive said, some of your previous posts have been excellent, and

2) Im 90% sure I know you offline, lol. Ah well ;)

Peace Clubhappy ............. lets pre-empt any online rows and keep this on the *debate* end of things


KJ

;)

[KJ]

Here's another take on the debate ............ from the Guardian

A humourous, insightful read

"Once upon a time,God was a dj,but now hes driving a minicab in Rotherham.The era of superstar djs is over:Gatecrasher has closed its weekly night and gone monthly ;Cream is empty,bar a couple of mashed students,peering around the podiums likew a Japanese tourists is Madame Tussaauds.Ministry Of Sound is moving heavily into radio and plans to sell off its superclub.At Pacha the dancefloor is so deserted that Gypsies have parked their caravans there and built campfires. What went wrong? Just six months ago,Pacha was launched under a deluge of press hype.The truth of its that the writting was on the wall for the
superclubs,and therefore superstar djs,a long time ago,and here a few of my serving suggestions as to why: Numero Uno:
They were a victim of their own success.The whole demise of the superstar dj was that seemingly ordinary mortals were actually supremely talented alchemists from another dimension - kind of galdalf in a john richmond linen shirt - each one,uniquely & sublimely capable of creating what Russ Abbott once called a party atmosphere by playing two lupms of plastic back to back. Superstar Djs,most notably the uber-miserable Paul Oakenfold,cultivated an air of mystery around this process,peering down at their decks,refusing to smile,generally promoting the idea - not unreasonable from their point
of view - that is was really rather difficult to dj. This was fine until every electrician,plumber and journalist in the land wanted to become a superstar too.Very soon they all had a pair of Technics and were badgering the manager of the local Top Shop to play deep tribal house to young teenage girls searching for £9.99 halter-neck tops.Within six seconds,we all realised that it wasnt very hard to dj after all. Not only that,but it was far more of a laugh to play record badly in the pub to a few mated(as the Chemical Brothers started off doing)than work out,Nick Hornby dream stylist,a pompous/portentous/prickisly dull "set" for that never to happen 4am Ministry debut. Two:The USP of the superstar dj was access to the most upfront tunes.So when
people stopped caring about upfront tunes,indeed started going up to morose Djs in their booths and demanding to know why they werent playing the single edit of Kylie rather than the 48 minute Masters at Work dub,Djs knew their number was up.
Its intresting that the demise of superstar Djs coincided with the risk of tounge in cheek cheesy karakoke-style outfits like 6ft Stereo,where punters are encouraged to turn up with a copy of a deliberatly bad song like Eye OF The Tiger and demand that it be played.Inevitably,inventive ways of playing crap records has become as feircely competitive as white-label snobbery
between djs once was. Clubs like Renegade Pop Party and Uncle Bobs Wedding Reception have oushed the concept of deliberate crapness further,going out of their way to book rubbish djs like Pat Sharpe of Heart 106.2FM.Thing is Pat knows how to work a crowd and he could do anything a "cool" dj could do-plus he had The Gang in his box.Of course,the children of this anti-superstar dj reveloution became the new superstar djs.The chemical brothers graduated from a smelly pub to a stadium rock in a matter of months and became the big beat Smashie n Nicey they once despised,even making a semi ironc record (Hey boy,Hey Girl superstar djs,here we go!)eulogising their sorry new found superstar status.Such are the small ironies of life. Three:The whole superstar dj thing totally dissapeared up its own arse.Just as superstar models were made obsolete by grunge,superstar djs became irrelevant without even realising it.A turning point came when Junior Vasquez,then the doyen of New Yorks superstar jocks,was booked to play london arena for three consecutive nights in 1997. Weeks of sycopantic radio and press coverage paved the way for his triumphant arrival .London had seen nothing like it since,er,Little Louie Vega two weeks earlier.How were the police going to hold back the tide of Vasque-mad club cattle? With days to go before the gigs,however,it became apparent that only a handful of tickets were sold.Tongy and Oakey may have been wetting their pants at the tought of seeing Junior Vasques,but the nation was more intrested in watching Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen making a tit of himself in Changing Rooms. The tide had turned on the inflated egos and wage packets of our superstar djs,who started striking out across the globe to regain the adulation and status they`d once enjoyed in Blighty. From Copenhagen to Capetown,British djs jetted off to play seamless nine hour sets if interminalbly dull apoco trance, depressing pomp house reverberating round mega arenas once reserved for U2(Paul Oakenfold hammered home the message by supporting U2 on tour). Four:In New York,DJ deity Sasha allegedly turned up for a gig at Twilo carring only three records in a carrier bag.Such was Sashas sense of
world historic importance,he`d honed his set down with Zen like percision to just three tunes(all of which happened to be by him) Alternatively he may have been just taking the piss. FIVE:The warning bell for anything creative is when it starts getting
inspiration form prog rock.Or boxing. With Chris Eubanks pre fight entrance to Simply rhe Best as inspiration,Fatboy Slim and Armand Van Helden held an ego-clash in a specifically constructed boxing ring.For neutrals the temptationto send in fighting dogs must have been strong. Rampant Dj ego mania took many entertaining forms:Carl Cox arriving by helicopter,Noel Edmonds style,Norman Cook walking on stage in Rick Wakeman style Bacofoil capes:Ferry Corsten playing The Land Of Hope and Glory(The ferry corsten mix) The platonic template for this style was laid down by sasha,who mixmag first put him on its cover in 1992 declaring him the "son of God".Sasha was a neutral pin up-he was good looking.He had that requisite air of mystery about him(a foreign-ish name).His eyes seemed fixed always on some distant unnatainable goal.His shirts billowed immpecably in the Mediterannean breeze.Most importantly,he owned trance records so wildly new and innovative,they could kill sheep with a single airing. Apocryhpal stories of Sasha screwing groupies on a stained backstage mattrress a la Tom Jones.It seemed impossible to chin stroking dad house veterans that this new generation of djs could have so defiled the memory of Larry Levan and his impeccable mid-70s musodom:his annomitity,his descrition.But whats fame if you cant poke a few girls into the bargain?"


