Ambassador for my money, but the Village is sweet cos its a good club after the show is over. Vicar street is good, but Ambassador gets the best atmosphere. its the shape of it, its designed for sound and atmosphere, not a converted shed like most venues. sorry but its true in many cases! the ambassador was built specifically with entertainment as its function. so therefore, its the best! plus its easy for us country folk to find!(here a few years but still a bogger)

venues: as a musician - the village, whelans, are the best in dublin. anywhere in belfast. as a listener - the village - D, the spirit store - L, the forum -W as a drinker - the roisin dubh -G, whelans, half moon -c, boathouse - L.

Totally agree with you on the Ambassador/Whelans/Roisin Dubh thing, Village is good for gigs but not the biggest fan of it as a pub. also possibly the unfriendliest bouncers in the world! ALso think the Olympia is great for gigs, amazing sound!

My fav is defo the Olympia (especially if you can get front row tickets in the circle, the sound & view are perfect). Unfortunately, one of the big promoters (MCD it think) seem to have some sort of exclusive rights to it and I find most of the gigs there are ridiculously expensive. I do like the ambassador (reminds me of another classic venue the Brixton Accedemy) but most of the time, there is little or know atmosphere except right at the front. Vicar Street is pretty good too when they have the tables out.