The Rathskeller
"The Rat" | |
Location |
528 Commonwealth Avenue Kenmore Square, Boston, Massachusetts Coordinates: 42°20′54.97″N 71°5′46″W / 42.3486028°N 71.09611°W |
---|---|
Owner | Jimmy Harold |
Type | Music venue |
Genre(s) | Punk rock, alternative rock, hardcore punk, garage rock, rock and roll |
Construction | |
Opened | 1974 |
Closed | 1997 |
Demolished | 2000 |
The Rathskeller (known as The Rat for short) was a legendary[1][2][3] live music venue in Boston, Massachusetts that was open from 1974 to 1997. A dimly-lit, gritty establishment, the Rathskeller was considered the “granddaddy” of Boston rock venues.[4][5]
During its heyday, the Rat hosted such acts as the Cars, Pixies, Metallica, the Dead Kennedys, The Ramones, Talking Heads, R.E.M. and The Police. From 1980 to 1987, The Hoodoo BBQ—which Esquire called one of the “100 Best Restaurants in America”—was located at The Rat.[6]
In the 1960s it had been a restaurant and bar catering to college students. At the time it offered live music in a back room, featuring local bands such as The Remains (who opened for The Beatles on their final tour), The Lost (with future Boston punk legend Willie “Loco” Alexander) and The Mods (whose drummer Harry Sandler went on to play with “Boston Sound” hitmakers Orpheus). The Remains were so popular in 1965 that the owner of the Rathskeller was forced to open up the basement for the first time to the overflow crowds that the Remains attracted. Sixties-style live music was phased out at some point, and the Rathskeller reverted to a simple restaurant until 1974.[7]
Upon reopening to music, the Rat promoted itself as the “Locus of Boston Rock and Roll,”.[8] While the club is often noted for the artists who performed there prior to their commercial breakthroughs it was also distinguished by the local bands and scenes it helped to develop. In 1976, the album Live at The Rat was released; it documented not only the music of the time, but the importance of the club in the development of Boston rock and roll.[9] The WBCN Rock & Roll Rumble was held at the Rathskeller for its first three years and was originally referred to as “The Rumble at the Rat.”[10]
The Rat was also considered important for its contribution to the Hardcore movement. In a 2010 interview, Ken Casey of the Dropkick Murphys said: "(The Rat) afforded us the opportunity to have a place to play and develop our fan base, and it was just amazing to us. And the reason I credit it with all of our success, was this is how we started to tour. The hardcore punk scene in the mid-’90s was huge in Boston."[1]
References to the Rat’s cultural impact can be found in the book All Souls, The Sound of Our Town, the film All Ages: The Boston Hardcore Film,[11] and in both Guitar Hero II and Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s.
The Rathskeller closed in November 1997, and was torn down in October 2000 to make way for the Hotel Commonwealth,[12] a 148-room luxury hotel of which Boston University is a limited partner.
Notable acts
- 311
- 3 1/2 Girls
- 8-Eyed Spy
- Aerosmith
- Agent Orange
- Agnostic Front
- Angry Samoans
- Alex Chilton
- The Alley Cats
- Anti-Flag
- The Atlantics
- Aus-Rotten
- B-52s
- Bad Brains
- The Beastie Boys
- Big Black
- Blitzkrieg
- Blondie
- Blotto
- Boy's Life
- Buffalo Tom
- Bullet LaVolta
- Mr. Butch
- Butthole Surfers
- The Cars
- The Casualties
- Celibate Rifles
- Crash Worship
- D Generation
- Dag Nasty
- The Damned
- Dead Boys
- Dead Kennedys
- The dB's
- Del Fuegos
- The Delinquents
- Dervish
- The Descendents
- Destroy!
- Destroy All Monsters
- Dinosaur Jr.