lol, classic last line there

KJ

;)

[frankie says relax]

This is an interesting topic and one which we could debate 'till the small hours of the morning .
Both of you make valid points and i agree with most of what has been posted .
The Mr Spring debate has been discussed before and while i dont want to start it again , i agree with Clubhappy , he's an idiot who's ego has got the better of him and most of the tripe he throws out on a saturday is awful .
The days of upfront tunes making an impact in irish clubs are long gone and unfortunately mainstream is the order of the day .
As far as jules and pearce are concerned ,i always liked pearce and have seen him perform twice , but jules is just a guy who got lucky and seems to be suffering from a musical identy crisis ,in other words , cant make his mind up as to what he actually likes
Not been to Spirit yet but everything ive heard is good and kelly makes a good point in relation to well dressed clubbers and how well they are treated by management , something which has been lacking my most of the ass holes who ran clubs in the past .
The punter is King and the music is the star attraction and not some ego tripper with a case full of vynil nobody knpows .

good discussion though ............

[vinylpusher]

With reference to the UKs 'superclubs' suffering a crisis, I don't believe that the scene is slowing down.
People are beginning to prefer the smaller, more intimate venue instead of the 'superclub'. Go to any smaller venue in the UK and you'll find an atmosphere, vibe and attitude not too dissimilar from that of say, 3 years ago. The novelty of the 'superclub' has worn off and many of the punters now look at them with an air of "nothing new, nothing exciting.....seen it before....".
What you'll find with many of these clubs was a refusal to change, alternate, mix or introduce new or additional musical policies to add a bit of variety (Cream, Renaissance, etc..) which also added to their parties becoming monotonous over the course of time. In fairness, the promoters were shrewd enough to make their money from the start, but what also happened was reluctance to add something new. "If it ain't broken, don't fix it" sounds familiar, but what they failed to remember that even the finest engines need an overhaul every so often to sustain good performance.
The same can be said for the Irish scene. Our bigger clubs are now suffering a dip in attendances, whereby the smaller venues such as Spirit are consistantly crowded. The bigger venues cashed in on the 'big room' idea early on, but by the time the promoters realised that having the same 'a-list' djs every other week wasn't going to guarantee attendances, it was too late. The punters had already grown tired of it, and already grown frustrated that the promoters hadn't offered anything new to keep things fresh. Another example of greedy promoters, believing their own hype and a complete reluctance to listen to what their customers might like to see next.
The smaller venues are providing that little bit extra and to the clubber, they are more comfortable, intimate, personable, and above all, more willing to accomodate what the clubber wants.

