Gigs: Dancing In Your Bedroom

If you’re a gig frequenter, you’re probably familiar with the many spaces in and around Dublin that offer that star-struck experience to a cosy jam session in the corners of pubs. Dublin is undoubtedly one of the most artistic cities, while mostly known for literature in the past, it’s beginning to move into a city of musicians and actors. With bands forming in uni societies, to solo artists dropping Trinity and hitting global fame. Passing through uni seems to be a rite of passage for Irish musicians, you meet and then head for the backstreet!

But the game of fame doesn’t come simply or easily, it’s a long process and buildup of recognition in the Dublin scene before you even set foot in the international scene. But what does this buildup look like and how effective is it depending on your specific band image? 

Depending on the tone and rhythm of your music, your venue seemingly has a lot more to do with your audience than you would think. It is a symbiotic relationship between the music and the atmosphere, think of it like the venue is handing over the music to your audience, and it must be the perfect hand off. 

Imagine being stuck in a small room and attending a Travis Scott concert, not only would that lack the ability to move around and enjoy the music to its full potential, as these concerts are famously known for jumping and moving your head this way and that. But instead you’re in a stuffy room shoulder to shoulder, and instead of feeling the music through that hand off you are essentially being punched in the face with it. 

And yes, you might be saying Travis Scott is WAY too big of an artist, why would he be in a small room and not a sold out stadium? Well, we all had to start out somewhere and as a small artist can you imagine him eager or catching attention at a venue like The Big Romance? No. Because that is an atmosphere for a sway not a jumping tune. Seems like common sense, right? 

Well, if so, these smaller Dublin artists might want to re-evaluate jumping at any venues, because this might be the only time that not all publicity is good publicity. Without the right venue you can’t fully bring out the music to your audience. And you might be thinking this is a hard ask for small local Irish bands, but Whelans proves to provide the best of both worlds. 

A favourite among gig-frequenters, it provides that perfect blend of gig and pub, making it accessible in and out experience. Typically at affordable prices, with many gigs being a tenner, Whelans provides spaces for small local bands to build an audience, brand, and overall reputation. Looking for a specific genre? Whelans also hosts themed nights, such as their recent Indie-nights which hosted many uni-built bands attracting friends and young adults alike. 

While Indie does indicate a bit of a sway, Merricat’s performance at Whelans that night, brought about a unique ambience. If you didn’t read the fine blueprint (you and everybody else), you might’ve expected a popular themed night to be hosted in the main stage of Whelans. You might’ve been surprised to find yourself ‘upstairs @ Whelans’. 

For a sound that certainly falls under the Indie sound, in accordance to the theme, it however, is more of a passion-driven sound that requires more than a little sway. Whether the smaller Whelans stage was ‘better’ than the main stage, is arguable and definitely subjective. Especially with these indie sounds, a lot of the audience prefers a more intimate and relaxed environment. I mean people do jump up and dance in their room right? At the end of the day, many of these bands do take what they can get. 

While Merricat’s sound definitely would have echoed better in the main stage, where many of us could dance a bit more freely, what makes a true performer is adaptability. And Merricat proved that in the cosy corner of Whelans. While their sound was more upbeat and funky, there wasn’t much space to dance, but it felt like you were sitting on the couch with your friends, and you were intimately listening to a soundtrack. At times, you looked around and forgot you were at a gig, where the intimacy of the room had people running into friends alike, no chance of missing them in a huge crowd. 

While the idea of a soundtrack, a couch, and a few good friends sounds like a dream. And a small venue is perfect for that ‘dream’ effect, where the close proximity of the band doesn’t have you focusing on catching a glimpse of them and getting your money’s worth, but it provides this focus on the actual music rather than the image of the singers. 

Contrary to popular belief, these smaller venues not only can provide a just as distant environment as bigger venues, but possibly a more enchanting and effective distance. Where you’d be jumping up and down with your phone trying to get a shot of the out of reach singer rows ahead of you in a crowd. 

And Merricat proved to be just as good at capturing that ambience in a smaller crowd, while they didn’t move around the stage much, their purpose there wasn’t to perform a physical image but an intangible image through music. Bringing comfort to the audience and inviting them to feel any emotions that come about. 

We do hope to see Merricat on a bigger stage one day, where we can fully dance to what their sound is demanding of us, but for now, we take the Indie nights for what they are. An intimate, cosy, afternoon in a friend's bedroom with the radio on blast. 

Written By: Sophia Arceo

Edited By: Kirsten Baldwin