- With help from Dave Clarke and Sunil Sharpe, the Dublin club says goodbye to its Francis Street home.
- District 8's fate has been sealed for just over a year. In January 2018, the nightclub, which sits within Tivoli Theatre, one of Dublin's most historic venues, fell foul of this generation's most common venue-killer: property development. Plans to regenerate the area mean the current theatre will be rebuilt, forcing the club out. On the plus side, D8 has had ample time to prepare a fitting send off. (Not all venues were so lucky—in May, nearby spot Hangar had to shut with immediate effect.)
Located on Francis Street in Dublin's city centre, Tivoli Theatre has a troubled history dating back to the '30s—it started out as a cinema, before becoming a nightclub, then a shop and finally a venue for theatre, comedy and live music. More recently, its dominance as the city's premiere venue for house and techno has been impressive. Despite a rigid booking policy, it attracted a new breed of ravers hungry for big kick drums and international names. Though it wasn't the first of its kind, the space showed that there was a weekly appetite for dance music on a grand scale.
The finale took place on Saturday, with Dave Clarke and Sunil Sharpe leading a bill heavy on residents from local nights like Subject and Hidden Agenda. Despite the cold weather and the 8 PM start, the main room and the seldom opened, cinema-style theatre room were both in full flow after a couple hours, packed with a mixed crowd of young and old. The extra lighting and production adding grandeur to the evening. Intense visuals backdropped the main room's unrelenting techno, while glistening lights and lasers twinkled to the sounds of atmospheric house and disco in the cinema.
In the main room, the Irish techno pioneer Jon Hussey let rip with bangers like Joey Beltram's remix of Robert Armani's "Blow That Shit Out." His driving set instilled a feeling that this was really it, giving the venue, which has sometimes felt a touch soulless, a sense of togetherness. The atmosphere lulled as the crowd regrouped in the cinema, with Kiasmos, Brame & Hamo and others soundtracking the converted chill-out spot. Winter winds cut through the sheltered smoking area, muting much of the reminiscing about District 8 and any musings on the dubious future of Dublin's club scene.
The main room's rollerskate rink-style dance floor was a sea of wide eyes and pumping fists as Dave Clarke drove the BPMs higher, hitting a climax with his own remix of Zombie Nation's "Kernkraft 400." "Clarke is kind of an honorary Irishman," Sunil Sharpe told me. Not long after, The Baron was seen urging the crowd on from centre stage, as Sharpe blended new cuts by Randomer and Clouds alongside bits from Dublin's popular hard house duo Sound Crowd. There was a strange poignancy to his set, not least when, in between encores, a slideshow of images played on a projector, showing the theatre's colourful history. Having already run an hour past closing time, Sharpe, who, incidentally, is currently spearheading a country-wide campaign for later licensing, finally put the needle on the night's last track, "Perfect Day" by Vision Of Shiva. A bittersweet cheer followed the uplifting piano intro, before the ensuing hi-hats sucked the last drip of energy from the crowd.
Photo credit / Jack Toibin