[KJ]

Another take on the "crisis in clubland"

Just got this is in my mailbox




"A last minute surge for tickets for this weekend's Love02 has left
many
outlets sold out, and promoters are confident this year's event will
be
the busiest yet!

And that's not just good news for the punters, and for the organisers
of
Love02, but it sends out a very positive message regarding the general
health of Ireland's clubscene.

The closure of one of the dance scene's most pivotal superclubs, Cream
in Liverpool, this summer, sent shockwaves through clubland and
fuelled
debates as to the future and stability of dance culture in general.
Two
months into this discussion, and it's becoming thankfully clear that
it's an English problem, as regional areas of the UK and Ireland -
less
dominated by super-brands - continue to thrive. The proof in the
proverbial pudding came first last month with Creamfields:Ireland
reporting record attendance numbers, and now this weekend, with Love02
looking set to outsell all previous events.

So with a smile on our faces, rumbles of excitement in our tummies,
and
the warm glow of optimism we countdown to the fifth annual Planet Love
festival.

3 days and counting. I think you know, where, when and who.



FOR MORE INFORMATION, SEE <http://www.bbmag.com/LOVE02>
WWW.BBMAG.COM/LOVE02 OR CONTACT (+44) 2892 667000"


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[16.db]

Thank god for HOt fm and God whats his name

[KittyKat]

It's not so much the demise of superclubs/dance clubs whatever but more the change in how the audience and punters receive the music and what influences them, me thinks..
what's interesting though is that although the myriad of genres of dance (trance, disco funk, ambient, garage ..etc.. fall in and out of popluarity... we are nearly always nearly back at the same point where the mother of all dance 'true house' music originated back in the 1980s. ... 4/4 kick drums.. or 4 to floor..hihat...and a funky ass bassline...and some clever sample rips. these are the components that most dance records are still being built on, with some variations of course. So maybe the new mutated forms of house music we see to day like trance, techno, hardcore, garage,
will lose their appeal at some point, but House Music has prevailed since its inception back in the 80s in Chicago or Detroit or whatever. House in its pure form will always be around

[clubhappy]

Hey Kelly , glad to know were not gonna fall out over our opinions dude and im flattered you like some of my posts .
First i want to point out , i dont have a chip on my shoulder regarding Mr Spring , but i was f***in fuming when i read on his web site ''all parents should protect their children against pop music
'' my first reaction was , ''who the fu** gave him a voice to dictate what kids should listen to and buy , i know you like him and i respect that but i cant understand why somebody who seems to know a lot about the dance scene can rate him as a good dance dj because most of the venues he plays are run down toilets playing to punters who are so narrowminded regarding decent dance music and clubbing that a trip to a decent venue with a jock who plays a wide range of club music would be a culture shock . Ijust think he's a narrowminded a** ho** who gets off slagging a style of music just cause he dose'nt like it .

Thats just my opinion Kelly , maybe you dont share that view but thats not a problem dude ....

Im sure you do the venuse playing the usual chart and cheesey tunes , yeah ? bet you enjoy every miniute of it when the crowd react , happens to me too kelly .

You go on to mention love 02 , which i would love to go to , but it's an event, not a regular gig and a lot of worn out r&b and mainstream dance punters will visit it because it's a change of scene and a chance to break from the norm as they say .

Creamfields was a success because of the wide variety of styles on offer and there were so many options to choose from that it was like going to a BIG PARTY ........

Im not trying to be negative dude but a lot of names i know within the dance scene are telling me they are struggling to get bookings and have noticed a huge decline in attracting customres to specialist dance nights , be it hard house , progressive , funky house ,techno , even trance . Icould mention names here but that wouldn't be fair ....

