Jailcell Recipes + Decline Dublin 1992

Apr 4 1992

Decline, Jailcell Recipes, Unsound

Barnstormers

I persuaded Robbie and Barnstormers to host a Saturday afternoon show with No Age restrictions. They were hesitant as they were situated in a commercial street with many shops open for business. Because of the success of Spermbirds they agred to go with an afternoon gig. However the carpet showrooms next door weren’t too pleased. The noise was affecting customers judgement and we had to keep levels down ridiculously low until 5.30. A hard thing to do as the gig started at 3.

This was our third time to put a gig on for Jailcell Recipes and our our third time to lose money on the band. The Belfast Gig Collective were big fans so whenever they asked if “Jailcells” could play we had no option but to say yes. This gig was Barnstormers first and last Saturday afternoon affair. The owners decided it wasn’t worth disturbing the neighbouring businesses. We still couldn’t find an affordable venue to put gigs on that wasn’t a pub. So, for now, people would have to make do with false ids.

I had gone to school with the “bouncer” in Barnstormers and, thankfully, he turned very few people away. It wasn’t the ideal solution so, with Warzone collective in mind, we decided to start actively looking for our own place. We scoured Dublin for premises suitable to house a vegetarian café that could double up as a venue. We set up a co-operative and applied for as many grants as we could.

Gorilla Biscuits + Drive + Unsound – Dublin 1991

Apr 13 1991

Gorilla Biscuits, Drive, Unsound

Charlie’s

Christy asked if New York band Gorilla Biscuits could play Ireland. Drive from England had been looking to come over on the same weekend. So we thought why not make it a double bill? I rang Tony Doherty from NorthWest Musician’s Collective in Derry, because his number was in the Hot Press Yearbook, and asked if they would be  interested in putting on certain bands. They had a venue up there and Tony agreed with relish. Though Gorilla Biscuits and Drive didn’t make it to Derry, Tony asked if Roosevelt’s Farm, from Derry, could play Dublin so this gig seemed like an opportune time. Gorilla Biscuits featured some people from Quicksand so we felt there would be a good crowd at the gig. Their ferry was due to arrive into Cork and we asked Emmet and Shane Fitzsimons to organise something there. They readily agreed as, up to now, American bands hadn’t had time to play outside Dublin and Belfast.

Unfortunately Gorilla Biscuits missed their ferry from France and the Cork gig went ahead  without them. So, £180 lost on that one. Gorilla Biscuits made it into Dublin on time and Charlie’s was packed out. The queues had formed early and the doors had to be opened during the soundchecks, as there were complaints from the adjoining businesses.

We fitted 200 people into Charlie’s and the venue was full beyond capacity. We  hadn’t realised just how popular this band was – in an all-too-rare occurrence, people were mouthing the words along to the songs. Our plan was to try and get these to return.