On this very special episode of Be Grand, it’s time to go way back. Back to a wild, strange and alien time and place that we call the year 2005. A time of NME, floppy fringes, skinny jeans, retro stylings, eyeliner and something called indie. Oh, and the small matter of a groundbreaking, life-affirming club night that brought indie music to Dublin in a way that just hadn’t been witnessed before and made the place feel like the centre of a musical universe. This is the story of Antics.
Hitting the much-missed Harcourt Street venue of Crawdaddy in November 2005 like a meteorite that had first crashed through a Top Shop warehouse and a guitar factory, Antics was the brainchild of three friends named Craig Harper, John Goucher and Dave Parle. Tired of the stale scene surrounding them and with nowhere that played the kind of music they or their mates were into, the DJs took their growing love of the indie rock boom of the early 21st Century and gave it a home in the heart of the city; a home that Andy would soon call his own, like Roger in Sister Sister.
Craig joins Andy to talk about Antics’ incredible legacy and the special place it holds in the hearts of anyone who attended. From the early days of half-empty dance floors to the soaring heights that saw the likes of James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem behind the decks, Craig gives us a firsthand account of what it was like to pour your heart into something and have it succeed. Also joining Andy to talk style, tunes and VK Ice is his beloved Antics crew of Colm O’Brien, Tony McDermott, Niamh Farrell, Cat Bradley and Meg Dunne. Plus there’s a brilliant contribution from ace journalist Andrea Cleary, who charts the rise and fall of the indie scene from 2005 to the strange half-life it now inhabits.
An epic episode of Be Grand that we loved making, this celebrated a wee Wednesday night in happier times when fashions changed, songs were sung and lifelong friendships were forged.
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