Nerraw I loved the SFX...spent many a night drinking cider outside trying to get the t-shirt sellers to give us freebies! First gig I ever went to was to see EMF in there! Ha ha ha ha ha! Saw RHCPs, Henry Rollins, Pulp and loadsa others...and nearly got trampled to death at a Suede gig there too, which wasn't very nice. Imagine meeting your end at a Suede gig *shakes head* ...dear oh dear.

I'm actually really surprised that more of you don't have a problem with the village... I haaaaate it. I have seen good gigs there, most recently the Frank & Walters which was top class but other than that it's an annoyingly shaped room, other than right in front of the stage you won't get a good look at what's going on from anywhere else. The sound isn't bad either but just something about the place.. completely lacks character. I'd prefer to be crushed in Whelans any day...

Jeez yeah, that Suede gig was nuts. What year was that again Dromed? I remember a similar crowd swell at the Wonderstuff there too. Those are the only two gigs I really felt like it was out of control and just plain dangerous. And that's in comparison to a Carter USM gig in McGonnagles where I got my front teeth smashed back into my gob, moving freely about at an obscene angle by some punter's size twelves who had jumped off the speaker stack. Great venue though.

The Olympia and Ambassador are kinda the same. Sound can be a bit s**tty if you are stuck underneath the balconies. Have seen some rockin' gigs in the Olympia. Have a bit of a soft spot for it. Vicar St is good although I wish the bar was inside the auditorium. You can miss a good song while getting a round in. The Village is a dump and I have bad memories of when it used to be the Wexford Inn and we used to have Student nites there. If you think its bad now, you should have seen it back then. A real trad joint infested with Ra heads. The Red Box used to have some pretty decent gigs in its day too.

the best thing about vicar street is the fact that the bar isn't inside the auditorium

the SFX was a great venue, simply because it was so s**te. Saw Ash there in 97 I think. I like upstairs in the Village - good seating, great view of the stage, and convenient bar The Sugar Club - only suits certain gigs because of the seating: standing ratio. But I was at the Howl @ 50 thing there recently and the club was the perfect setting for it. Plus, great cocktails. The Olympia - the best venue in town? Unless you're stuck all the way up top The Ambassador - can you believe it, I've never been in The Hub - needs to forget about the constant refurbishing, make it into a grimey rock club and sell cans at the bar. Then it would be perfect, because the sound is the best for a small club Crawdaddy - great. Really good sound too. Whelan's really bad sound, generally annoying crowd, cramped set up, frequent over-crowding Temple Bar Music Centre - The Point's little sister. Only good if it's jammers and there's a decent techno DJ The Point - s**t in every way Vicar St - an excellent venue. Brilliant accoustics and friendly staff

I'm surprised more people haven't mentioned Crawdaddy as one of the better venues.

agree with most so far, the hub though, anyone in a band here ever have problems with the dull for an ape types on the door?

Hub could be a cool little venue if they got someone in to run it properly. Its is one of the most loosely run venues going...sound is never gonna be great anyway but some of the gigs during the HWCH were class down there. he ambassador aint that bad either, whelans is great but too cramped, crawdaddy is the best new venue, if the club afterwards wasn't so bad it'd be the perfect venue. but for rock n roll bands, its a class little spot.

agree with comments bout The Hub - we need a sleazy rock&roll hovel like that. I miss mcgonagles - i saw some cracking gigs there like sonic youth, dinasour jr and the house of love. i also miss the top hat - best gig ever there was nirvana supporting the youth there. but sure, thats old age for u right now, i dig vicar street (best venue around by a mile), crawdaddy (surprisingly good for all kinds of bands) and the olympia (especially if u can sneak into a box!). i despise the village (built by idiots for idiots), dont like whelans (can never understand why people like it so much - always ruined by either over-selling or too-cool-for-school chit-chat at the bar) and have a mild dislike for the music centre (could have been so, so much better). i dont mind the ambassador but i know that visiting bands can't stand the place cos its nearly impossible to get a decent sound in there. what about venues outside the pale? I really like Roisin Dubh in galway and think Dolans in Limerick is a smashing place altogether. Also the spirit store in dundalk is a wee gem of a live music venue. what about places in cork? havent been there in an age so any pointers welcome

maybe Cluas should take over the Hub and turn it into a sleazy rock club once a month. It's a very do-able aim. And yes, the bouncers there are ridiculous.

the lobby is sorely missed in cork, was my favourite venue by far. half moon is probably the best now, cypress avenue is pretty good too.

Vicar Street - it's got carpet on the floor!, the sound is always spot on, no bar for idiots to stand at and talk loudly. Crawdaddy - always sounds great to me. never any problem getting served even when it's packed. The Olympia - i'm not so sure about the sound anymore but hey it's great when yr down in the mini-pit (i couldn't be anywhere else) and you look up behind you and see everyone upstairs going mad too :) The Lower Deck - nice and comfy. Ambassador - i hate it there. really pissed off Belle & Sebastian are playing there :( Sugar Club - cocktails! it's alright like. The Point - i wouldn't mind paying a fiver for a pint if i could hear the band alright. also DEATH TO SCUMBAG SECURITY! just discovered The Boom Boom Room above Conways on Parnell Street. it mostly hosts jazz i think which is why i'd never been but a really nice place. would love to see a rock band in there with all the tables taken out.

The hub smells like cabbages. And there is no good place to stand to listen to a band and get a good sign. It's also really s**t to play as the room is so narrow the sound bounces back at you. The sound in the village is very very hit or miss. I've only ever experienced great gigs in the Olympia (although it's a bit of a neck breaker to be sitting in the upper circle. The rubysessions gigs in Doyles always have a great atmosphere. Crawdaddy has proven itself as a great venue sound-wise but I never feel the desire to stick around afterwards - the outside bar is just so pretentious. TBMC - great stage, generally really nice sound, good acoustics, it's just so hard to get a good crowd there.