Archives for “Music” tag

When travelling, I’m often struck by the adaptability of venues in other cities- steak houses that double up as tango studios in Buenos Aires stand out in particular, as well as twenty-four hour cafés in Moscow. In Dublin, coffee shops and sandwich bars that are hives of activity by day usually lie dormant behind heavy shutters come nightfall, when a new breed of venues come to life.

The Twisted Pepper is one space that bucks this trend, however. By day, the space serves host to some of the best coffee in town, served up by the folks at 3fe, whose encyclopedic knowledge of all things bean-y won’t disappoint. Happen to be in the mood for new head of hair or some fresh music? There’s a barbers and record store here too. By night, the coffee counter becomes a bar and the space at the back sees some of Dublin’s best music nights, courtesy of the Bodytonic crew.

Dublin tends to be a very different place by night than by day, but a stop off at the Twisted Pepper at any time will throw up something interesting.

For several years virtually unchallenged as the coolest bar in Dublin, my once-beloved Dice Bar has started to show its age and get a bit stale around the edges. This is reflected in the clientele – too many middle-aged blokes in rugby jerseys.

The music has become increasingly mainstream, repetitive and dull, with the same old crowd-pleasing sets week after week. Nevertheless, the Dice Bar is still a million times better than the average music bar you will find in the city centre; and the dark, vaguely gothic interior still looks and feels like no other bar in Dublin – a little slice of the East Village in the middle of Smithfield.

Furthermore, there are times when some raucous leaping about to rock ‘n roll and indie classics is just what the doctor ordered. And there’s still the legendary Tiny James (big bloke with big hair, you can’t miss him). If there’s a cooler doorman/bouncer/whatever in the world, I want to meet him.

Situated in a fine old building on the quays that was formerly home to the original Dublin Workingmen’s Club, the one thing you are sure not to find in this venue are working men.

Since opening in 2010 it has etablished itself as one of Dublin’s hipster hang-outs, so if you like to wear vintage or American Apparel, ride a fixed-gear bicycle and know your Animal Collectives from your Django Djangos, this is probably the place for you.

With a live concert venue and bars on two different floors, the Workman’s Club has successfully tapped into the city’s post-recessionary zeitgeist: so extravagant decor, exorbitant drinks prices and designer label-clad clientèle are out, down-at-heel shabby chic is in.

Of course, to an extent this is all a bit contrived and disingenuous – the fake tan brigade may not be welcome here but there is no shortage of posers. Nevertheless, the music is good, and the upstairs bar in particular has a very pleasant, relaxed ambiance, like being at a private house party that just happens to have a good DJ and fine views over the river Liffey. And it is refreshing to go to a late-night music venue in this city and pay ordinary pub prices for drinks.  They have also added on a large smoking area out the back.

For how long this non-trendy venue will remain, well, trendy remains to be seen. I shall keep you posted.

For years one of the most defiantly staid and traditional of Dublin watering holes, Kennedy’s has in recent times had more reinventions than Bowie or Madonna in their prime.

When I first started coming here in the 1990s, it was a charmingly kitsch, ’70s-style bar that catered to one-old-man-and-his-dog and seemed on the verge of extinction. Then one of the sons took over the running of the place a few years back – out went the battered old carpet and some of the more naff elements of the decor, in came tasteful candlelight and wooden floors.

Now he has gone down the full makeover route. The result is all very tasteful, with its exposed brickwork and dark wooden panelling, if rather unoriginal. Personally I preferred the place the way it used to be, but I don’t have to earn a living from it. 

The real point of Kennedy’s in its present incarnation, however, is the music. The guy has seriously good taste, and plays some wonderfully obscure stuff. The bar also now hosts “vinyl afternoons” on Sundays.

The new look may be more generic, but this place is still unique.

Regeneration has come quick, quick and grindingly slow to Smithfield, the area just west of the Four Courts along the Red Luas line on Dublin’s north side. With a shock of apartments shot up in the mid-2000s and a sleek square half-finished with monster lights lining its hushed perimeter, the Celtic Tiger’s hurried rise and demise was painted on the paving stones. Projects unfinished and promises unkept have been the latest stories here – although there have been signs of renewal in recent days.

A while back the Light House cinema reopened its doors (a dispute about impossible rent had closed the art-house venue for a time before – now it seems to be going from strength to strength); while Third Space, a new community cafe, swung open its doors a little after that (a cavernous space but a warm atmosphere, expert staff, super coffee, a library and child-friendly activities). There’s a scattering of artist-run spaces dotted around the square, out of which exciting events occasionally spill. And, surely, there will always be the Cobblestone.

Looking a delightfully dingy class apart from the new-builds in the area, this is a proper lively traditional bar; filled up with wandering minstrels, thirsty locals and sparkle-eyed visitors. Masterful session musicians muster a reverential hush at some time of most nights, while the back room is host to touring bands. It’s a friendly, relaxed place – I’d recommend the outdoors (smoking) area at the back for impromptu music and unexpected conversation.