http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/ Welcome to Been there. Your tips on the places you know - that you love, live in or have just visited - are what make this guide. http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/31153 Attendance at the Apéros varies somewhat according to the location and most importantly what the weather is like, but they can be very popular. Note that if it's raining, it will all be called off ...]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/31153 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/30734 Doyles Pub in Dublin is across the street from my alma mater, Trinity College. Popular with the great unwashed student population, on a Friday or Saturday night the upstairs bar, with its unassuming decor of wooden floorboards and faded velvet-topped stools, becomes thronged for the indie-disco that surely defies health and safety regulations. But come to the same spot on a Tuesday for the Ruby Sessions, and that dance floor will now host a series of higgledy-piggeldy tables and chairs, in front of a faded curtain that has provided the backdrop for some truly memorable acoustic gigs. My “I-saw-them-first” moment was here in November 2008, when in front of about 40 people, I witnessed Mumford and Sons knock the socks off the gathered crowd, PA systems be damned. It’s a testament to the organisers and the gig-going faithful that there is never any need for bells and whistles up here. All you need is a common ethos: put the music first and nothing else matters.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/30734 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/30732 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/30732 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/30729 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/30729 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/30718 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/30718 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/30717 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/30717 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/30715 last.fm for listings) and I'd heavily recommend it to anyone who has the dubious pleasure of passing through Chemnitz.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/30715 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/30710 However if you go at 9pm on a Saturday evening in the summertime (when the gallery has late night opening), the windows are all open, the tourists have all gone, the cruise ships have set sail, you have the place to yourself.
The windows are all open to allow the summer breeze in and the live music being played by string quartets busking in the square below fills the rooms, making it one of the most amazing - unexpected - live music venues I have ever experienced.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/30710 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/30706 I like these gigs because they are small and I can always manage to get to right to the front, just a few centimetres from my favourite band, while being able to see them properly - something I rarely experience at other gigs. After their performance we can meet the artist and get a signed album/single.
Each an every gig is like a once in a life time opportunity and you never forget them!]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/30706 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/30705 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/30705 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/30704 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/30704 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/30703 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/30703 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/30699 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/30699 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/30698 Located in a less touristy area of town among graffiti-covered buildings, the cosy venue is oriented toward punk rock, metal and ska, and also hosts hip-hop and dub nights. Visitors over the years have included The Toasters and Me First and the Gimme Gimmes as well as small European bands.
In the summer you can enjoy the larger outdoor stage (Letni oder Gala Hala) and drink a well-priced lager under the stars while chatting with friendly locals.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/30698 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/30697 Always packed with young locals, this is the bar (and street) that the dispels the myth that Paris's nightlife is dead.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/30697 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/30696 This yearly festival happens every September, and fills the hilly and winding streets of this remarkable town with music from around the world.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/30696 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/30695 If you're in Glasgow check out who's playing in the local paper and go along if you can. Have a drink in the Saracen's Head pub, opposite, to sample the full flavour of a Glasgow night out!]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/30695 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/30693 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/30693 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/30692 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/30692 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/30691
And so with these lyrics began my quest to track down this must-see live music venue in trendy Northcote, north Melbourne. These are the opening lines of a song called "Down at the 303" by Melbourne's most famous sons, The Cat Empire, a band who my Australian wife had introduced me to over here in grey old England when we were a-courtin'. And I fell in love with her, and with the band. And with Melbourne, though I'd never been there. No matter, my wife and I arranged our wedding and honeymoon so I could see it. We got married in Australia, on the Gold Coast, then flew down to Melbourne for the honeymoon. And I fell in love again. It was July, winter time, totally out of season, but I loved it. The sun shone, it rained, it hailed, all on the same tram ride through town. And on our last night in Melbourne, we made it down to the 303.
Barely noticeable on High Street, Northcote, they don't really even have a sign outside, but it's identifiable as being next door to the Northcote Social Club.
We walked in, my heart pounding. An intimate, cosy bar upstairs, low lighting, and conspiratorial chats between young lovers. We got a drink. We moved downstairs to the venue. It was heaving, and sweaty. Some of the quietest, most beautiful live music I've ever heard was being played by a band I've now forgotten the name of. But there was no hustle or bustle, no angry, angsty pushing and shoving. Everyone was sat cross-legged on the floor. My wife and I joined them, rubbing knees with smiling strangers. It was a beautiful evening.
The Cat Empire's song (see youtube link below) is about the joy of seeing a local band in a small, local, intimate venue. It's about getting out there and finding the girl of your dreams at the gig of a lifetime, not sitting at home watching TV, not listening to cheese.
"Music is for living/ Yes, music is essential/ Music should take risks and be experimental/ In the cultchaaaa!!!"

Go check it out, go find the life of your dreams.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/30691