- DMZ
- The Dogmatics
- Dream Syndicate
- Dropdead
- Dropkick Murphys
- Dumptruck
- DYS
- Ed's Redeeming Qualities
- The Effigies
- English Beat
- The Fall
- Fishbone
- The Flesh Eaters
- The Fleshtones
- Flipper
- The Flying Lizards
- Foetus
- The F.U.'s
- The Freeze
- Game Theory
- Gang Green
- GG Allin
- The Godfathers
- Godsmack
- The Go-Gos
- Goo Goo Dolls
- Gorilla Biscuits
- Harlequin
- The Heartbreakers
- Henry Rollins
- Hole
- Holly and the Italians
- Human Sexual Response
- Hüsker Dü
- Inside Out
- Chris Isaak
- The J. Geils Band (Peter Wolf)
- The Jam
- Jerry Nolan Band
- Jerry's Kids
- Joan Jett and the Blackhearts
- Joe Ely
- The Joe Perry Project
- John Cale
- La Peste
- The Loners
- Los Lobos
- Lou Miami
- Lyres
- Maelstrom
- Aimee Mann
- Mazzy Star
- Megadeth
- The Melvins
- Metallica
- The Mighty Mighty Bosstones
- Mink DeVille
- Minutemen
- Mission of Burma
- Mother Love Bone
- The Neats
- The Neighborhoods
- Nervous Eaters
- November Group
- Orbit
- The Outlets
- Patti Smith
- People in Stores
- The Plasmatics
- Poison (American band)
- Powerman 5000
- Pixies
- The Police
- The Queers
- Quiet Riot
- Rain Parade
- The Ramones
- The Real Kids
- The Real McKenzies
- Redd Kross
- Red Hot Chili Peppers
- The Replacements
- The Remains
- R.E.M.
- Richard Hell
- Rick James
- Robin Lane and the Chartbusters
- Robyn Hitchcock
- Rogue
- Roy Buchanan
- The Runaways
- SS Decontrol
- SNFU
- Salem 66
- Sam Black Church
- Scruffy The Cat
- Sheer Terror
- Showcase Showdown
- Sick Of It All
- Slapshot
- Slash (band)
- The Smithereens
- Sonic Youth
- Soul Asylum
- Soundgarden
- Steve Earle
- Stevie Ray Vaughan
- The Stompers
- The Stranglers
- Straw Dogs
- Suicide
- Talking Heads
- Thin Lizzy
- Throwing Muses
- 'Til Tuesday
- Tom Petty
- Transformatix
- Translator (band)
- True West
- Tuff Darts
- The Unseen
- U.S. Ape
- The Ben Vaughn Combo
- Volcano Suns
- Wargasm
- The Washington Squares
- White Zombie
- Willie "Loco" Alexander
- The Wipers
- Wrathchild
- Wu-Tang Clan
- Youth Brigade
- Zero Boys
- The Zulus
References
- 1 2 Baker, Matthew Reid (July 2010). "Top of Mind: Ken Casey, Extended Version". bostonmagazine.com. Boston Magazine. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
- ↑ Sullivan, Jim (15 November 1997). "Kenmore Square’s fabled Rat to close this weekend". The Boston Globe. p. C.5.
- ↑ Quint, Al. "Suburban Voice On The Rat". Retrieved 3 February 2013.
- ↑ "Culture Brats, Bars of Our Youth". Retrieved 3 February 2013.
- ↑ "Time Magazine via Boston Groupie News". Retrieved 3 February 2013.
- ↑ "Boston Phoenix On The Rat". Retrieved 3 February 2013.
- ↑ http://mmone.org/the-rat|accessdate=17 March 2015
- ↑ "The Changing Face of Kenmore Square, BU Today". Retrieved 3 February 2013.
- ↑ "Live At The Rat at All Music". Retrieved 3 February 2013.
- ↑ Sabulis, Thomas (6 July 1979). "Winner is Neighborhoods in the Battle of the Bands". The Boston Globe. p. 28.
- ↑ "Boston Hardcore at IMDB". Retrieved 3 February 2013.
- ↑ "Hotel Commonwealth, News". Retrieved 3 February 2013.
External links
- "The Rat Remembered: 8 True (and Terrifying) Stories from Boston’s Legendary Rock Club" - Rockerzine.com 2016
- The Rat On Facebook
- The Rat Beach Party Group On Facebook