In 2005, Niall Byrne founded the music blog Nialler9 as a place for him to discuss the music he loves, from folk to hip-hop. Since then, his well-crafted site and passion for music has led Nialler9 to become Ireland’s most popular music blog and for Niall to writing gigs at newpapers and magazines as well as a position on the judging panel for the Choice Music Prize – the annual Irish album of the year award. In addition to running his blog, Niall is also the editor for Irish music site State Magazine. Niall shares with us his insider tips for where to go to experience great music, eat good food and see some sites in Dublin.
 
What should we know before we go to the Dublin?

Dublin city itself is pretty small which means it’s perfect for gigs as it’s easy to walk around between venues. Check entertainment.ie and my blog’s weekly gig guide for what is on music-wise.
 
That bars shut at half 11 at night except for on the weekends where it’s 12.30am. There are late bars but most of them are useless. If you’re an indie music fan you’ll probably end up in Whelan’s on Wexford Street whether you intend to or not.
 
The most-revered independent music shop just closed down last month sadly but there are a few great music shops. We still have a Tower Records here which is independently-owned and has a great vinyl section. There’s also City Discs in Temple Bar for more electronic and second hand stuff.
 
Transport can be a pain after 11.30pm if you’re staying outside of the city so stay in the city if you can.

 

Who are your local musical heroes?

That’s a really hard question. Most of them are current. Labels like Richter Collective, Kaboogie and Popical Island. Bands like Adebisi Shank, Super Extra Bonus Party, Jape, The Redneck Manifesto. Others like promoter Foggy Notions run by Leagues O’ Tool, Karl Geraghty. Journalists and industry people like Donal Dineen, Jim Carroll, Leagues O’ Toole, Angela Dorgan. Anyone who has fire in their bellies for music basically. They’re all dicks in real life unfortunately. I kid.

What local bands or musicians should we be listening out for?

Dublin has a great variation of music at the moment. I couldn’t honestly say that a few years ago. The easiest way to delve in is to check out what’s going on right now. I wrote a column for Drowned in Sound in the UK to this end that I’ve been told was pretty indispensable for someone who just arrived.

 

 
What are your favorite music venues and where should we eat and drink around there?

Whelan’s is a bit of a legendary spot and the downstairs room has consistently brilliant sound. Vicar Street is great for large-scale gigs. The Sugar Club is good for seated gigs. The interior of the Olympia Theatre is worth a look itself – it’s an old Victorian-era music hall. After that, there’s a new venue opening on the quays called The Workman’s Club which looks like it’s going to establish itself pretty quickly. The Twisted Pepper for electronic gigs. A lot of events are taking places in empty buildings, galleries, houses and apartments at the moment due to the recession so that’s been great.
 
As far as pubs go – Grogans on South William Street for Guinness and a ham and cheese toastie – this is a must do for lunch. Neary’s on Chatham Street for the best Irish coffee in the world (probably). The Long Hall on Georges Street and Stag’s Head on Dame Lame for great Guinness, The Cobblestone for a trad session plus excellent Guinness and a ramshackle smoking garden. The Bernard Shaw for a trendy place with a bus serving pizza out the back. We have a lot of pubs.

Dublin Castle, Chester Beatty Library

Any local music festivals or events we should put on our calendar?

Electric Picnic in August/September takes place an hour outside Dublin and is the best thing going festival wise. This year Roxy Music, LCD Soundsystem, Massive Attack, The National, Fever Ray, Modest Mouse, Foals and loads more are playing.
 
Most festivals take place outside of Dublin. A big list of all of them is here for this year.

Is there a ” Dublin sound?” Or is there a community/scene vibe in the city?

No. That’s what makes it so exciting right now. Generally, people are very friendly so if there’s something you’re into you’ll probably find a scene of like-minded people into the same thing.

What’s your perfect night out in Dublin?

Going to three or four gigs in one night. Rushing around the city to get them all. Collapsing in a heap afterwards and repeat.

Trinity College - Front Square

Take a walk around Trinity College – visitors are urged to go to see The Book of Kells but it is rather anti-climatic. Instead, you can head over to the Pavillion (The Pav) which is the bar on the cricket grounds. If it’s a sunny day, there will be students and pedestrians alike enjoying a beer on the lawn. If it’s happening, it’s a must see. Otherwise, the Douglas Hyde museum in Trinity College near the Nassau Street entrance often has interesting exhibitions.
 
