The Joiners Arms – The greatest small music venue south of London!
The Joiners Arms
“Every time we've played The Joiners it’s been a special event. Some of the best gigs and moments of my life have been on that stage”, explains Gerry Del-Guercio, front-man of SixNationState. The Joiners Arms is situated just a few minutes away from the centre of Southampton, in downtrodden St.Mary’s. The area has been adversely affected by the fall from grace suffered by the city’s football team, who have recently fallen two divisions.
Walking along an empty St.Mary Street can be a tad edgy, with a few dodgy-looking individuals wielding cans of Special Brew and requesting spare change. Stepping inside The Joiners feels uplifting, with a warm greeting guaranteed from doorman and licensee Pat Muldowney. Having worked on the door since 1998, Pat has seen it all before, having protected the venue from rioting Portsmouth football fans, given a cardboard cut-out of Paul Weller to Arctic Monkeys and chatted to Pete Doherty and Chris Martin. This gentle giant is an extremely friendly, knowledgeable person who is always ready to chew the fat whether you’re a rock n roll star or not.
The Joiners Arms is described by many, including mINtSOUTH’s very own Jodie Copeland, as the greatest small music venue south of London. It is certainly not heaven for corporate fans however, as Jodie jokes: “It’s small, has sticky carpets, takes ages to get served and has sweaty walls that are covered in pictures of bands and countless stickers. Trust me, these are what makes it good.”
Holding just 150 punters at a time, the venue provides an extremely intimate experience with some massive acts. In 2004 for example, Pete Doherty performed to a lucky 150 at the height of ‘Pete-mania’, with tickets changing hands for over £100 outside.
The venue has an adequately-sized bar and chill-out area in the front room. The stage hugs the back wall of the venue whilst the band room is located down in the cellar. Going to see an unknown band in these modest surroundings can certainly pay off with many big names having paid a visit before they hit the big time: Radiohead, Oasis, Muse, Green Day, Coldplay, The Libertines, The Kooks and Razorlight to name but a few.
Something special about The Joiners is that in order to reach the stage from the band room, performers have to climb a tight staircase then push their way through the audience. The intimacy doesn’t stop there: with no barrier between the audience and a knee-high stage punters are free to invade at any moment. Indeed, a mass Art Brut love-in marked my first visit to the venue in 2004.
Morgan Hislop, member of Remnant Psyche and former Rival Joustas drummer, describes how some artists break the boundaries in the most extreme ways: “I went to see Selfish Cunt play there about three years ago. Towards the end of the set he came up to me and almost went to kiss me but pushed my head down, turned round and head butted this woman in the face. I'm sure it was by accident, but the girl almost passed out, there was blood everywhere. The music stopped and the singer disappeared. The girl's boyfriend was walking round screaming "Where is Selfish Cunt?" looking to punch him. It was a spectacular end to the set!” Hislop is himself no stranger to performer-crowd interaction (albeit in a slightly milder fashion), as he would routinely vacate his stool and bound around the audience with a tambourine during Rival Joustas favourite ‘Animals’.
Bill Acharjee, bassist of now-defunct cult heroes Dead! Dead! Dead!, is also full of praise: “My opinion is that the Joiners is the hub and firmly rooted in the heritage of the Southampton music scene. One of the great things about the place is that it has always supported local music, which is so important for any new band starting up.”
This support of the local scene is evident with high-pitched group Delays, who hail from the city. Having played at The Joiners for many years under former name Corky (Jodie Coupeland remembers that they almost became the venue’s unofficial house band), the band have made it big and released three top-thirty albums. Last Christmas they were set to play a gig at The Southampton Guildhall, which holds over 1,700 people, yet still found time to play at The Joiners the night before.
Bill Acharjee says that The Joiners Arms is an ideal place to catch the next big thing, as he gleefully recalls the night he was asked to support an up-and-coming band: “Dead! Dead! Dead! got a call requesting D!x3 to support a new band called the Arctic Monkeys who “were going to be the next big thing”. We all looked at each other and said "Who the fuck are they?". We watched Arctic Monkeys sound check then they watched us. Afterwards their front-man Alex Turner came over to ask for one of our CDs. The venue was absolutely rammed to the brim. What a cool night.”
Bill’s story sums up what The Joiners Arms is all about: having a good time, discovering the next big thing and most importantly appreciating music. Ticket prices are always reasonable for those punters on a budget (yes you, students!), usually ranging from five to ten pounds compared to around twenty pounds for your average Southampton Guildhall show. So find a spare tenner, grab a mate and head down to your local micro-venue; you could be rubbing shoulders with stars who are soon to shine.
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