Anyway Kelly , maybe im talkin out of my ares ,i dont know dude ,it's just my view thats all and you dont have to agree, it's not a problem at all , and you never know , we might have a beer together sometime not knowing who the f**k we are on the board , but thats the beauty of it , yeah ?
Anyway ,get yourself some scooter albums and grab a ben sherman shirt for the weekend , you never know Kelly , u might get a free spin in a Micra ...............

[KJ]

"Anyway ,get yourself some scooter albums and grab a ben sherman shirt for the weekend , you never know Kelly , u might get a free spin in a Micra"

lol

Told ye man, I dont *do* the whole scanger (how do ye spell it?) thang .......... it cramps my style :p

I PM'd ye regarding the Faithless/Eminem CD thing I was doing and I tod ye who I was there recently, so Im fairly sure i know ye.

Regardless, am a wee bit tired to give a proper reply to the above ............. maybe tomorrow. You have some valid points and maybe I *do* get a bit hung up over my defense of Mr Spring (its not the first time Ive defended him on this or another site) but - apart from Mark Kavanagh, Billy Murray and the Sunset crew ............ isnt he up there with those that have done the most to make the Irish club/dance industry what it is today? He was championing a dance scene before there even was one in Ireland.

Talk more on this in the next few days CH

Peace

KJ

;)

[KJ]

Quite simply ......... a must read


"Subject: Why nightclubs are in the last chance saloon -

From The Indo

17th Sep


Why nightclubs are in the last chance saloon


They used to thrive as the only place for a late drink, but some
nightclubs are finding it hard to compete with 'nightpubs', says
EDDIE LENNON.


It's not so long since having a late beer at your local was a
frenzied race against time. Our puritanical licensing laws created a
farcical Cinderella syndrome that descended on pubs like a curfew in
a convent.



Stocking up on an extra pint or two was the (last) order of the day
as early as 11pm. If you wanted a few more scoops, the local
jam-packed disco, with its stone-faced doormen, was your last chance
saloon.



But democracy has come to Ireland's nightlife. Pubs are getting
late-night licences that allow them to serve alcohol until 2.30am.
The line between pub and club is further blurred by the fact that
thousands of late-opening pubs now have DJs and high-spec sound
systems.



Welcome to the new era of the nightpub. But, unlike at nightclubs,
it's usually free to get in. And there's often far less hassle
getting past the bouncer.



Nightclub owners say late-opening pubs are taking away swathes of
customers who would have gone straight to a nightclub after the pub.
So while they may once have been dancing for joy, club owners are now
more likely to be hopping with rage.



Robbie Fox, owner of Renard's nightclub in Dublin and spokesman for
the Nightclub Owners' Association, says: "With the introduction
of late bars, nightclubs' door money is disappearing rapidly. It's
almost wiped out admission charges. People think, why should we pay
into a nightclub and not into a late bar, which also serves till
2.30am?



"If pubs are allowed open till 2.30am, there should be somewhere
for people to go afterwards, like everywhere else in the world, at
least till 4am. People don't go home to bed just because they're told
to do so. And there is a market there for nightclubs."



With greater freedom for nightclubs to serve later, he believes they
would become far bigger and offer a lot more, which would also
benefit tourism. He cites Spirit, Dublin's newest nightclub. Under a
licensing loophole, Spirit has a theatre licence and can therefore
open later than other clubs. It offers high-profile DJs, a late-night
restaurant and live acts.



Buzz O'Neill, manager of Dublin's recently opened Tivoli nightclub,
says the "doom and gloom" being dished out by the media and
some club owners is unhealthy. "There's no greater way of
starting a recession than talking up a recession," he says.



"Late bar licences have been in operation for over a year now,
and I don't see how they've had an effect. I see it more positively:
clubs have got off their backsides and realised they have to cater
for their clientele differently. The days of chicken in a basket are
long gone."



He points out that top Dublin clubs such as Mono, the Temple Theatre
and Red Box are closing for refurbishment. It's proof of the health
of dance culture. "They're hardly going to be spending millions
of euro to refit these places if they think the market's dying,"
he says.



Newspaper articles triggered by the closure of U2's Kitchen nightclub
in Dublin have claimed dance music is fast becoming a spent force,
with old ravers joining the hordes of boozers.