For galleries, the National Art Gallery is interesting enough, and Kilmainham Modern Art Museum (IMMA) is quite good, even if it’s just to see the building, which is an old hospital used for soldiers during the two World Wars.
 

Glendalough Monastery

The Temple Bar area of Dublin lies just on the south bank of the River Liffey, which divides the city. This small, historical, section of Dublin still preserves its medieval street pattern and is now the arts center of Dublin by day, with over a dozen cultural institutions, and raucous, party central at night, attracting mainly tourists on the weekends who spill out into the streets from the area’s many pubs.

Paying homage to these two worlds of Temple Bar is The Rockarchive Gallery’s ‘Wall of Fame.’ The Wall of Fame is a permanent outdoor exhibition celebrating twelve of Ireland’s musical heroes, chosen because of their influence on Irish and world music. The artists represented are: Luke Kelly, Phil Lynott, Sinéad O’Conner, Bob Geldoff, Christy Moore, Rory Gallagher, Paul Brady, Shane Magowen, Van Morrisson, The Undertones and U2. Each of the twelve has a window devoted to them, framing a large photo. The resulting massive gallery is backlit at night and adds a welcome nighttime feature to Dublin’s popular Temple Bar area.
 
Wall of Fame
20 Temple Lane Sth, Temple Bar, Dublin 2, Ireland – +44 (0)353 (0)1 633

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U2's 360° Tour in Ullevi, Sweden

The Unsung Heroes: Bell X1
 

The Off-the-Wall Inspirationals: And So I Watch You From Afar
 

The Ones Everyone Knows: U2
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The Delicate Tearjerker: Damien Rice
 

The Underground Electro Heroes: Super Extra Bonus Party
 

 
The Traditional Music Kings: The Dubliners
 

 
James Hendicott is a travel and music writer living in Ireland, and your guide to Celtic punk in the Music+Travel Worldwide from Museyon Guides. More of his work can be found at hendicottwriting.com. And be sure to tune in next Wednesday, for a new local playlist.
 
image: FromTheNorth/Flickr

Find out James’ punk picks, and well as his tips for visiting Dublin, after the jump…

Home base: Galway, Ireland.

Day job: Freelance Music and Travel Writer. (See his work at Hendicott Writing)

James Lets Loose

Museyon Guides: Last band you saw live?
James Hendicott: Radiohead, headlining Reading Festival in the UK a couple of weeks ago. They were absolutely fantastic, and even played Creep, the hit single that’s become a real live rarity. I watch a lot of smaller shows, though. I’m really looking forward to Super Extra Bonus Party and Flea Market Poets coming to Galway in the next few weeks.

MG: How would you describe the Dublin sound?
JH: I guess the distinctive sound of Dublin is the traditional music you hear walking around tourist districts like Temple Bar. It’s all guitars, banjos and penny whistles. But there’s a lot going on, you can find pretty much anything from offbeat trance (in venues like Twisted Pepper) to eclectic live bands (like in Whelan’s). A lot of people are really into that ‘shoe gazing’ kind of music, stuff like Sigur Ros and Venice Is Sinking.

Glastonbury Festival

MG: Where’s the best place to see a live show?
JH: In Dublin, the best place to go is probably The Tripod venues, for atmosphere anyway. The huge open-air gigs in Marlay Park can be pretty special, too. Overall, though, nothing comes close to Glastonbury Festival (Somerset, UK) for me. My favorite show ever changes by the day, but Muse headlining Glastonbury in 2004 was absolutely phenomenal. It’s always up there. Matt Bellamy, the front man, plays modern, effects-infused guitar an absolute league above anyone else in my opinion. The incredible live link ups, and being able to make their (already impressive) tracks burst with energy on stage makes them an incredible live experience. I’ve seen them four times so far, and that’s nothing like enough.

MG: Any insider tips/dos and don’t for people visiting Dublin, or Ireland in general?
JH: Get away from the tourist spots at least once; Temple Bar’s fun, but it’s more about stag parties than a real taste of Ireland. Dublin has its great spots, but don’t pass up on Cork and Galway. The latter in particular has a reputation for great music and great nights out. Try to catch a local live band (State.ie has all the listings). Try Buckfast and Jamesons as well as Guinness (and yes, Guinness does taste better in Ireland). Spend at least one night in O’Donoghue’s listening to trad. and fighting your way to the bar. Come in summer, and bring an umbrella and full on raincoat anyway. Try a full Irish breakfast. There’s no better hangover cure, and you’ll definitely need a hangover cure.

