Saturday 22 September 2012

The Best Clubs in Dublin for Techno, House and Electronic Music


The Dublin club scene is seemingly in a state of flux. With the closure of the Pod complex last year, Dublin lost its largest capacity venue which regularly held electronic music nights . A few years earlier, another of the big dance venues, Spirit Nightclub, renowned for house, trance and its spaced-out clientelle, closed its doors for the last time to reopen as The Academy, a venue with no focus on any particular genre. However, at weekends, there are still plenty of options for anyone looking to find a good DJ.

So where is there to go now to see some good DJs? I list my top choices below.







The Twisted Pepper is the obvious choice for dance music in Dublin, and is the only club in the city that's fully devoted to bringing in big name DJs from abroad. It's run by Bodytonic who started out as DJs, moved onto event promotion, and finally opened their own venues (The Twisted Pepper and the Bernard Shaw). The management do, however, tend to allow too many people in for the larger names and the place becomes very crowded. This, coupled with a lack of air conditioning, can make for a very uncomfortable night. I like to have some personal space in a club, but maybe it's not an issue for the younger clientelle that this place attracts. However, despite the cramped space, the calibre of DJs that they bring in often proves too alluring (such as Ben Klock, Kerri Chandler, Marcel Dettmann, Jeff Mills, and many more), and the Funktion One system really packs a punch.
The Twisted Pepper, 54 Middle Abbey Street, Dublin 1


The Button Factory has become the new home for POD promoted events since the POD complex closed. They do tend to have good taste in their bookings, hosting Adam Beyer, Seth Troxler and Nicolas Jaar in recent months. The place itself is fairly unremarkable. Its pretty much just a big hall with a stage at one end, a bar at the other, and a smoking area and seated balcony upstairs. For the bigger names, this place does tend to sell out, so booking your tickets early is advisable.
The Button Factory, Curved Street, Temple Bar, Dublin 2


Kennedy's looks like a regular city pub from the outside, but has a basement area (known as The Underground) which regularly hosts techno DJs, from Ireland and further afield. It's a small venue, and one that seems to attract a more seasoned crowd of dance music fans. The basement was renovated over the past few years to make it more like a club, but in my opinion, it looks a bit tacky. I preferred it better when it had a rawer, more "underground" look. Drinks can be expensive, but there's regularly promotions running, so ask the barman if your watching your cash.
Kennedy's, 31-32, Westland Row, Dublin 2


The Tivoli Theatre is fondly remembered by many for hosting some of the best nights during Dublin's heyday of rave in the early to mid 90s. This still-functioning theatre continues to feature to big names from time to time, such as John Digweed, Ricardo Villalobos and Sven Vath. These nights are by no means regular and usually only pop up for bank holiday weekends and holidays (New Year and Easter). If you're passing during the daytime, stop into the carpark to see the great showcase of Irish graffiti and street art which is updated annually during the All City Jam. Check out the pictures here.
The Tivoli Theatre, 135-138 Francis Street, Dublin 8


Pygmalion is a chilled bar and restaurant during the day and a club at night. It's located in the historical Powerscourt Center, a large Georgian townhouse which has been converted to an upper class shopping center, with a couple of night time venues. Pygmalion is below ground level. and with a mixture of original vaulted arches over the dancefloor and modern decor in the bar areas, it looks the business. Usually there are good tech-house DJs on shift, but if you're unlucky you might catch it on a bad night when more chart and pop music can be played. A word of caution though: Watch your stuff! I know people who have had their bags robbed from inside the club, and their mobile phones and wallets snatched from the outside smoking area.
Pygmalion, Powerscourt Townhouse, South William Street, Dublin 2



2 comments:

  1. Nice place to hang out with friends! I have visited there and had fun time. Now my friends and I are planning to visit the event venues Seattle. We want to host a grand Christmas party over there.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wow ! I have saw awesome music and songs actually fine a lot of thanks fantastic music sharing.If you want songs related inform please go best progressive house songs.

    ReplyDelete