O'Neill says he sees no evidence of a downturn in popularity.
"At the Tivoli, we're expanding from three to five nights a week
in September, in line with people growing up. We'll soon have five
nights of various types of dance music, to cater for everyone from 20
to 35, unlike certain venues that offer one brand of dance music for
one age group."



He believes clubs should be allowed open later than pubs.
"There's no legislative definition of a nightclub. Legally, a
nightclub doesn't exist. It's ridiculous that nightclubs are still
operating under a bar licence with an extension for a 'dinner
dance'."



The creation of a nightclub licence would make life far easier for
club owners when dealing with gardai and the courts, according to
O'Neill, especially when applying to open late. "Clubs need up
to three different licences to operate. They need a dancing licence:
a certificate saying people can dance in your club. I've seen
situations where pubs used to run gigs and the bar manager ran around
telling people to stop dancing because he didn't have a dancing
licence!"



But why should nightclubs be allowed to open later than pubs?
Wouldn't this create even more nocturnal farce for people who like to
live it late? "Nightclubs cater for two different markets,"
says O'Neill. "We [the Tivoli] don't cater for people who want
to come in for a last drink; we cater for clubbers. People come to
see DJs, just as if they were going to the Point.



"The days of going for a last drink belong to the late pubs.
That's good for us, because we get dedicated people really into dance
music. We're part of the music business, not the drinks
business."



That logic may hold true for clubs like the Tivoli, which showcase
good dance music. But DJs in many of Ireland's clubs routinely trot
out chart rubbish.



For the musically adventurous it creates an aural Groundhog Day
nightmare where every evening is horribly familiar, with the same
bland, take-no-chances approach.



These people don't go to clubs any more, as too many of the venues
are barely a step up from the tired old days of disco. So where do
they go to hear their favourite DJs? You've guessed it. Their
favourite late bar.



Eddie Lennon is a journalist and DJ







Treated like royalties

* A big thorn in the side for nightclubs is that an arbitrator
recently awarded Phonographic Performance Ireland (PPI) a sixfold
increase in the royalties it can collect from nightclubs. The money
goes to record companies for the music played by DJs, and the amount
a nightclub pays is based on its size.


Publicans are not exempt. To get a late licence, publicans and club
owners pay the licensing court €140 a night. But even publicans must
first have a dance licence and then they must also pay PPI royalties.



Robbie Fox of Renards nightclub, who also represents the Nightclub
Owners' Association, says the PPI assumes nightclubs charge everyone
who enters and that they are at least 80pc full every night they are
open.



The PPI charges per person and, depending on the cover charge, has an
escalating scale of royalties.



"My nightclub is open on Mondays but is never anywhere near 80pc
full; sometimes we're as little as 5pc full.



"If I paid the PPI fees it would cost me €120,000 per
year," he says. "Some years ago it would've been
€30,000."



If the PPI's fees are upheld, Fox says club owners will be forced to
close their venues on quieter nights to avoid paying fees. Even when
they open at weekends they may charge more for admission. And late
bars may follow suit.



"If they don't do that they will put it on to the price of
drinks. Either way, it will fizzle down to the customer."

[KJ]

Niall Boylan just said there tonight that he'll have this as a topic on Monday's show. As I'll be out, this'll be the first bit Ive radio I'll record in yonks but should make for good listening. Give the show a ring if you have any views on this topic.


KJ

;)

[frankie says relax]

Just over 3 weeks ago i visited one of the above mentioned clubs while doing research on mens fashion for an article .
Most of the people i tried to talk to were so f***ED out of their heads it proved a waste of time .
The above article ,well written and worded as it is , is a lot of sour grapes by the authour who has become dissillousined and angry at the industry because of his failure to make an impact on the club scene as a DJ and the decline of dance nusic in general has forced him to form and trash out his opinion in a newspaper .

Most well run mainstream clubs dont have a problem with the pubs having their late licence because a lot of them have regular clientel who are are prepared to pay over 10 euro every week .
His comments regarding DJ's churning out chart rubbish and the play safe approach strikes me of narrowmindedness and music snobbery . Not everybody who goes out to party at weekends wants to hear upfront music , not everybody shares his taste in music and not everybody dislikes chart music like he suggests .

