Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU) Ents Officer Jonah Craig and his team, along with DU Players and DU Fashion Society launched the first-of-its-kind event, “Meeting House Square: Urban Jungle”, in Temple Bar last night.
Evident from the flurry of online activity from Trinity Ents and a lack of a queue at the Arts Block ticket sales, things were moving slower than anticipated in the days running up to the event. And therefore as expected, it took quite a while for the large event space to just about half fill up by the end of the evening. The €15 ticket cost may have acted as a deterrent for many with empty pockets following Freshers’ Week, but this price was an unavoidable cost for Ents due to the exclusivity of the venue.
Nevertheless, the event was better curated than some Freshers’ Week events, providing something both exciting and artistically stimulating for those who came along. Drinks were reasonably priced and the lighting was entrancing, with the event proving Craig’s ability to host much larger scale events.
Most notable was the crowd demographic, the night turning out to be more of a hit with older students, who possibly enjoy something more sophisticated and have a little extra cash to spend. There were but a few younger faces, lingering somewhat awkwardly around the edges, who have yet to adjust to the house music orientation of Dublin City and Ents alike. Craig’s Ents Officer predecessors were to be spotted in the crowd, along with namely characters from a mix of the college’s social spheres.
The show itself was impressive. Meeting House Sq owes a lot to its design and acoustics. Trinity Orchestra kicked things off, performing upbeat instrumental and vocal arrangements of some Red Hot Chilli Peppers classics. Next up was Irish traditional electro-instrumental DJ, Daithí, who, armed with his fiddle, played a high energy set to a slightly larger audience at that point. A number of die-hard fans pushed to the front, creating a real buzz, neutralising the lull of the small crowd size. No stranger to Trinity events, speaking to The University Times after his set, Daithí had to say: “People going to [Trinity events] are going for a reason, they are going to hear your music. I was really blown away there by how many people knew the tracks and could actually sing along. It’s great.” The Midnight Disco resident DJs, Matt Dundon and Nevan Jio, played until close, then taking again to the decks for a much busier after-party in Button Factory.
An overall success for Trinity Ents despite the not-so-big attendance rate, Urban Jungle gave us a glimpse of what we might come to expect at the College year’s most notable event, Trinity Ball.
