yeah it's weird. Two venues that aren't horrendous in Temple Bar that don't seem to get the punters in - The Hub and Dorans. I never really got into going to Dorans, and I haven't been back there since I was thrown out a few years ago. Actually, no, I went to the Republic of Loose album launch, but that's it. It's one of those places that just wouldn't cross my mind. Also, I remember the bar being a little pricey. Can someone PLEASE tell me why bars don't just sell cans sometimes? Like, if you had a student night or something, could you not just sell Bavaria for €2 a can or something? *still in student mindset*

Too cramped, too dark, crap facilities, usually a host of piss-poor bands playing to their mates. In saying that, I have seen some good gigs there and it has a great location. You know what to expect from the venue, and there's better venues than it around the city.

The place is run into the ground, i heard from a good source that the pa has just given out, and that it dosent seem to getting replaced anytime soon, i love dorans, my band used to run a deadly monthly rock and roll club there. And there has been many a great night in there, but its just left to rot, what the place needs is someone to pump a bit of money into the place, and i cant see mr doran doing that anytime soon. The venue reminds me of the barfly venues over in the uk, now if they got one of those pa's in the place would be sorted, well it would be a start anyway.

My reasons for disliking the Hub - strange to play - pillars and boucing sounds eveywhere and very divided - difficult to get a crowd vibe going cause its all very disected. It also smells horrendous. I do like it as a place to listen to tunes and have some beers too... as long as you're near the door so there's an ample supply of fresh air. Dorans - strange crowd mixed between tourists, melter teenage emo's and scumbags. Oh and I wsa mugged in there after a gig about 3 weeks. The f**kers were pros and got everything.... still tho I did managed to keep hold of one of the f**kers till the cops came but I'm not the first person to have stuff pilfered from in there.

yeah i've a fondness for the place, i used to play in a band there supporting Striknien Dc and The Steam Pig when i was 16/17...thought i was a great place,nice and small...great atmosphere as was seen at the loose launch!

Dorans is a strange bar. One of the least appealing places in Dublin. The beer is awful, up there with Bruxelles. Watered down where every pint tastes of dirty cider. The sound is also pretty bad, ear bleeding at times. Very badly laid out, too open, no sense of atmosphere. And the beer, have I mentioned how bad the beer is? I've been a few times this year but it is so damn unappealing. At least with Bruxelles, you'll meet a few people and have a bit of craic. The Hub is a bit crap. Much better when it was a smelly sweaty techno club a few years ago. Now it is just a smelly sweaty club trying to be a trendy venue.

now the hub that place just stinks of sH#t and the sound is rubbish, its built up all awkward with pillars everywhere, oh did i mention the smell in the place. the place was much better when it was switch!

k, its like this. dorans is a rip off to play. radiator was cool but doing a normal gig there is a no no. the toilets are a fookin disgrace, the venue can be rock n roll without being a health hazard. dorans is also very unappealing for women. the strange mix between teens and strange folk is a little unnerving. the beer is overpriced and tiered based on the time of night. it is also fookin disgusting. a pint of miller is a pint of fosters. in fact everything is a pint of fosters. the upstairs part is a disaster area, is a food venue? is it a cafe sitdown bar? is it a pub? The Hub: not a place purposly built for gigs, so the sound isnt great given the layout of the room. it is also quite expensive for a pint. its disjointed as a venue and the crowd is very mixed, you couldnt pin it down. but if i was to go with one place, it would the hub over dorans any day. dorans doorstaff and management are a bunch of scumbag cowboys.

Yeah I find the sound has gotten better over the years, though in saying that the PA has gotten older. I've been in there on nights where they've had to run around to TBMC and borrow stuff cause theirs had snuffed it in the middle of a sound check. It definitley needs cash pumped into it, but that aint the engineer's fault. It's also one of the few venues that has a little backroom to store stuff, Once they even put a bouncer on that door to keep an eye on stuff. And the bouncer situation has improved as well, (or has the passage of time just raveged my youtfull looks and now I don't get stopped??!) Beer is muck, but lets be honest.. It's town! bottles only, un-written rule! It's location IS great, One of the best in Dublin. it's slap-bang in the middle of temple bar and if you stand outside long enough you can drag all sorts of tourists in if you're playing there.

Well its all good to hear. As i said i was there and the beer was really good the other night and €3.50 a pint and the sound was rocking. I may just add that the sound for the first two bands wasn't great, the first band (can't remember the name) i think it was their first gig, which was great to see. But the headline group which had excellent musicians, the drummer and guitarist from Klubberlang, the guitarist from Future Kings of Spain and the keyboard player from Ten Speed Racer was singing, Basically i think if you get good bands in the sound is good because they demand it. Thats why i would like to see some good indie promoters using it for touring bands when they cant get Whelans, i just think its another good option thats out there.This would also stop scumbags as it would be a ticket affair. And just on an earlier point, i'm sick of seeing under rate bands playing to their mates there too, although all bands have to start like that so it is nice to have a place to play when starting off.

una, i was also kicked out of dorans a few years back for querying at the entrance why they were charging the after 11 price when i was coming in at ten to 11 i kicked up a fuss and threatened them with legal action and got a chat with doran himself and an apology and decided to leave it at that but the doormen were complete vermin back then, maybe it's improved since that kind of experience does tend to put you off a place though as a venue it's not the worst, have seen a few half decent gigs there in the past i remember seeing bellatrix there ages ago (bloody good gig it was too) but as a club night of any sort it always seemed to fall flat dropped into the hub last weekend and was quite surprised to see a trad band belting away onstage! crowd was a strange mix - from washed out 80s rockers to goths and every subspecies in between

yeah, the Hub was way better as Switch. It's not suited to band-y music. And it smells of poo. I have good memories of the place though because I 'worked' there for about a year doing reviews with my mates and listening to bands with about 5 punters in the place (if even). We got paid in beer and blags. Fun times. All a place needs is good music, nice people and cheap beer to entice me in. Dorans and the Hub have occasionally bits of all of those things, but not enough.

Bruxelles is a great bar but the beer is awful. I've lost count the numbers of times I had to return a pint because it tasted so foul. Never had a problem with the bouncers at Dorans. It is also quite easy get downstairs without paying

Doran's was better when it was the Rock Garden, The Hub when it was Switch... I do like the dark and dingy ambience of doran's though, same as Carnival on Wexford Street and Voodoo which are also owned my Mr. Doran as far as I know.. I'd prefer to go to a gig in Doran's than somewhere like, let's say The Village any day!!!

Bruxelles attracts really nice people on the whole, it was a regular haunt in my teens and early twenties when the jukebox downstairs used to be pretty good. The beer isnt the mae west though it has to be said, it never was. Dorans always struck me as being a dive, very amateurish, crap beer unpleasant staff, just not somwhere I'd like to go to unless somone I wanted to see was playing. The Hub is alright, if a bit pricy from what I can recall though.