A clubs music policy will always dictate the type of clientel it attracts and people like Robbie Fox have been very successful churning out chart and play safe rubbish .

Dance music has lost a lot of appeal recently and with the closure of some big name clubs in the UK ,a lot of greedy promotres in Ireland have moved on to other things thankfully .

THANKS ...........Frankie says........

[KJ]

Most well run mainstream clubs dont have a problem with the pubs having their late licence because a lot of them have regular clientel who are are prepared to pay over 10 euro every week


Yet, from what Im seeing first hand, these people seem to on the decline. There will always be people who want the proper *nightclub* experience (Eg; Club M with its light rig, high ceiling and pretty much unbeatable atmosphere) yet there's 2 gigs I do weekely where I have to ask myself "Is this a nightclub or a late night bar with a dance floor?" Both have great sound systems and no cover charge on the nights I play there (one of which is a Friday)

The lines are becoming more and more blurred regarding "Superpubs" (hate that term) and Nightclubs ....... it's going to be survival of the fittest methinks!

KJ

;)

[frankie says relax]

Definately agree with what you say and it can be very frustrating for a DJ knowing his ability is not appreciated by either management or punters, especially when you have such a quality sound system at your disposal .
I think nightclubs will always survive because of the happy athmosphere it creates but they must drop their drink and admission prices and stop being the greedy bastards they are .

[vinylpusher]

We also need a radical overhaul of our existing licencing laws to bring them in line with those of our European neighbours, particularly when it comes to opening hours.

[KJ]

Just a quick reminder that, as far as I know, Niall Boylan will be talking about the nightclub industry (and its future) on his show tonight

Whats the radio equavilent of Must See TV? Well, this is it

I'll listen to the playback tomorrow

KJ

;)

[KJ]

Actually .............. the VCR refuses to hook up to the radio so there'll be no playback tomorrow

Any chance you could do it tomorow night instead Niall?

lol

KJ

;)

[KJ]

Did anyone tune in last night?

Any good?

Did Niall take any working jocks on air for their thoughts?

KJ

;)

[KJ]

We also need a radical overhaul of our existing licencing laws to bring them in line with those of our European neighbours, particularly when it comes to opening hours


Agreed

Whatever happened that campaign years ago to bring our laws out of the dark ages? ............. ummmmmm, its name escapes me


KJ

;)

[Sarah Baybay]

defo need later opening hrs,
Spirit is the only 1 that seems to be doin anything in that area but we need the other clubs open later too

[KJ]

Niall Boylan just said there tonight that he'll have this as a topic on Monday's show


Just wondering if this show ever happened or was I hearing things?


KJ

;)

[KJ]

from popbitch:

>> Ministry Of Doom <<
Dance music bloodsuckers bite bullet

So farewell then, Ministry Of Sound. It all
seems to be going tits-up for them, with the
magazine, publishing, record labels and half
the staff disappearing into oblivion.

Still, there's a certain poetic justice at
work - it was Ministry's rampant commercialisation
that destroyed the dance scene, with James
Palumbo acting as a Pied Piper, leading the
innocent provincials like Cream and Gatecrasher
down a path that has doomed the lot of then.

So, can we have Acid House back now please?

[george was best]

Most Dublin clubbers are full of shit and have no idea how to party or accept something different .
The amount of time ive been in mainstream clubs in this city and watched a floor clear as soon r&b set was finished is a pathetic sneer on the irish club scene .
One venue 3 weeks ago was like a destinys child or brittany wannabee night out . The dj pulled out classics like ''NEEDIN YOU 'DAVID MORALES , YEKE YEKE ..Mory kante ''DAFT PUNK , DIRTY VEGAS , etc etc , NO reaction . what followed was embarrasing ,and to watch girls insult him from where i was standing would put anybody off becoming a DJ .
Dont really know the answer to this problem but if clubbing in ireland is getting to the stage where a decent mainstream dance set cant get a reaction , i think all clubs should only cater for muppets and narrowminded idiots and charge them over the odds for everything because it might stop them from buying crap and filling the music charts with f***in rubbish .

