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Dublin Live
Dublin Live
Entertainment
Brian Dillon

Dublin's alternative club night will transport you back to your emo glory days

Sabotage takes place in Fibber McGee's on Parnell Street twice a month and is the alternative club night in Dublin that celebrates all things emo, pop punk, emo and rock, blasting tunes from 00s favourites such as Paramore, Blink 182, My Chemical Romance and Green Day.

Now in its eighth year, Sabotage attracts a diverse crowd and provides the city's emo and punk rock enthusiasts somewhere to hear their favourite nostalgic belters played for them.

Sabotage was founded by Stephen Mac Kell in 2014, who previously DJed at a similar alternative club night in Dublin which came to an end the year prior. Stephen, who has been DJing since the age of 19, spoke to Dublin Live about how Sabotage started.

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He revealed: "There was a night before Sabotage called Lockdown which finished in 2013 which I DJed at. When those nights came along, there wasn't really anything like it in Ireland.

"Towards the end of the lifecycle of the Lockdown night, I was trying to get them to come to Fibber McGee's where I had started working as a booking agent.

Sabotage club night at Fibber McGee's (Sabotage)

"I always wished that these kinds of nights were around when I was just turning 18 and starting to go out for nights out. The club nights that were around when I was 18 and 19, I had zero interest in them."

He added: "I felt like I could do a good job at putting together something similar and putting my own spin on it. I wanted to specialise each night and make them each its own event.

"The idea was to create a night that I would want to go to."

There are three "really good DJs" Stephen rotates for Sabotage. Speaking about what the by-monthly event looks like today, Stephen revealed that people of all ages attend the night.

He explained: "We have a good set of regulars for sure. When colleges start back, there are a good few faces I recognise.

"The ages are extremely varied and there were a lot of people who turned 18 during the pandemic. These bands were popular before they were born or when they were babies. Some of these bands, the staying power that their music has."

He added: "The pop punk and emo aspect of it is definitely the most popular part of it. You're talking My Chemical Romance, Paramore, Green Day and Blink 182. Then you can get into some of the heavier stuff like Limp Biscuit, Slipknot and Linkin Park."

Additionally, Sabotage occasionally ventures into themes such as pop and 90s.

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