MG: What’s your idea of one perfect night out in Dublin?
JH: It would have to be the height of summer, and one of those beautiful sunny days that comes along once in a blue moon in Ireland. I’d start in one of the pubs down the back of Grafton Street – perhaps the Hairy Lemon, which is a great old pub – with good friends, a few pints of the black stuff and some Dublin Bay seafood. After that I’d spend a few hours in the beer garden as the sun goes down, then head to a show at the Academy or one of the Tripod venues. When the bands finished, I’d try to get myself into a pub lock in (where they lock the pub doors and carry on serving), to sing (badly) and listen to Irish traditional music until the morning. They can be hard to hunt down, but there’s nothing quite like a Dublin lock in.

MG: For people just getting into punk, Celtic or otherwise, – where should they begin?

JH: Punk’s gone so far from its roots now, it’s difficult to know where to start. For straight up punk, I’d start with what I consider to be the definitive bands in the genre: The Clash, Sex Pistols, stuff like that. For (slightly) newer stuff, I think bands like Bad Religion maintain the original angst-ridden/political meaning of the music (see Kyoto Now), which makes them substantially more poignant than many modern punk bands. I’ve always had a soft spot for All (good luck Googling them!), who are a spin off band from The Descendents, a huge 90s pop-punk band. As for Celtic punk, it’s hard to look past Flogging Molly. They might not be Irish, but in my opinion they’re by far the dominant band in the genre, and rightly so, their music is fantastic.

For more from James check out Hendicott Writing, and be sure to pick up a copy of Music+Travel Worldwide, in stores November 3.

portraits courtesy of James Hendicott; Glastonbury by Russ Garrett/Flickr

The Temple Bar, Dublin

By James Hendicott

Have you ever drunk, danced and partied all night? What about drinking, dancing and partying all night in the fireside warmth of a tiny pub, arms flailing and head bobbing to a boisterous, twanging banjo and vocal combo, one that’s so much a part of the culture it could almost represent it?

The intimate corners of Ireland’s traditional music pubs are an indispensable Irish experience. Singing is compulsory, instruments barely tuned and a raucous, heartfelt racket accompanies the swirl of shamrocks and lively conversation. The lilt of half-cut voices still slices through the salty air in the early hours, accompanied by the fast-paced drama of banjos and penny whistles each pouring from the stage, or the front-of-house musical ‘snug’ (the cozy, private, cushioned corners of a mazy old Irish pub).

Find out more — including James’ pub picks — after the jump…

Traditional pubs are so unaltered by time, that even in capital Dublin they’re still tinged with Gaelic language and aging charm (tip for the guys: In Gaelic, Mna means woman. Be careful choosing your bathroom!). They run pretty much 24-hours, too, providing you’re not infringing on holy Sundays, with laws allowing for overnight fisherman having a few drinks when they get home, creating sporadic pubs with early morning opening times.

O’Donoghues is perhaps the best place to start, as the traditional home of cult trad. band the Dubliners, and invariably the creaky wooden scene of a vivacious, beer-swilling night out. The out of town pubs like the Abbey Tavern in picturesque, seaside Howth (so close to Dublin it could be a suburb), offer still more traditional vibes. Of course, you can always take the extravagant Guinness storehouse tour, and follow it up with by exploring Temple Bar, and listening to buskers convert anything and everything recognizable into a seductive Irish twang.

Of course, Dublin wouldn’t be Dublin without “the black stuff”. September the 24th 2009 marks the 250th anniversary of the world’s most famous stout, and has been christened ‘Arthur’s Day’. To celebrate, Guinness have invited musicians as diverse as Black Eyed Peas, Tom Jones, Jamie Cullum and David Gray to grace Dublin’s venues, large and small, including an array of pub gigs entitled ‘live at the local’. They’ll be performances all around the world (including New York, Kuala Lumpur and Lagos), too, but we all know there’s only place to truly celebrate with a pint of ‘medicine’… we hope to see you there.

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James Hendicott is a travel and music writer living in Ireland, and your guide to Celtic punk in the upcoming Music+Travel from Museyon Guides. More of his work can be found at hendicottwriting.com.

image: jyryk/Flickr

photo: iStock