[Turiel]

Originally posted by george was best
i think all clubs should only cater for muppets and narrowminded idiots and charge them over the odds for everything .

Uh, they do :)

[DeargDoom]

I had a gobshite give me audio advice last night at a gig. Eeeeh, we need more bass man. Thats why I'm DJing, and hes the muppet talking to the DJ then. Maybe we should have another thread about the stupid things that punters say.

My only problem with very commercial clubs/bars (and hey, I work in one or two of them), is that the punters are too damned conservative. Okay, the DJ will be a crowd pleaser, but when its gets to the stage where there are only 30-50 songs that get the dance floor going its just depressing. Its a damned nuisance for jocks as well - how the hell can you get new music to work on the floor when it clears the floor?! Punters have become thicker and thicker in the last 6 years. Maybe its the weather.

[deco]

Either that or they just need DJ's to become a happening fly on the wall documentry to appreciate us.................(stage right Pete, louis and geri) no thanks .............

[smiley joe]

yeah its ridiculous the tunes that will empty a dance floor in dublin. i had one particular night last year in the pod, and it was a dance night, i had advertised it as a dance night but, and adrren will attest to this, we got asked for, among others, ricky martin, britney spears, pink and enrique inglesias. it was a joke. and they were pissed off when we said we didnt have them.

[DeargDoom]

Or when you start playing some different genre of music after about an hour of r'n'b and have some yellow toothed slag (who has ideas about herself looking like an extra in a Puff Daddy video) come up and say "c'mere young fella, are ya not playin' any r'n'beeeee tonigh?!!!!".

I love the punters that come up and give you dj advice. I always tell them that its awfully considerate of them to take time out to explain the basics of the job to me.

Maybe though, we're being too nasty about the punters. When all is said and done, theres nothing like the buzz you get from doing a good gig. Sadly, I rarely do good gigs, but thats another days work. Hey, maybe I should start paying attention to the free advice!

DD

[RadioFriend]

I work in a a club here in Shelbyville two nites a week for almost 6 years and the most amazing thing I find is that punters tell that such and such is crap.............The fact is that is crap because its new !!!!
In 3 weeks time they will be screaming at me to play it.....


Punters are goats,they follow each other all the time and if a song is doing wel then they love it.They have no mind of there own .

No 17year old decides they like a song.............They wait to see who else likes it first..Then it become catchy.

Then they love it.

RF

[george was best]

Agreed radiofriend ,
Not sure of the solution here but most idiots who go to mainstream clubs are musically ignorant and want to hear the same SHIT , week in week out . A lot of punters will say a tune is crap just because they dont like it , but i dosent necessairly mean a jock is playing the wrong music .
Women tend to dictate whats played because they generally fill the floor , so my solution is , ban women from buying CD's , dont allow them access to any kind of music TV and make it a public offence to play boy bands [ok blue are not bad ] anywhere theres alcohol ...........

just a thought ....

[KJ]

Aaaaaaaah yes indeed, "girlies in clubs and RnB" eh? Where do I start??!




Women tend to dictate whats played because they generally fill the floor


Yup, always have and always will. One of the golden rules of club jocking is - get the women on the floor first and the men will follow, it's been like that since the 1950's so I cant see it changing soon


What is very sad to see tho is the amount of RnB a jock has to play at a gig to keep the floor lately, there's little room for experimentation any more - as someone said above - its back to basics, people just want Hot Hits and a good ol' retro dance set (Mix Factory, SL2, N Trance etc) doesnt seem to do it for most crowds these days.

Re: "the D4 girlie" brigade who scoff at the DJ when he finishes his RnB set and wants to look after other punters - I laugh at them to be honest, .......... hellooooooooo girls, you're *dancing* to manufactured sugar coated Hip Hop daaaaarlings, not starring in the bloody videos! :p

Dont get me wrong, I *love* RnB but the club/bar-going females of Dublin have to open their mind a bit more. If they want RnB ALL night they should go to a specialist club (there's heaps of them) and not a mainstream gig

Club DJing has certainly thought me alot about the patience of women and how fickle they are! :rolleyes:


KJ

;)